Afren soars to two-year high after giant oil find in Nigeria November 19, 2013 SHARES in Africa-focused oil firm Afren soared yesterday after it said an exploration well in an under-explored offshore Nigerian basin had found far more oil than expected. Analysts at UBS called the discovery “giant”, adding it “looks to be one of the most important made in West Africa in recent history,” in a note sent to [...]
Thomas Cook sells forex business November 18, 2013 THOMAS Cook has sold its corporate foreign exchange business for £4.5m, as part of its continued drive to pay down debts and turn itself around. The travel firm announced yesterday it has offloaded Thomas Cook Corporate Foreign Exchange to Moneycorp, a rival operator owned by the Royal Bank of Scotland’s Special Opportunities Fund. However, it [...]
WS Atkins half-year profits rise 8.2 per cent on growth at home November 14, 2013 ENGINEERING consultancy WS Atkins yesterday posted an 8.2 per cent rise in underlying pre-tax profits for the first half of the year and a 12.2 per cent increase in revenue, boosted by a strong performance in the UK. The FTSE 250-listed firm has increased its dividend by five per cent and said its full-year outlook [...]
BBA Aviation says its jet business coasted along in the last quarter November 14, 2013 BBA AVIATION is finding it tough to sell more of its services to plane owners, with the third quarter of the year “marginally worse than anticipated”, though it remains upbeat about the coming year. The company, which offers refuelling, repairs and ground services to business jets, said revenues were up two per cent on the [...]
Broker ICAP’s profits slashed by Libor fine November 13, 2013 PROFITS at ICAP fell by more than 40 per cent in the first half of the year, the broker reported yesterday, thanks to a £54m Libor fine. Pre-tax profit came in at £40m, down from £68m in the same six-month period of last year. But the underlying picture was stronger – operating profits increased six [...]
BP signs a key oil trade deal with Rosneft November 12, 2013 RUSSIAN oil behemoth Rosneft said yesterday is plans to sell about $6bn (£3.7bn) worth of refined products to BP, establishing the British firm among its biggest buyers after years without any such deal. The latest transaction comes on top of a $5.3bn deal for BP to buy crude, agreed earlier this year. Both came only [...]
Workspace grabs slice of London tech market with Clerkenwell buy November 12, 2013 SMALL business landlord Workspace has snapped up an office block near Farringdon for £18.1m as it looks to tap into booming demand for space in the area from technology firms. Chief executive Jamie Hopkins said yesterday that the acquisition of Verulam House on Gray’s Inn Road, whose tenants include Tesco’s Blinkbox, marked its first major [...]
Admiral vehicle count rises in its third quarter November 12, 2013 MOTOR insurer Admiral Group said yesterday that the number of vehicles on its books increased three per cent in the third quarter of 2013. In a trading statement, Admiral’s chief executive Henry Engelhardt said the group vehicle count of 3.64m was lifted by expansion outside its core UK market. The international vehicle count rose by [...]
Slowing death rate pulls back Dignity growth November 12, 2013 A FALL in the number of people dying meant a slowdown in profit growth at the UK’s only listed undertaker Dignity last quarter, results showed yesterday. The UK’s death rate fell three per cent in the three months ending September, after a shock six per cent surge in deaths for the January to June period [...]
Sage Group picks new finance chief after three month vacancy November 12, 2013 SOFTWARE company Sage Group has appointed Steve Hare as its new finance chief (CFO), a role that has been covered by acting finance chief Darren Fisher after the company’s last executive left to join WANdisco in August. “Steve brings considerable finance and business expertise developed with global companies, augmented by operational experience gained with private [...]