City rides to the £400m rescue of B&B July 4, 2008 Bradford & Bingley said last night its underwriters and other City institutions will back its £400m fundraising despite a dramatic decision by American private equity firm TPG to walk away from a deal after rating agency Moody’s cut the bank’s credit status. The move comes after Moody’s cut the cash-strapped bank’s rating to Baa1, giving [...]
There’s no business like l’eau business, but is it all just an expensive con? July 3, 2008 As more bottled water comes on the market, can anyone tell the difference? A time comes in the life of any product that it goes from being naff, to being promoted by a Beckham. Last week a story emerged – was it leaked, perhaps? – that David B, the model and sometime footballer, is to [...]
Apprentice boss Sugar to quit Amstrad July 3, 2008 Sir Alan Sugar, the entrepreneur and star of the BBC reality TV show The Apprentice, has stepped down as chairman of Amstrad, the electronics firm he founded at the tender age of 21. Though Sir Alan, now 61, said the move had been “planned for a while”, the self-made multi-millionaire is adamant he is not [...]
Co-op will vote against BSkyB at AGM November 2, 2005 Pay TV broadcaster BSkyB suffered a fresh blow to its share buyback plans after shareholder Co-operative Insurance Society (CIS) announced it would vote against the proposal at what is expected to be a stormy AGM this Friday. The insurer, which joins a growing list of institutional investors who have threatened to scupper the plan, said [...]
Brussels meddlers will ruin the Premiership October 28, 2005 The Barclays Premiership is widely regarded as the best football league in the world. A key ingredient of the Premier League’s success has been its ability to attract the top players. Top stars cost big bucks, and the money that the media companies have pumped in has helped the clubs to compete in the market [...]
Do the banks have a Plan B? October 28, 2005 Now that consumer spending is slowing down, the banking sector needs to look for new sources of growth. British banks have investors worried. Not because of their current profitability, which is healthy, but because a slowdown in the economy may hit this industry harder than most. The banking sector still continues to make profits. In [...]
Rosemont suffers in Katrina’s wake October 20, 2005 The fate of Goshawk’s subsidiary Rosemont Re was left hanging in the balance yesterday when its credit rating was cut. Ratings agency AM Best downgraded the insurer from A excellent to B fair, severely impairing the company’s ability to write new business. Rosemont Re has been severely hit by hurricane claims and shares in Goshawk [...]
Takeover bid for Easynet October 18, 2005 Easynet, the internet service provider, confirmed yesterday an approach by an unnamed bidder, widely believed to be BSkyB. When the London Stock Exchange opened, Easynet’s shares leaped 25 per cent on the news. The broadband operator is believed to be close to a deal with the Murdoch empire, for an offer price around £150m. It [...]
BSkyB makes its move into broadband October 17, 2005 Satellite broadcaster BSkyB is getting ready to make its play against cable rivals by acquiring high-speed internet provider Easynet this week for around £150m. The purchase will allow the broadcaster to offer what observers call the “triple play” of services into the home: broadband, video-ondemand and telephony, setting it in direct competition against rivals such [...]