C&C quenches its thirst with a cider acquisition spree November 30, 2009 IRISH drinks group C&C yesterday said it had acquired the UK cider assets of Constellation Brands – including Blackthorn, Olde English and Gaymer – for £45m in cash. C&C chief executive John Dunsmore said the price of the assets was “highly attractive”, while analysts said the deal handed the company a third of the UK [...]
Sky was right to buy ITV stake despite losses January 21, 2010 WHEN BSkyB bought a 17.9 per cent stake in ITV for £940m in 2006, Rupert Murdoch was hailed a genius. For it was Rupert – not son James – who masterminded the move, even if the latter took public credit for it. In one foul swoop, the mogul blocked the newly merged NTL / Telewest [...]
DIYboost for owner of B&Q December 3, 2009 B&Q owner Kingfisher yesterday beat City forecasts for its third quarter, boosted by a change of strategy in China and a renewed interest in home improvement. The group said that pre-tax profits rose in the 13 weeks to 31 October to £227m, compared to £176m last year, ahead of expectations. Kingfisher said that a revival [...]
Tottenham tycoon Joe Lewis gets his ally a seat on pub group M&B’s board July 16, 2009 JOE Lewis, the Bahamas based billionaire who controls football club Tottenham Hotspur, yesterday won his battle to gain a seat on the board of pub group Mitchells & Butler (M&B). Lewis has appointed Richard McGuire, a former Citigroup investment banker, as a non-executive on the board after passing the stake threshold needed for a board [...]
Accuma chief executive makes bid to go private December 2, 2009 ACCUMA Group chief executive Charles Howson has launched a £5m bid to take the debt management company private. Howson, who bought Accuma in 2003, has teamed up with the Manchester-based financial services company Zeus Group to pay 15.5p a share for Accuma, 88 per cent higher than Monday’s closing price. The deal has already received [...]
Virgin Media halts disposals November 15, 2009 Virgin Media is believed to have put plans to sell a basket of television channels on hold, as it looks at ways to secure the best price. The pay-TV broadcaster is thought to have been mulling a sale of the £160m-worth of assets, including Living, Bravo and Trouble, and to have narrowed potential buyers down [...]
Embark on an unforgettable winter journey January 17, 2010 SITTING under a palm tree on an idyllic beach starts to sound almost pedestrian when you consider what adventures lie in store for those willing to embrace snow and ice. It’s cold, but winter brings some of the most beautiful landscapes and thrilling activities on earth – from dog sledding in the Arctic Circle to [...]
Miners lend muscle to FTSE as banks shake off US blues January 18, 2010 BRITAIN’S leading share index took on 0.7 per cent yesterday, as heavyweight mining issues rallied with firmer metal prices, while banks moved higher awaiting further earnings news from US peers. At the close, the FTSE 100 index was 39.02 points higher at 5,494.39, albeit in subdued trade with US markets closed for Martin Luther King [...]
Abbey banks on double digit growth October 28, 2009 ABBEY, the UK arm of Spain’s Santander, posted a 37 per cent rise in nine-month profit yesterday, leaving it well on track to meet its target of double digit profit growth in 2009. The group – which includes the brands Abbey National, Bradford & Bingley and Alliance & Leicester – said profits totalled £1.16bn in [...]
BSkyB results are expected to smash through analyst forecasts July 25, 2010 BSKYB is expected to smash the market consensus when it announces its results this week. A surge in demand for high definition (HD) services in the wake of the World Cup will drive the broadcasters profits higher than forecasts. Sky is understood to have netted an extra 320,000 new HD customers in the last three [...]