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 [...]
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 [...]
Huge loss for Vastox October 13, 2005 Oxford and Sheffield universities were at the forefront of commercial science yesterday as two of their spin-out companies reported on their trading performance. Vastox, the company founded by a team of Oxford University scientists led by Professor Steve Davies, reported its maiden first half results since floating on AIM last October. The company has developed [...]
Jurys backing offer October 13, 2005 The board of the Irish hotels group Jurys has recommended a bid led by the daughters of the late founder P.V Doyle to take the company private. The hotel group board announced yesterday that it had reached terms with JDH Acquisitions, a group that has the support of 40 per cent of Jurys shareholders. A [...]
Casino boost October 13, 2005 Sportingbet, the online sports betting and gaming group, shored up confidence in the sector yesterday by unveiling that profits had quadrupled. Shares in internet-based poker businesses crashed on Monday when Empire OnLine’s chief executive Noam Lanir suggested that there was little growth in the sector during the third quarter. His comments helped send shares in [...]
Carphone tills ring October 13, 2005 Carphone Warehouse, the independent mobile phone company run by Charles Dunstone, said it was likely to ring up 35 per cent more profits in the first half of the year. The company also confirmed that as part of its expansion plans it would look at Onetel, the communications group being sold by Centrica. Carphone Warehouse [...]
GUS gloomy over retail sales October 13, 2005 Retail conglomerate GUS, which owns Argos and Homebase, yesterday predicted the retail sectors it serves would remain in negative like-for-like sales territory until at least September 2006. “We are planning on the assumption that like-for-like sales will remain in decline for the market as a whole for the next 12 months,” said finance director David [...]