Cala Homes targets £1bn sales by 2020 after record profits September 7, 2015 Upmarket housebuilder Cala Group delivered a record number of house sales last year as part of a major expansion drive that will see it reach £1bn sales in the next five years. The Edinburgh-based group, which was sold by Lloyds Banking Group to Legal & General and private equity firm Patron Capital a year ago, [...]
Barclays sells UK secured lending portfolio September 7, 2015 Barclays has sold off another of its non-core assets, just days after offloading most of its Portuguese business. The bank has now sold its UK secured lending portfolio to a group led by Goldman Sachs for an undisclosed sum, which it said would reduce its risk-weighted assets by £1.2bn and improve its capital ratio. Read [...]
Tesco’s share price rises as it agrees to sell Korean arm Homeplus to consortium of investors led by MBK for £4.2bn September 7, 2015 Tesco's share price opened up this morning after revealing it has agreed to sell its South Korean arm Homeplus for £4.2bn to a consortium of investors, led by MBK Partners, the beleaugered supermarket has confirmed. The consortium also includes the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board, the Public Sector Pension Investment Board and Temasek. [...]
German industrial production rises 0.7 per cent in July, underperforming expectations September 7, 2015 Germany’s industrial production rose 0.7 per cent month-on-month in July, a slower rate than expected, according to data from Deutsche Bundesbank. Economists had expected a rise of 1.1 per cent, according to economists surveyed by Bloomberg. Read more: Non-EU markets boost German export surplus as euro weakens However, in an optimistic signal, industrial production was [...]
Tesco: What assets has it sold and what’s left at the checkout after £4bn South Korea Homeplus sale? September 7, 2015 Tesco has bagged up another asset, adding a nice £4.2bn to its coffers from the sale of its South Korean Homeplus business to a consortium of investors, it was revealed today. It's a major milestone in the supermarket's efforts at fixing its balance sheet – here's how it's progressing so far. Bagged up South Korea [...]
North Sea oil industry has lost 5,500 jobs since late 2014, says regulator September 7, 2015 The North Sea oil and gas industry has cut 5,500 jobs since late last year, according to the Oil and Gas Authority (OGA), the UK's oil and gas regulator. In a report published this morning, the OGA said plummeting oil prices had created an even more challenging economic environment for the North Sea's oil and [...]
Glencore’s share price soars 10.2 per cent as it reveals billion-dollar debt reduction plan and rights issue September 7, 2015 Fresh from taking a battering as a result of China, which has resulted in S&P downgrading its credit rating, commodities trader Glencore is tapping shareholders for a further $2.5bn (£1.64bn) rights issue. The business, which floated in May 2011, said it was seeking the money as part of a plan to reduce net debt [...]
Even Primark can’t save Associated British Foods from a drop in profits this year, as sugar and currency woes hit the business hard September 7, 2015 Associated British Foods (ABF) has confirmed its adjusted operating profit will decline for the full year as its has failed to offset challenges in its sugar division and currency headwinds. Operating profit at constant currency will be ahead of last year for grocery, agriculture, ingredients and retail, ABF said this morning. The firm's share [...]
Executive pay: FTSE 100 bosses miss out on bonus boost September 6, 2015 More than a third of FTSE 100 chief executives missed out on pay rises this year, according to a PwC report out today. This is up from a quarter of bosses whose pay did not get a lift in 2014. Of those who received a boost, the average increase was three per cent, taking [...]
Morning Wire’s 10th Anniversary: Celebrating 10 years of events that shaped a decade September 6, 2015 A crunch, a crash, a coalition… When Morning Wire hit the streets in 2005 no one could have predicted what was in store for the Square Mile and the broader UK – and global – economy. Here we revisit a selection of the moments that defined the last 10 years, and remember how they were [...]