London’s new issues market is thawing, but slowly February 22, 2013 Not so long ago I asked an investment banker in London how long he and his colleagues had deliberated before deciding to float a Salford-based materials technology company called Luxfer in New York. “About 30 seconds,” he said, quickly and pointedly. But then this was October last year and the new issues market in London [...]
Royal Mail staff on track to take 10pc of shares February 17, 2013 THE COALITION is pushing ahead with plans to hand employees at least 10 per cent of the shares in Royal Mail, with Britain’s biggest privatisation in two decades lined up for this year. Although the government is continuing to explore all options for the state-owned postal service – including the sale of a stake to [...]
Crest Nicholson home sales up June 27, 2012 CREST NICHOLSON, the housebuilder, said it saw the number of sale completions surge by 33 per cent in the first half of the year as the housing market showed signs of recovery. The company, which operates in the south east, south west and the midlands, returned to a profit of £16m in the six months [...]
Timeline: A journey back to the markets January 21, 2013 1963 Crest Homes founded by Bryan Skinner 1968 The housebuilder floats on the London Stock Exchange 1972 Crest buys Camper & Nicholsons, the leading yacht maker, and changes name to Crest NicholsoN 1983 Skinner retires and the company starts to sell-off its non-housing businesses 2005 Stephen Stone appointed chief executive of the company 2007 Crest [...]
Bottom Line: Tesco hopes to charm shoppers February 17, 2013 When Starbucks opened its first stores in Mumbai last October, queues around the Taj Mahal hotel stretched almost to the Gateway of India – the imposing arch on the harbour under which Boris Johnson held a bike-riding photo call a few weeks later. America’s frothy coffee seemed, at the time, to go down much better [...]
Cinven gears up for £1bn float of annuity outfit February 17, 2013 CINVEN, the private equity business, is firming up plans for a £1bn float of its annuity business Partnership amid a renaissance in London’s capital markets. The mid-market buyout shop, which also owns PizzaExpress and ASK Italian restaurants, is understood to be pushing for an initial public offering (IPO) of Partnership in the second half of [...]
Countrywide in float plan in bid to raise £200m February 21, 2013 COUNTRYWIDE Holdings, Britain’s largest estate agency, is to return to the market six years after it was taken private, heralding a further sign of recovery in the housing market. The company aims to raise £200m through the issue of new shares, which it said it will use to repay debts and fuel further growth. It [...]
Barclays’ investment bankers wait to hear their fate February 7, 2013 When Barclays chief executive Antony Jenkins speaks about shredding Bob Diamond’s legacy, as he did the other day, many of his group’s rivals are hoping he is talking about doing away with an actual part of the bank, rather than a cultural construct. For the growth of Barclays’ investment bank has been one of the [...]
Dealmakers already confident of better times ahead January 31, 2013 With the first month of the year out of the way, most investment bankers are beginning to feel a little bit chirpier – at least those of them lucky enough still to be in a job. In Europe, January has brought a few large deals to the markets, including ArcelorMittal’s $3.5bn (£2.21bn) mandatory convertible bond [...]
Wandisco leads the way for UK technology flotations January 24, 2013 We have already seen the likes of Luxfer, Edwards and Manchester United list in New York when they might have been expected to grace the London flotation markets. Now there are rumblings that Intelligent Energy, a clean energy technology, might look overseas for a listing if it chooses to go for one. And my fellow [...]