John Roberts defends adviser in £1.2bn float March 6, 2014 AO World’s blockbuster IPO was 18 months in the planning THE founder of the Bolton-based fridge retailer AO World, which has provided the most spectacular flotation in the London markets so far this year, yesterday staunchly defended the £12m fee his group agreed with Rothschild, the independent financial adviser on the deal. “£12m is a [...]
Three tech firms surge to $260bn on grey market March 24, 2014 THREE upcoming initial public offerings (IPOs) from tech firms King Digital Entertainment, Alibaba and Just Eat are all set to beat analyst expectations with a combined valuation of over $260bn (£158bn), according to IG’s IPO grey market. King, the British games giant and creator of Candy Crush Saga, has already hit a valuation of $8.7bn, [...]
Steady start for CVC Credit as it eyes further growth in lending February 24, 2014 CVC CREDIT Partners, the credit firm linked to CVC Capital, yesterday reported inaugural results for its listed European fund showing a rise in net asset value (Nav) of investments for last year. The company, which floated on London’s stock market in June, said it made an absolute return on funds invested of 3.31 per cent for [...]
Retail investors to be courted in biggest Nordic flotation in years February 18, 2014 ISS, the Danish outsourcing group, intends to attract retail investors to its stock market flotation in Copenhagen, the biggest Nordic flotation in 14 years. “There’s potential to have strong demand,” chief executive Jeff Gravenhorst said yesterday. “The percentage that goes to the retail investor will depend on their appetite.” ISS, which is part-owned by Sweden’s [...]
Inside Track: Behind the scenes of the Pfizer and Astrazeneca talks April 23, 2014 IT WAS ever thus: investment bankers kick off the year talking up a economic environment ripe for throwing up industry-defining mergers and acquisitions. By Easter, they’re conjuring up myriad reasons why said deluge of deals has failed to materialise. To date, 2014 has done little to disabuse that idea. There are exceptions, of course, one [...]
Bottom Line: Three stocks that stand to lose big from the escalating market chaos March 3, 2014 1 BPTHE MOST exposed to Russia of the FTSE’s energy majors slumped 2.28 per cent yesterday despite a similar rise in the cost of brent crude. A hotly contested deal in 2012 saw BP take on a 19.75 per cent stake in Russian state-owned oil company Rosneft – whose shares dropped 4.1 per cent in [...]
Sales from the riverbank February 27, 2014 The future landmarks set to transform London’s river and make living Thameside even cooler LONDON is finally starting to follow the example of its European neighbours by making the most of its meandering river. Luxury developments are beginning to pop up all along the riverbank, proving that the place to be seen in the next [...]
Mobile giant in revenue boost January 21, 2014 CARPHONE Warehouse yesterday unveiled a 3.1 per cent like-for-like revenue increase in the third quarter. Europe’s biggest independent mobile phone retailer suffered further losses in the pre-pay phone market but managed to achieve a sixth quarter of like-for-like revenue growth. The London-listed group’s Virgin Mobile France saw revenue decline year-on-year by 15.6 per cent, reflecting [...]
PayPoint tops up sales after ATM use booms January 23, 2014 UK PAYMENTS service PayPoint, a fixture at many corner shops across London, yesterday said year-on-year revenues rose four per cent in the third quarter to £57m, thanks to strong bill and general payment growth. The FTSE-250 listed group, which was founded in 1996 to help people pay bills at the local shop, said increased use [...]
Retail investors excluded from Polypipe float March 18, 2014 BRITISH plastic piping manufacturer Polypipe is the latest company to announce its plans to float on the London Stock Exchange, as it looks to take advantage of the UK construction market recovery. Around half of the company’s share capital will be up for grabs, but like online food takeaway business Just-Eat, which announced its plans [...]