Mears FY profit up 27%
15th Mar 2011 07:41
Social housing provider Mears posted a 27% rise in annual operating profit following a string of contract wins and a good performance in its social housing and care home division. Operating profit, before exceptional items and pre amortisation of acquisition intangibles, rose to £31.3m for the yea
Read moreTuesday preview: Shell, Debenhams, G4S, FOMC
14th Mar 2011 16:22
The strategic review by oil giant Royal Dutch Shell is likely to take centre stage on Tuesday. "2011 remains a transition year for Shell on the way to the 'sweet spot' of 2012, when its mega-projects will be on stream," suggests Credit Suisse. The broker reckons the things to look out for will be
Read moreWednesday tips round-up: Arm, Computacenter, RSA...
12th Jan 2011 06:59
The roster of ARM-based devices is, quite simply, astonishing. Name a fancy gizmo and chances are that it draws upon ARM's know-how in one way or another. iPads, iPhones, the Blackberry Bold - all feature ARM technology. The other day, Microsoft said it was going to launch a new version of Windows
Read moreMears upbeat after spending review
2nd Nov 2010 08:13
Rival Connaught's demise and the implications of the comprehensive spending review have given social housing group Mears 'unprecedented levels of opportunity', it claimed today. Mears took over a number of contracts from Connaught when it failed and these will cost it a £0.6m charge this year. Othe
Read moreSmall caps round-up: Mears, BowLeven, Telecom Plus...
1st Oct 2010 11:56
Social housing repairs and maintenance group, Mears, has paid £2.7m for Jackson Lloyd (JL), which mends houses in the North West. JL has an order book in excess of £80m and Mears expects the purchase to be earnings enhancing by the end of next year. Oil explorer Bowleven has agreed a revised optio
Read moreMears and British Gas in energy efficiency drive
21st Sep 2010 08:05
Mears and British Gas have joined forces to help improve the energy efficiency of 500,000 council and housing association properties. The two firms will combine to use the funding opportunities under the Carbon Emissions Reduction Target (CERT) and the Community Energy Savings Programme (CESP) to
Read moreMonday newspaper round-up: Basel III, BAE Systems, Connaught...
13th Sep 2010 06:34
Financial regulators have reached a deal to force global banks to double the spare cash they hold in the biggest shake-up since the economic crisis nearly brought down the system, the Telegraph reports. The new rules, to be phased in between 2015 and 2018, demand that banks hold 4.5% of common equi
Read more2nd UPDATE: Connaught Shares Plummet On Covenant Breach News
26th Jul 2010 12:41
(Adds further analyst comments, details. Rewrites throughout.) By Rachael Gormley Of DOW JONES NEWSWIRES LONDON (Dow Jones)--Shares in U.K. support services firm Connaught PLC (CNT.LN) plummeted 77% Monday after it warned it will breach its banking covenants and its year-end net debt will
Read moreMARKET TALK: Execution Starts Nine UK Support Services Stocks
12th Jul 2010 10:39
0939 GMT [Dow Jones] Execution Noble initiates coverage on nine UK support services stocks. Starts Babcock International (BAB.LN), eaga (EAGA.LN), Mears Group (MER.LN), Serco Group (SRP.LN) and WSP (WSH.LN) at buy. Starts WS Atkins (ATK.LN) and Connaught (CNT.LN) at hold. Begins Capita Group (CPI.L
Read moreUK MARKET TALK ROUNDUP: BROKERS COMMENTS
8th Jul 2010 07:58
Broker comments in the UK today. Compiled by Dow Jones Newswires Markets Desk, [email protected] Contact us in London. +44-20-7842-9464 [email protected] 0658 GMT [Dow Jones] HSBC initiates coverage of European business services stocks. Says there has been some considerable vola
Read moreMARKET TALK: HSBC Starts European Business Services Stocks
8th Jul 2010 07:58
0658 GMT [Dow Jones] HSBC initiates coverage of European business services stocks. Says there has been some considerable volatility in the sector as investors wrestle with recession, the speed of the recovery and the possibility of a relapse in demand. "Through the clamour of much macroeconomic nois
Read moreConnaught's share slides continues
29th Jun 2010 13:27
Shares in Connaught continued to slide on Tuesday, having fallen by a third on Friday and another third yesterday. The shares are currently down around 19% at 109.60p. Connaught's shares started their descent on Friday after the social housing firm lowered its estimates for this year and next year
Read moreLondon close: Miners lift Footsie
28th Jun 2010 16:24
London's top stocks ended Monday's trading session with modest gains thanks to strong mining stocks. Footsie traded in and out of the blue during the day, largely mirroring the performance of BP's share price. The massive clean-up operation in the Gulf of Mexico continues and has now cost BP $2.65
Read moreUK SMALLCAP ROUNDUP: Regal Petroleum In Ukraine Govt Talks
28th Jun 2010 16:00
Dow Jones smallcap news is on Twitter, allowing you to catch up on the news away from your desk. Go to http://twitter.com/DJ_UK_Smallcaps REGAL PETROLEUM PLC (RPT.LN), an oil and gas exploration and production group, said Monday it is in talks with the Ukrainian government over the legality of
Read moreLondon afternoon: Miners prop up Footsie
28th Jun 2010 14:16
The Footsie has been in retreat since shortly after ten this morning and dipped back into the red over the lunchtime session before limping back into positive territory, helped by the strength of mining stocks. The Footsie's performance largely mirrors that of the share price of oil giant BP, which
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