Alstom tube contract under threat October 18, 2005 Transport for London, the body responsible for public transport in the capital, will seek legal advice this week in a bid to break the French company Alstom’s 20-year, £429m contract to build and maintain trains on the Northern Line. The Northern Line was suspended last Thursday after unions raised safety concerns about the emergency braking [...]
Refco: who else was to blame? October 18, 2005 Embattled American hedge fund Refco has widened its investigation into who was at fault for the $430m (£243m) black hole in its books. In addition to the suspended former CEO Phillip Bennett and implicated senior executive Santo Maggio, the fund is believed to be looking at workers in data entry or finance departments who may [...]
More shots fired in Rentokil battle October 18, 2005 Sir Gerry Robinson’s attempt to seize control of Rentokil’s board descended into a war of words yesterday as the two sides traded statements. Five minutes before the Takeover Panel’s “put up or shut up” order expired, Robinson’s takeover vehicle Raphoe Management announced that it had decided it was not necessary to make a takeover offer. [...]
BSkyB makes its move into broadband October 17, 2005 Satellite broadcaster BSkyB is getting ready to make its play against cable rivals by acquiring high-speed internet provider Easynet this week for around £150m. The purchase will allow the broadcaster to offer what observers call the “triple play” of services into the home: broadband, video-ondemand and telephony, setting it in direct competition against rivals such [...]
‘Tiny’ brothers facing investigation October 17, 2005 The Mohsan Brothers face a possible claim from Grant Thornton following the accountant’s investigation into the Asian entrepreneurs’ insolvent IT company, Granville Technology. The brothers, who were once worth an estimated £175m, could also be barred from acting as directors of British companies if the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) decides to bring a [...]
Oil giants compete for Bengal find October 17, 2005 Three of the world’s biggest oil companies – BP, Chevron and ExxonMobil – are fighting it out for a new natural gas find in India’s Bay of Bengal, according to news agency reports late last night. British oil giant BP and America’s Chevron and ExxonMobil are said to be talks with India’s largest private sector [...]
WH Smith posts £73m profit October 14, 2005 Stationer WH Smith was the second high street institution to surprise the market this week with its turnaround progress. Chief executive Kate Swann followed Marks & Spencer boss Stuart Rose’s example as pre-tax profits came in at £73m for the year to 31 August. Although like-for-like sales fell 2 per cent during the past six [...]
Brambles in £387m sale October 14, 2005 Melbourne-based Brambles has defied the business community’s expectations by disposing of the German division of its waste management company for £387m. The Anglo-Australian group, the world’s leading pallet supplier, had been expected to offload its British waste operations. But yesterday chief executive David Turner said that Brambles is selling Cleanaway Germany to SULO, a German-based [...]
Ex-Refco boss charged with fraud October 13, 2005 Refco’s former chairman and chief executive Phillip Bennett was arrested yesterday and charged with securities fraud, two days after the company, the largest independent American futures broker, said he hid $430m (£245m) in unpaid debts. American attorney Michael Garcia told reporters yesterday that Bennett, 57, and unidentified accomplices “hid from investors and regulators hundreds of [...]
Biggest show man in town October 13, 2005 Anthony Lyons started his property career as a junior in a London estate agent’s office and he went on to become one of the best-known moguls around. Every month thousands of people visit shows and exhibitions at Earls Court and Olympia. Millions more people know the names of the venues. But only a few people [...]