Tobacco ‘price fixers’ hit with £225m fine April 16, 2010 BRITAIN’S largest two tobacco manufacturers and ten retail groups have been fined a total of £225m by the Office of Fair Trading (OFT). Imperial Tobacco and Gallaher as well as the stores – including Asda and the Co-op – were hit with fines after a seven-year investigation into price fixing. The tobacco companies agreed to [...]
Acquisitions help Co-op to boost profits March 18, 2010 THE Co-operative group is to pay a bumper dividend after its profits jumped 85 per cent in 2009. Buying Somerfield helped the Co-op record a £402m profit while revenues surged by almost a third. Dividends totalling £55m will be dished out to its members as a result of the profits hike. The group merged its [...]
Co-op profits surge after Somerfield deal March 18, 2010 THE Co-operative group is to pay a bumper dividend after its profits jumped 85 per cent in 2009. Buying Somerfield helped the Co-op record a £402m profit while revenues surged by almost a third. Dividends totalling £55m will be dished out to its members as a result of the profits hike. The group merged its [...]
WHAT THE OTHER PAPERS SAY THIS MORNING March 15, 2010 FINANCIAL TIMES RBS eyes £10bn debt buy-back as it plans balance sheet shake-up Royal Bank of Scotland is planning a vast balance sheet restructuring in an attempt to boost its capital strength and its standing with bond investors. The move could involve at least £10bn (€11bn) of the bank’s £28bn of debt being bought back [...]
Morrisons in bid to expand March 11, 2010 SUPERMARKET chain WM Morrison yesterday pledged to open more smaller stores after new openings last year helped it to record a 30 per cent rise in full-year pre-tax profit. In 2009, pre-tax profits surged to £858m as turnover rose by six per cent to £15.4bn. The company, Britain’s fourth largest supermarket, raised its annual dividend [...]
Malaysian IT firm joins queue to list on Aim this year February 9, 2010 Malaysian IT systems integrator Teliti International is planning an Aim flotation that could give it a market capitalisation of up to £40m. The company provides services to banks, government agencies and oil and gas companies. It plans to raise £12m through the IPO (initial public offering) to build a new data centre in Malaysia, where [...]
Renowned City veteran Sir Mervyn Pedelty dies January 28, 2010 Sir Mervyn Pedelty, chairman of Friends Provident and a former chief executive of the Co-op’s financial arm, has died at the age of 61. After a long career in financial services, he passed away on Tuesday, after a long illness, just 10 days after his birthday. The former TSB executive was also an independent director [...]
Co-op’s Christmas price war fuels sales January 11, 2010 THE Co-operative Group’s like-for-like sales rose almost five per cent after slashing prices in a battle with its rivals over Christmas. The UK’s fifth biggest food retailer – which now has 3,000 stores after buying Somerfield last year – was boosted by a massive advertising campaign and overhaul of brands. Like-for-like sales – including VAT [...]
Co-op sales surge after price war January 10, 2010 THE Co-operative Group’s like-for-like sales rose almost 5 per cent after slashing prices in a battle with its rivals over Christmas. The UK’s fifth biggest food retailer – which now has 3,000 stores after buying Somerfield last year – was boosted by a massive advertising campaign and overhaul of brands. Like-for-like sales – including VAT [...]
SAVINGS GIANTS IN MEGA-MERGER December 1, 2009 YORKSHIRE Building Society is in advanced merger talks with beleaguered competitor Chelsea, in a deal experts said could fuel further consolidation in the sector. A tie-up, yet to be approved by the FSA, would create a major force in the building society arena. With £38bn assets and 2.7m members it would be second only to [...]