News

Your daily news update straight from the City PM newsroom in London

Innocent ravaged in downturn after smoothie sales fall

November 8, 2009

Smoothie maker Innocent, which sold a minority stake to drinks giant Coca-Cola in April, fell into the red last year due to falling sales. The group reported a pre-tax loss of £11.2m for the year ending 31 December 2008, compared to a profit of £12m the year before. Innocent did not report a dividend, compared [...]
Wagamama halts expansion

November 8, 2009

Wagamama, the canteen-style noodle bar chain, has said that it has temporarily halted its expansion plans, but is set to resume openings in the spring after a robust financial performance. The Japanese restaurant chain, which has 65 restaurants, said operating profits jumped 75 per cent to £7.1m for the year to April 2009 on sales [...]
Scottish & Southern consortium

November 8, 2009

Utility group Scottish and Southern Energy has joined with Borealis, the Canadian infrastructure firm to form a consortium to bid for Britain’s biggest electricity network. The consortium has hired Credit Suisse and RBC Capital Markets as advisers on the £4bn auction.
Icelandic bank is investigated

November 8, 2009

Iceland’s financial watchdog is investigating allegations of market manipulation at fallen bank Glitnir. The Icelandic bank was one of the first to collapse in the credit crunch. It is now facing a probe into whether it loaned money to third parties to buy its own shares. Fellow Icelandic bank Kaupthing has faced a similar inquiry. [...]
Unilever sales surge but no Cadbury bid

November 5, 2009

CONSUMER goods giant Unilever yesterday beat City forecasts with a 3.6 per cent rise in third-quarter underlying volume sales, and ruled out launching a bid for confectionary group Cadbury. News of a potential candidate ruling itself out of a bidding war will not help matters for Cadbury who may have been counting on a white [...]
Charles Stanley bullish as it returns to pre-crash levels

November 5, 2009

STOCKBROKER Charles Stanley yesterday posted a 6.8 per cent increase in its first-half pre-tax profit and gave a bullish outlook for the rest of the year. The independent broker said it was back to “pre-Lehman Brothers” levels of performance, driven by an increase in income from its Private Client division and the benefit of recent [...]
BEST OF THE BROKERS

November 5, 2009

BBA AVIATIONPanmure Gordon raised its rating on BBA Aviation to “buy”, from “hold”, saying that it looks as if a long-awaited broad-based recovery in the US business jet market may have begun. The broker raised its target price from 155p to 190p to anticipate the US recovery and to take advantage of a recent retreat [...]
Segro reports market stability

November 5, 2009

Segro Europe’s largest industrial landlord said yesterday its capital values have stabilised in the UK while lettings and lease renewals for the nine months ended in September settled at 6.7 per cent below valuers’ estimated rental values. Segro, which bought rival Brixton in August, reported that its vacancy rate excluding the Brixton portfolio improved from [...]
Rok results to meet forecasts

November 5, 2009

Property repair and maintenance specialist Rok said yesterday that its full year results are in line with expectations. The firm saw success in having won 48 new appointments in 2009, totalling over £700m to underpin its future revenues. The group said it would focus on its strategy of favouring of higher margin, lower risk contracts.
Soco says it’s robust financially

November 5, 2009

Soco International reported yesterday that its balance sheet remains strong with a cash and liquid investment balance of over $310m (£187m). Soco is exploring offshore in the Republic of Congo and onshore in the Democratic Republic of Congo, as well as planning a 12-month exploration programme in the Cuu Long basin off Vietnam starting in [...]