Sky splashes out with a deal for Disney movies and new channel February 21, 2013 BSKYB has inked a deal with Disney that will see the Hollywood giant’s films shown on a new channel as well as open up its catalogue of historic films to on-demand viewing. The deal will tighten Sky’s grip on exclusive film rights by giving it first access to new titles such as Iron Man 3 [...]
Carpet maker Axminster on brink of failure February 21, 2013 AXMINSTER Carpets, the historic manufacturer that has woven carpets and rugs for Britain’s stately homes since the eighteenth century, has filed for administration. The Devon-based company, which employs around 400 people, confirmed its intention to appoint Duff & Phelps as administrators. It said it would continue to trade while it explores all potential restructuring operations. [...]
STV shares leap as battle with ITV ends and it returns to profit February 21, 2013 SHARES in Scottish broadcaster STV jumped by more than 10 per cent yesterday as the company posted a rise in profit on improved TV advertising revenues. STV, which runs the terrestrial channels in central Scotland run by ITV in England, posted a surprising improvement in performance during 2012, and said it expects advertising revenues to [...]
Digital revamp takes its toll on Centaur Media as losses widen February 21, 2013 THE PUBLISHER of business magazines Marketing Week and The Lawyer saw its losses more than treble in the six months to the end of last year, owing to restructuring costs. Centaur Media, which also owns market researchers Econsultancy, said exceptional costs associated with recent sales and acquisitions had dragged the company down to a loss [...]
Travis Perkins slams Osborne over economy February 21, 2013 THE GOVERNMENT needs some radical thinking to get the economy moving, the boss of the country’s biggest supplier of building materials, Travis Perkins said yesterday. “The trouble at the moment is that people are thinking of conventional solutions and I’m afraid we’re not in conventional economic times, so we’ve got to think more radically to [...]
Weir in £55m shopping spree as it extends mining footprint February 21, 2013 ENGINEER the Weir Group yesterday said it had snapped up a trio of companies for £55m, as it extends its footprint into mining industries. The FTSE 100 firm has bought the R Wales group of companies in Canada – which makes rubber linings for the processing industries – in a move into the North American [...]
Boeing nears Dreamliner fix February 21, 2013 BOEING is believed to have found a way to fix the batteries on its new 787 Dreamliner, over a month after signs of burning grounded all 50 of the planes in operation. However, transport watchdogs are yet to decide whether and when to allow the planes to fly again.
Galliford Try posts strong first half for housebuilding division February 21, 2013 GALLIFORD TRY yesterday said a robust first half for its housebuilding division helped offset a tough construction market, with a record number of homes sold in the period. The group yesterday said it completed 1,364 homes in the six months to 31 December, up from 1,352 the same time last year and ahead of expectations. [...]
EasyJet faces AGM questions February 21, 2013 EASYJET will today face tough questioning from its major shareholder Sir Stelios Haji-Ioannou, who has called for outgoing chairman Sir Mike Rake to resign immediately. Sir Stelios yesterday published a list of nine questions he will put to the EasyJet board at today’s shareholder meeting, covering his concerns about plans to buy new aircraft, the [...]
Capgemini sees revenue growth over 1pc in 2013 February 21, 2013 FRENCH IT services firm Capgemini yesterday reported a 1.2 per cent surge in revenues to €10.3bn (£8.9bn) for the past year. It marks the first time the IT services group, Europe’s largest based on market capitalisation, has seen full-year revenues top €10bn. The 1.2 per cent revenue rise is on a like-for-like basis, stripping out [...]