Topps Tiles is upbeat as it pays dividend November 30, 2010 BRITISH tile and wood flooring retailer Topps Tiles was yesterday upbeat on its prospects in the face of tough economic headwinds, saying its focus on customer service has paid off and it will restart its dividend. “I do not really see there being any reason why we cannot continue to take market share. But if [...]
Focus owners seek financial help or a sale October 31, 2010 THE owners of the UK’s fourth-largest DIY chain Focus are looking to investment bankers to advise on the future of the heavily debt laden business, which could lead to a sale. US based private equity firm Cerberus is taking advice from Lazard on the future of Focus, and is in talks with its banks about [...]
Taylor Wimpey begins £250m bond offering November 22, 2010 HOUSEBUILDER Taylor Wimpey rounded off its refinancing plan yesterday by announcing a new £100m debt facility and plans to sell £250m of five-year bonds. The news follows on from the firm’s £950m credit facility, which was announced last week as the last act by outgoing chief financial officer Chris Rickard. Prudential’s M&G UK Companies Financing [...]
Nationwide profits up after cost cuts November 23, 2010 NATIONWIDE Building Society’s profits rose 26 per cent to £147m in the first half of 2010, from £117m the previous year, as it cut costs and reduced loan impairment charges. Pre-tax profits rose 83 per cent to £259m in the six months to 30 September 2010, from £143m in the same period in 2009. Impairment [...]
Happy Christmas to all our readers December 22, 2010 AS another year draws to a close we at City A.M. have good reason to feel fortunate about the way things turned out in 2010. Firstly, it was a sensational year for news, both financial and political. In the financial sphere, there was the takeover of Cadbury by Kraft, which brought all sorts of calls [...]
Happy Christmas to all our readers December 22, 2010 AS another year draws to a close we at City A.M. have good reason to feel fortunate about the way things turned out in 2010. Firstly, it was a sensational year for news, both financial and political. In the financial sphere, there was the takeover of Cadbury by Kraft, which brought all sorts of calls [...]
BSkyB in £160m deal for Virgin Media channels June 4, 2010 BSkyB has agreed to buy Virgin Media’s basic channels as the two former fierce rivals develop strategies to compete with the soon-to-arrive free Internet-connected TV services. The satellite group BSkyB will pay up to £160m cash to expand its portfolio of basic pay TV channels, which will include Living, Bravo and Virgin1. It will also [...]
BSkyB in £160m deal for Virgin Media channels June 4, 2010 BSkyB has agreed to buy Virgin Media’s basic channels as the two former fierce rivals develop strategies to compete with the soon-to-arrive free Internet-connected TV services. The satellite group BSkyB will pay up to £160m cash to expand its portfolio of basic pay TV channels, which will include Living, Bravo and Virgin1. It will also [...]
Murray breezes past Ferrer to secure his place in the semi final November 25, 2010 BRITAIN’S Andy Murray is through to the last four at the ATP World Tour Finals after thrashing David Ferrer in straight sets at London’s 02 Arena. After Roger Federer had beaten Sweden’s Robin Soderling earlier in the day, Murray knew a win over Ferrer would be enough to secure his place in the semi-finals. And the [...]
RBS finalises WorldPay sale December 1, 2010 Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) finalised the sale of its WorldPay business yesterday, while new owners Advent International and Bain Capital pledged to invest £200m in the payment processing firm. The EU-enforced sale of the £2bn business, agreed in August, leaves RBS with a 20 per cent stake in the company. Advent and Bain promised [...]