Bottom Line: Airline’s allocated seats prove well-suited to corporate flyers July 24, 2013 AS WELL as yet another profit upgrade, EasyJet yesterday unveiled its new cabin crew uniforms. Long gone are the vivid polo shirts; some of the sober grey suits in the range could almost, almost pass muster in the Square Mile. The City has in recent days sent shares in EasyJet up and down more often [...]
Heathrow Airport profits soar as it asks to charge customers more July 24, 2013 HEATHROW Airport yesterday said its underlying earnings rose 18 per cent in the first half of the year, as it squared up to the aviation regulator about its investment plan. Europe’s busiest airport said it will only spent £3bn on upgrades over the next five years if it can secure a deal with the Civil [...]
Electra takes hold of Park Resorts July 24, 2013 Private equity firm Electra Partners yesterday took a controlling stake in UK caravan park operator Park Resorts after refinancing the company’s debts. The British firm, which has an investment trust listed on the London stock exchange, will now own 54 per cent of the holiday business, which is based in Hemel Hempstead. The rest will [...]
Omega-3 producer sold for £225m July 24, 2013 Norwegian company TRYGG Pharma, a joint venture between biotech firm Aker BioMarine and private investment firm Lindsay Goldberg, yesterday agreed to sell its Omega-3 production business Epax to US chemical company FMC Corporation for $345m (£225m). The sale will allow Trygg Pharma to focus on developing its pharmaceutical programmes. As part of the deal, Trygg Pharma and [...]
HS2 opponents lose new appeal July 24, 2013 CAMPAIGNERS against the High Speed 2 rail link yesterday lost their latest attempt to block the project – but the judges have given them permission to appeal to the Supreme Court. The Court of Appeal yesterday rejected all seven grounds argued by three group of objectors to the £42.6bn scheme, upholding an earlier High Court [...]
Dealmaking costs hit earnings at Nasdaq July 24, 2013 NASDAQ OMX Group yesterday reported a lower second-quarter profit, mainly due to acquisition costs related to the closing of two deals by the transatlantic exchange operator. Net income attributable to Nasdaq totaled $88m (£57.5m), or 52 cents per diluted share, down from $93m, or 53 cents a diluted share, a year earlier. Nasdaq closed a [...]
Evercore storms to profit surge after strong M&A record July 24, 2013 BOUTIQUE Wall Street investment bank Evercore Partners stormed to a massive rise in quarterly profits yesterday, posting one of its strongest ever quarters. Net revenues rose 20 per cent for the quarter versus the same period last year, while profits more than doubled to $16.4m (£10.7m) for the three months ending June. “Completed M&A assignments [...]
London makes up the lion’s share of overcrowded trains July 24, 2013 THE DEPARTMENT for Transport yesterday confirmed what most of the city’s commuters already know: that London-bound trains make up the most overcrowded services in the country. A fifth of passengers, or around 100,000, were forced to stand during the peak of a typical morning rush into the capital in 2012. The DfT said this has fallen [...]
Court upholds pension appeal July 24, 2013 PENSION scheme members cannot jump ahead of other creditors when a company or bank goes bust, the Supreme Court said yesterday, in a landmark ruling that clarifies the ranking of creditors in an insolvency. The ruling was the result of a case brought by the administrators of the UK divisions of investment bank Lehman Brothers [...]
Moody’s ups dividend as bond market grows July 24, 2013 CREDIT rating agency Moody’s posted a higher-than-expected 31 per cent jump in quarterly profit as companies issued more bonds. Total revenue increased 18 per cent to $756m (£651m) in the second quarter, while total expenses rose about 12 per cent to $405.2m. Net income attributable to Moody’s rose to $225.5m, or $1.00 per share, from [...]
