Blackstone in $500m North Sea investment in Siccar Point Energy August 31, 2014 Blackstone’s top Wall Street energy guru drove through his first major deal yesterday since sweeping into the UK, as the private equity group said it would lead a half billion dollar investment in a new oil explorer and producer focused on the North Sea, Mustafa Siddiqui made the recent move to London to lead Blackstone’s [...]
UK’s top 100 law firms see profits soar above £6bn August 31, 2014 Profits at the top 100 law firms in the UK have soared to well over £6bn in the latest financial year, with more than 1,000 partners now earning over £1m annually. The top 100 law firms in the UK, comprising over 65,000 lawyers, saw revenue rise to over £20.8bn, up from £19.1bn in 2013, [...]
Two Australian firms join chase for Porterbrook August 31, 2014 Th leasing company that owns a third of trains running in the UK looks just the ticket for two Australian investment firms, as they are believed to have jumped on board the chase to buy railway rolling stock supplier Porterbrook. Porterbrook was founded in 1994 during the rail privatisation enacted by the Conservative government led [...]
Afren considers recouping cash from directors August 31, 2014 AFREN, the oil and gas explorer that has suspended a number of board members including its chief executive and operations chief over “unauthorised payments” from third parties, has revealed it may look to recoup some of the cash involved from directors. In its 2014 half year results, released last Friday after being delayed from the [...]
Ophir Energy cuts its board to reduce its costs August 28, 2014 FTSE 250-listed upstream oil and gas explorer Ophir Energy shook up its board yesterday with a major restructuring. It is seeking to cut costs across all levels of the organisation. The oil explorer, founded in 2004, will slim down its board, with the number of executive directors cut down to two from three currently, and [...]
Afren shares plummet as more board members are suspended August 28, 2014 THERE WAS more woe for oil and gas explorer Afren yesterday, as its share price plummeted nearly 10 per cent on news it had suspended two more board members. The new suspensions follow less than a month after it suspended its chief executive and operations chief, over an ongoing investigation into alleged “unauthorised payments”. Afren [...]
Petropavlovsk warning on sanctions risks August 28, 2014 LONDON-listed gold mining company Petropavlovsk yesterday saw its shares fall sharply after it warned that sanctions on Russia could have a “significant impact” on the group. The company said it had achieved record gold production in the first half of 2014. However, with some of its main lenders such as Russian banks VTB and SberBank [...]
Ofgem forecasts lower margins at energy firms August 28, 2014 UK ENERGY regulator Ofgem yesterday predicted that profit margins of the large suppliers would be lower over the coming year compared with previous estimates. Only a month ago, the watchdog had forecast that the biggest energy suppliers would double their profit margins over the next year. Ofgem’s latest supply market indicator report saw it cut [...]
Biggest deal ever for DCC as it buys French Esso petrol stations August 28, 2014 FTSE 250-listed support services group DCC announced its biggest deal in its history, as its energy division bought hundreds of petrol stations from Esso in France. It gives it a four per cent share of the local market. The deal is valued at €106m (£84m), with the acquired business estimated by DCC to provide annual [...]
Gulf Keystone staff to return to Kurdistan to boost production August 28, 2014 GULF Keystone, the oil and gas exploration company with operations focused in the Kurdistan region of Iraq, is looking to return more employees to the area as it believes the security situation has stabilised, as it seeks to ramp up production from its assets there. However, it warned that its production target for its major [...]
