Legal & General buys Marston’s headquarters and pubs for £35m February 9, 2016 Legal and General has snapped up Marston's headquarters as well as a portfolio of pubs for £34.6m, in another example of buoyant M&A activity in the sector. The pension fund manager said its property arm LGP has completed a sale and leaseback of seven Marston's pubs for £25.32m, reflecting a net initial yield of 4.15 per cent. Read more: Pubs [...]
Ascential floats on the London market at 200p per share, giving welcome relief to Guardian Media Group February 9, 2016 Ascential, the magazine and events business that runs the Cannes Lions advertising festival and publishes Retail Week, has floated on the London market at 200p a share. The valuation gives the company, which is owned by Guardian Media Group a and private equity group Apax, a market cap of around £800m. They remain the largest [...]
New Look third quarter sales jump as menswear stores prove a hit with shoppers February 9, 2016 New Look has shrugged off a tough Christmas trading period to post a jump in sales over the quarter, boosted by its website and the expansion of its new menswear standalone stores. The fashion retailer said revenue grew by 5.6 per cent in the three months to 26 December, taking revenues to £1.18bn for the year to date. Pre-tax profits rose by 38.9 per cent to £87.9m. [...]
Sophos Group share price drops despite double digit like-for-like revenue growth in third quarter February 9, 2016 Shares in Sophos Group dropped this morning despite the company achieving double digit revenue growth in its third quarter. The cybersecurity company, which floated on the London stock exchange last July, today reported revenue of $121.4m (£83.9m) for its three months ended December 2015, up 11.9 per cent on a constant currency basis compared to $115.9m the year before. [...]
Cuadrilla launches appeal to frack for shale gas in Lancashire February 9, 2016 Energy firm Cuadrilla simply won't take frack off for an answer. It's beginning its appeal today against Lancashire council, who rejected two of its planning applications last June to frack for shale gas on the Fylde Coast. The hearing is expected to last five weeks and will take place at Blackpool Football Club's conference suite. [...]
Diageo sells last US wine asset Chalone Estate Vineyard to Foley Family Wines February 9, 2016 Diageo has sold off its last significant US wine assets, completing the sale of the Chalone Estate Vineyard in California. The FTSE-listed drinks giant has sold the US winery to Foley Family Wines, in a sale that doesn’t just include the Chalone Estate and Gavilian brands but also nearly 1,000 acres of land. “Chalone Estate [...]
Icap shares fall after third-quarter revenue slumps due to challenging market conditions February 9, 2016 Interdealer broker Icap saw its share price dip this morning after revealing a five per cent slump in third-quarter revenue. The company, which is plowing ahead with the sale of its voice broking business to rival Tullet Prebon, blamed “challenging” market conditions and said “risk appetite remains subdued amongst our clients as they continue to [...]
Housebuilder Redrow’s share price stutters despite record first-half results February 9, 2016 Redrow's first-half results bulldozed through a number of records as the housebuilder's revenue, profit and order book all reached new highs. The FTSE 250 firm's share price spiked 3.3 per cent higher in early trading before slumping 1.8 per cent lower to 414.60p. However, despite some share price volatility (unsurprising bearing in mind the wider [...]
Legal & General Group share price up after insurer reveals bond portfolio position to help calm nervous investors February 9, 2016 Shares in Legal & General opened higher this morning after the insurer disclosed its annuity bond position. Following questions from investors and sell side analysts, the company revealed that the bond portfolio backing its annuity business was valued at roughly £39bn, down slightly compared to £40.7bn the year before. Legal & General also revealed that, in [...]
Tui share price down even as the travel group smashes sales forecasts despite geopolitical turbulence February 9, 2016 Tui’s sales smashed expectations, shrugging off the impact of geopolitical turbulence, and the travel group reiterated its full-year outlook. The figures The German-listed group posted sales of €3.7bn in the quarter ending 31 December, a 5.4 per cent growth that beat analysts’ forecasts of around €3.68bn. Earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation improved three [...]
