Banking drives profits higher at Close Brothers
22nd Sep 2015 07:45
(ShareCast News) - Merchant banking group Close Brothers said full-year operating profit before tax rose to £219.9m from £188.8m. Attributable profit increased to £185.7m from £149.8m last time. Profit from continuing operations was up to £174.5m from £145.6m The group said it remains well position
Read moreChallenger banks reportedly request extension to Funding for Lending scheme
11th Sep 2015 12:52
(ShareCast News) - Challenger banks have reportedly requested an extension to the government's flagship industry funding scheme during a meeting at which they expressed their anger over Chancellor George Osborne's plans for an 8% Corporate Tax surcharge on profits of more than £25m. According to Sky
Read moreBroker tips: Regus, Home Retail, Close Brothers
25th Aug 2015 16:25
(ShareCast News) - Analysts at Investec upped their rating for Regus from 'hold' to 'buy' after the office space provider more than doubled its interim pre-tax profit. Shares in Regus were up by 8.43% to 271.20p at 1507 BST after the office provider said return on investment had improved to 23.1% fr
Read moreNumis upgrades Close Brothers Group despite market concerns
25th Aug 2015 13:52
(ShareCast News) - Analysts at Numis upgraded merchant bank Close Brothers Group to 'add' from 'hold' and said the bank was largely unaffected by market concerns such as rising US rates and weakness in China. Numis dropped its price target for the bank to 1540p from 1545p but said it upped its recom
Read moreRBC starts Close Brothers at 'sector perform'
29th Jun 2015 12:28
RBC Capital Markets initiated coverage of Close Brothers at 'sector perform' with a 1,600p price target. The brokerage said a strong brand name and prudent management of the business have delivered consistent returns over the cycle. However, growth is moderating, said RBC. "The shares are trading a
Read moreLondon open: Vodafone, HSBC and miners lead UK stocks higher
22nd May 2015 08:41
UK stocks opened higher on Friday morning and were on track to hit a two-week high ahead of another busy day for economic data. The FTSE 100 was trading up 0.41% at 7,042.57 early on, helped by decent gains from blue chips Vodafone and HSBC and the heavyweight mining sector. The index has not close
Read moreClose Brothers benefits from renewed investor risk appetite and property loan demand
22nd May 2015 07:24
Merchant bank Close Brothers enjoyed a good third quarter's trading as investor risk appetite returned and its core banking division booked a solid performance. Demand for property, asset finance and a seasonal improvement in motor finance helped the core banking division retain a stable net interes
Read moreFriday broker round-up
20th Mar 2015 15:33
Asos: Citi reiterates neutral. TSB Banking: Numis reiterates hold and 340p target. Aviva: Nomura reiterates buy and lifts target to 690p from 650p. WPP: Morgan Stanley reiterates buy and raises target to 1,625p from 1,400p. Tullow Oil: Barclays reiterates overweight and 550p target. William Hill
Read moreThursday broker round-up
12th Mar 2015 17:30
Asos: Cannacord Genuity raises target to 3,250p from 2,520p and reiterates hold. Cambian Group: Cannacord Genuity lifts target to 311p from 294p and reiterates buy. BP: JP Morgan raises target to 410p from 400p and reiterates underweight. Royal Dutch Shell: Investec reiterates hold. Supergroup: C
Read moreWednesday tips round-up: Prudential, Close Brothers
11th Mar 2015 12:40
Whoever replaces Tidjane Thiam at the helm of Prudential will have a tough act to follow, but he should stick to the game plan. Since being brought on board Thiam managed to constantly confound those who doubted the rationale behind the strategic direction on which he set out. Nonetheless, he manage
Read moreClose Brothers profits ahead of expectations thanks to strong banking division
10th Mar 2015 08:38
Close Brothers reported strong half year results driven by a good performance from its banking division. Despite difficult market conditions in its Winterflood Securities business, the banking division reported positive profit growth thanks to strong loan book growth and lower impairments. The bank
Read moreClose Bros' performance steady despite challenging market conditions
23rd Jan 2015 07:10
Banking group Close Brothers said its banking and asset management divisions performed well in the five months to 31 December, but its securities business struggled. The banking division's loan book grew steadily in the period, growing 4% to £5.5bn, while the number of assets under management rose 2
Read moreClose Brothers confident after strong banking results
20th Nov 2014 09:50
UK merchant bank Close Brothers reported that strong performance in banking had offset challenging market conditions in the firm's securities division. After releasing results for the three month period ended 31 October on Thursday, the company reported that its Winterflood security business had bee
Read moreLondon pre-open: Volatile trading expected to continue ahead of Chinese GDP
20th Oct 2014 07:16
UK stocks are expected to get Monday's session off to a positive start following a rally in the US on Friday, but analysts have warned last week's volatility may well run into this one. City sources predict the FTSE 100 will open around 24 points higher than Friday's close of 6,310.29. "It looks li
Read moreClose Brothers sells German securities business for £36m
20th Oct 2014 07:06
Close Brothers has sold its German securities business, Close Brothers Seydler Bank, for a cash consideration of £36m. The proceeds will be reinvested in the merchant banking group's core businesses of lending, wealth management and securities trading in the UK. Close Brothers expected to record an
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