Ofgem confirms companies are avoiding UK energy market due to political concerns March 27, 2014 A number of companies have chosen not to enter the UK retail energy market due to the current political environment, Ofgem confirmed today. As part of its long-awaited assessment of energy market competition, the regulator spoke to various firms who had chosen not to tap into the sector. “A consistent reason for not entering was [...]
Financial firms to lead £200bn spending spree in the UK March 31, 2014 FINANCIAL services firms are planning to splash out on staff and offices this summer, leading the way in an investment boom that will see the UK’s biggest businesses spend £200bn by the end of next year, according to two reports. Research released this morning by Deloitte estimates that UK firms with sales of more than [...]
Best of the Brokers for 28 February 2014 February 27, 2014 To appear in Best of the Brokers, email your research to notes@cityam.com ITV Numis repeats its “buy” rating and 260p target following “very strong” results from the broadcaster. The broker thinks ITV is finding the right balance between commercial and creative in its programming, and is confident that the group could beat forecasts again this [...]
Russian retail chain Lenta raises $950m to start trading in London February 27, 2014 RUSSIAN hypermarket Lenta is set to announce a price of $10 per global depository receipt (GDR) today for its forthcoming float in London, raising $952m for its private equity owners. The $10 price gives Lenta, which is controlled by David Bonderman’s TPG Capital, an equity value of about $4.3bn. Bankers had previously indicated a price [...]
Analyst Views: What do you make of Hiscox’s results? Is there any cause for concern? February 24, 2014 NICK JOHNSON | NUMIS This is another strong result from Hiscox, with ongoing progress in building the group’s retail business on a number of fronts. The company says that the second year with special dividends should not be seen as a pattern, given that it is working hard to deploy capital in value creating sectors. [...]
London Report: FTSE dragged back by weak mining sector February 25, 2014 LONDON-listed mining shares fell further yesterday, putting pressure on the blue-chip FTSE 100 index, which snapped a seven-session winning run. Mining shares recorded their biggest one-day slide in a month, amid concern that slower growth and lending curbs on the property sector in China would hurt metals demand. The FTSE 100 index, which touched its [...]
The collapse in homeownership is a disaster for social cohesion February 26, 2014 HOMEOWNERSHIP has just fallen to a 25-year low, which means that Britain’s once-vaunted ownership society is in deep trouble. This is very bad news indeed. It is vital, for the sake of social and economic cohesion, that as many people as possible are able to own property; the only form of capitalism that is politically [...]
Carney’s reforms are welcome but won’t prevent another crisis March 18, 2014 GOOD on Mark Carney. The Bank of England he inherited was in urgent need of a shake-up, and he has now delivered on the comprehensive reorganisation he promised. Some of the jargon that accompanied his presentation yesterday was a tad irritating, but it is good to see private sector management techniques being applied to the [...]
Crazed global investors have become gluttons for punishment April 10, 2014 CREDITORS are strange beasts: they appear to have virtually zero memory, to be gluttons for punishment and to embrace rewards for failure. There can be no other possible explanation for Greece’s astonishingly successful return to the bond markets yesterday – apart, that is, from the fact that there is clearly far too much cash burning [...]
City Matters: How evolving City offices are positioning for the next big tech breakthrough March 17, 2014 WE ALL want the next Google, Facebook or Twitter to come from London. The same is true for major success stories from other industries. This can only happen, however, if we ensure the capital has the right mix of space to enable small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) to grow and realise their full potential. The [...]