Persimmon in house sales boost January 7, 2010 Housebuilder Persimmon remained cautious over the health of the housing market despite a stronger performance in the second half of 2009. The FTSE 250 group said it completed the sale of 8,796 new homes during 2009, which generated a turnover of around £1.4bn. Almost 5000 of these properties were sold in the second half – [...]
JD Sports “back on track” after seasonal lift January 7, 2010 JD Sports Fashion said it was on track beat the City’s profit expectations for the year after enjoying a festive boost. Like-for-like sales rose 6.6 per per cent in the five weeks to January 6, driven by the performance of its fashion-focused chains Bank and Scotts, where trading rose 9.7 per cent. The group said [...]
DP World eyes London listing January 6, 2010 PORT operator DP World is looking to list on the London Stock Exchange after failing to drum up sufficient investor interest on the Nasdaq Dubai bourse. The Dubai-based group, which is more than three-quarters owned by the crisis-hit conglomerate Dubai World, said it was disappointed with the market valuation of the company and will now [...]
M&S reports sales boost but warns of tough 2010 January 6, 2010 MARKS & SPENCER has reported a rise in sales for the three months to Christmas but warned of a tough year ahead. The retailer saw like for like sales rise by 0.8 per cent with record takings on food on 23 December. Food sales overall were 0.4 per cent up on the previous year with [...]
Iceland to call referendum on bank payouts January 5, 2010 ICELAND’S President Olafur Grimsson has refused to sign into law a bill to repay more than £3.1bn that was lost by British and Dutch savers when the island’s banks collapsed. The country’s parliament initially passed the bill on New Year’s Eve but the president’s move means that under the constitution a referendum must be held. [...]
Kraft to pump more cash into Cadbury bid January 5, 2010 KRAFT Foods is planning to improve its £10.1bn hostile takeover bid for Britain’s Cadbury using cash from the sale of its frozen pizza business. The US company has sealed a $3.7bn (£2.3bn) deal with Nestlé and will use the money to offer Cadbury’s shareholders an enhanced offer. It will not up the total sum on [...]
Next raises profit forecasts after sales boost January 5, 2010 NEXT has increased its full-year profit forcecast after reporting an unexpected boost in sales. The fashion retailer’s like-for-like sales grew by 3.2 per cent in the 22 weeks to Christmas Eve. It has now raised its full-year profit forecast to between £490m and £500m – above the previous estimate of £472m. In a statement Next [...]
HMV in pole position for MAMA takeover January 4, 2010 HMV is poised for a successful £46m takeover of MAMA Group after a rival offer hit the buffers. MAMA’s largest shareholder, Luxembourg-based investment firm SMS Finance, made a £38.3m bid for the music venues and festivals firm last month. SMS – the investment vehicle of Italian telecoms billionaire Silvio Scaglia – owns 29.8 per cent [...]
HMV in pole position for MAMA takeover January 4, 2010 HMV is poised for a successful £46m takeover of MAMA Group after a rival offer hit the buffers. MAMA’s largest shareholder, Luxembourg-based investment firm SMS Finance, made a £38.3m bid for the music venues and festivals firm last month. SMS – the investment vehicle of Italian telecoms billionaire Silvio Scaglia – owns 29.8 per cent [...]
Private pensions system “in crisis” January 4, 2010 THE private pensions system is in crisis with virtually all final salary schemes now closed to new entrants, according to the Association of Consulting Actuaries (ACA). A survey of 309 employers by the ACA showed that 9 out of 10 defined benefit schemes have shut the door on new employees. The data also showed that 91 [...]
