Healthcare property group Assura raises £300m through equity placings to fund expansion October 12, 2015 Healthcare property group Assura said yesterday it has raised more than £300m using equity placings as it seeks to expand its portfolio of GP surgeries and health centres. The listed-company, which develops, owns and manages healthcare facilities that are then leased back to local NHS organisations or GPs, has raised gross proceeds of £309m through [...]
Volkswagen emissions scandal: UK managing director Paul Willis said “VW has significantly let down its customers” October 12, 2015 Volkswagen UK's managing director Paul Willis had admitted the company "has significantly let down its customers", as he faced a grilling from MPs on how the company's external investigation is going and how it intends to rectify the damage the emissions scandal has caused. Willis added: "[Volkswagen] will take all the necessary steps to regain trust" [...]
London Living Wage: The best and worst boroughs for paying living wages October 12, 2015 Fewer jobs in London pay above the Living Wage than five years ago, but jobs in the capital are more likely to pay the wage than those outside. Between 2008 and 2010, jobs paying less than the £8.80 living wage in London accounted for 13 per cent of all jobs in the city. By 2014, [...]
RBS and Patron Capital sell 32 UK hotels to owner of Thailand’s Singha Beer October 12, 2015 The Royal Bank of Scotland and private equity group Patron Capital have sold a portfolio of 32 UK hotels for £160m to Thai joint venture including Thailand's biggest beer-maker. The business, known as Jupiter Hotels, owns and manages 26 hotels spread out across the UK and operating under French hotelier Accor’s Mercure franchise. The pair [...]
London’s pharma sector gets a boost as Shield and Faron announce plans to float in the capital October 12, 2015 The Chinese market turmoil has not destroyed confidence in the UK's pharmaceutical sector, as two companies today announced plans to float in the capital. Newcastle-based Shield Therapeutics and Finnish Faron Pharmaceuticals are both planning to launch their IPOs on the London Stock Exchange in the near future, although neither confirmed definite dates. Read [...]
UK buyers snap up first 100 homes inside BBC Television Centre October 12, 2015 More than 100 homes inside the former BBC Television Centre in London’s White City have been snapped up after going on sale at a preview launch to UK buyers last month. The 14-acre BBC campus is being redeveloped into a new £1.5bn neighbourhood district to rival the West End with 350,000 sq ft of offices, a [...]
Less than 52 hours before the Megabrew deadline AB InBev raises SABMiller offer to £43.50 a share October 12, 2015 Anheuser-Busch InBev has increased its offer for London-based SABMiller to £43.50 a share, a 48 per cent premium. In a statement today, the company confirmed it has offered £43.50 a share in cash, with a partial share alternative (offering AB InBev shares instead along with £3.56 cash per share) for approximately 41 per cent of SABMiller, which [...]
Dunelm share price edges down despite new boss John Browett snapping up £200,000 shares October 12, 2015 Former Dixons chief executive John Browett has spent more than £200,000 of his own cash snapping up Dunelm shares as he prepares to take over the reins as chief executive in January. Browett, who joined the board of the homeware retailer in July, has bought 18,608 shares at £9.27 and 2,998 shares at £9.25, giving him a stake of [...]
Dell to buy EMC Corporation in $67bn merger – the biggest tech deal in history October 12, 2015 The rumours were right: Dell had got something really big up its sleeve. The giant just unveiled the biggest tech deal in history, after agreeing to a $67bn acquisition of data storage maker EMC. The offer EMC has agreed to is worth $33.15 a share, of which $24.05 in cash plus tracking stock in EMC's holding [...]
Georgia Healthcare plans to raise £65m in London IPO October 12, 2015 Tblisi-based medical insurer Georgia Healthcare has announced plans to raise $100m (£65m) by listing its ordinary shares on the London Stock Exchange (LSE). The healthcare service and medical insurance provider – Georgia's largest – is a subsidiary of the Bank of Georgia, which has been listed on London's blue-chip index since 2006. Read more: London pharma flotations are rising [...]