Chancellor Rachel Reeves delivered Labour’s first Budget in 14 years, announcing £40bn of tax rises, Central London Alliance comments
MoD to name firm to run its military estate March 10, 2014 THE MINISTRY of Defence (MoD) yesterday said that it is close to announcing a preferred bidder for a £400m contract to support the management of its military estate. Three consortiums are bidding for the defence infrastructure organisation contract. One is led by beleaguered outsourcing firm Serco, which recently had a ban lifted on winning new [...]
Aggreko soars as investors get £200m payout March 6, 2014 AGGREKO delighted investors yesterday with in-line results, a £200m special dividend and a better-than-expected outlook for 2014. The FTSE 100 temporary power provider’s shares soared around nine per cent in early trading, before settling later in the day and closing 3.5 per cent higher. “After nine consecutive years of growth, 2013 proved to be a [...]
Ministry of Justice on hunt for new firm for tagging contract March 5, 2014 THE MINISTRY of Justice yesterday said it is searching for a new firm to take on part of its prisoner tagging contract, after talks with preferred bidder Buddi fell through. FTSE 100 outsourcing firms Serco and G4S were stripped of the contract last year after allegations of fraud. It was then split into four parts, [...]
Serco earnings hit by prisoner tagging scandal March 4, 2014 SCANDAL-STRUCK outsourcing firm Serco’s acting chief executive yesterday said he was confident of a return to growth, despite a 62 per cent decline in full-year profit and a gloomy outlook for 2014. “The events of 2013 absorbed management’s focus and, therefore, interrupted the normal process of improving efficiency and developing our business into new areas,” [...]
Analyst Views: Were Serco’s full-year results in line with your expectations? March 4, 2014 SAM THOMAS | CANTOR FITZGERALD The results were disappointing, as we expected. Pre-tax profits decreased around two per cent to £254.4m, below consensus of £258.7m. While we welcomed Friday’s announcement that Soames would become group chief executive, he will have his work cut out. Serco is in need of serious repair. MIKE ALLEN | PANMURE [...]
Serco profits plunge and warns of tough times ahead March 4, 2014 Troubled outsourcing firm Serco has seen its profit before tax plummet by 62 per cent to £106m. The company has been hit hard by profit warnings and large fines for overcharging on tagging prisoners. Ed Casey, acting group CEO, said: We have been through a difficult year and there remains much to be done to [...]
What you need to know before the open March 4, 2014 Russia’s stock market has jumped five per cent this morning, a rebound from yesterday’s catastrophic fall of over 10 per cent. The rebound could be a response to reports that Russian troops have been ordered back to their bases, which also mean European markets should open higher this morning. The US has suspended military relations [...]
Troubled Serco strengthens its board with three new directors March 3, 2014 SCANDAL-TAINTED outsourcing giant Serco yesterday unveiled the appointment of three new eminent non-executive directors, after hiring a new chief executive at the end of last week. The FTSE 100 firm has hired Rachel Lomax, former deputy governor of the Bank of England, Mike Clasper, former chief executive of BAA and Tamara Ingram, executive vice president [...]
What you need to know before the open March 3, 2014 European stock futures have been falling as the tensions in Ukraine continue to rise. The rouble is currently at an all-time low, and Russia’s central bank has announced it’s hiking its benchmark interest rate from 5.5 per cent to seven per cent. All European markets are expected to fall sharply at the open, after Ukraine [...]
Serco bags 3 leading lights as non-execs March 3, 2014 After announcing at the end of last week that it’s appointed a new chief executive – in the form of current Aggreko chief Rupert Soames – government contractor Serco has said this morning that its drafted in three impressive new non-executives. Rachel Lomax, former deputy Bank of England governor, Mike Clasper, ex-BAA chief and chairman [...]