Carluccios shares soar after restaurant chain agrees Landmark Group takeover

Carluccios shares soared 44% after the Italian restaurant chain said it agreed to be taken over Landmark group, a Dubai-based retail firm, for £90.3m.

The deal valued Carluccios shares at 142p in cash, sending the stock 43p higher to to 138.6p.

London restaurant entrepreneur Richard Caring is the company’s largest shareholder with a 12% stake. Caring, who has also owned the Strada and Belgo chains, as well as Annabel’s club in London, ranked number 146 on the 2009 Sunday Times Rich List, with a fortune in excess of £350m.

David Bernstein, Carluccio’s Senior Independent Director said in a statement: “The Offer from C1 represents an excellent opportunity for all those involved with Carluccio’s. For our Shareholders, it represents an attractive premium, in cash, at a time of continued macro-economic uncertainty. For our employees, it represents the opportunity to benefit from belonging to an international organisation of enlarged scale and breadth. Our customers will, however, see no change in our focus on quality, value, authenticity and the highest standards of service.”

Carluccios shares soar after restaurant chain agrees Landmark Group takeover

Carluccios shares soared 44% after the Italian restaurant chain said it agreed to be taken over Landmark group, a Dubai-based retail firm, for £90.3m.

The deal valued Carluccios shares at 142p in cash, sending the stock 43p higher to to 138.6p.

London restaurant entrepreneur Richard Caring is the company’s largest shareholder with a 12% stake. Caring, who has also owned the Strada and Belgo chains, as well as Annabel’s club in London, ranked number 146 on the 2009 Sunday Times Rich List, with a fortune in excess of £350m.

David Bernstein, Carluccio’s Senior Independent Director said in a statement: “The Offer from C1 represents an excellent opportunity for all those involved with Carluccio’s. For our Shareholders, it represents an attractive premium, in cash, at a time of continued macro-economic uncertainty. For our employees, it represents the opportunity to benefit from belonging to an international organisation of enlarged scale and breadth. Our customers will, however, see no change in our focus on quality, value, authenticity and the highest standards of service.”

Carluccios shares soar after restaurant chain agrees Landmark Group takeover

Carluccios shares soared 44% after the Italian restaurant chain said it agreed to be taken over Landmark group, a Dubai-based retail firm, for £90.3m.

The deal valued Carluccios shares at 142p in cash, sending the stock 43p higher to to 138.6p.

London restaurant entrepreneur Richard Caring is the company’s largest shareholder with a 12% stake. Caring, who has also owned the Strada and Belgo chains, as well as Annabel’s club in London, ranked number 146 on the 2009 Sunday Times Rich List, with a fortune in excess of £350m.

David Bernstein, Carluccio’s Senior Independent Director said in a statement: “The Offer from C1 represents an excellent opportunity for all those involved with Carluccio’s. For our Shareholders, it represents an attractive premium, in cash, at a time of continued macro-economic uncertainty. For our employees, it represents the opportunity to benefit from belonging to an international organisation of enlarged scale and breadth. Our customers will, however, see no change in our focus on quality, value, authenticity and the highest standards of service.”

Not even M&A activity can lift gloomy markets

European shares failed to keep the optimism that fuelled Wednesday’s rally, and stayed subdued ahead of more economic data from the US.

The FTSE 100 Index barely added 4 points to 5,371, while Germany’s DAX practically didn’t move to stay at 6,083 points and the CAC40 added 0.2% to 3,631 points in Paris.

Man Group led risers in London with a 4%, or 12.2p jump to 225.7p after Numis Securities recommended the shares.

British software maker Autonomy soared 85p, pr 5.2%, to £17.16p on speculation that the company could be the target of a takeover bid. Traders cited US software giants such as Microsoft and Oracle as possible bidders, but company officials did not return calls seeking comment.

Shares in Royal Bank of Scotland rose after the bank confirmed it plans to axe 3,500 jobs in the UK. The stock rose 0.8% to 46.1p as investors cheered the news on hopes that the cuts will lift profits at the tax-payer owned lender. The government owns 84% of RBS after the bank had to be bailed-out last year following multi-billion pound losses.

Carluccios shares jumped 47% after the Italian restaurant chain said it agreed to be taken over Landmark group, a Dubai-based retail firm, for £90.3m. The deal valued Carluccios shares at 142p in cash, sending the stock 45p higher to to 136.2p. London restaurant entrepreneur Richard Caring is the company’s largest shareholder with a 12% stake. Caring has also owned the Strada and Belgo chains, as well as Annabel’s club in London.

Markets were also flat as more gloomy economic data pushed down hopes of a pacey economic recovery. Nationwide Building Society said UK house prices fell the most in six months in August. The average home price fell 0.9% from July to £166,507, the mortgage lender said.

The pessimistic outlook on the economy sent gold prices higher to $1,250 an ounce. Investors have recently poured money into commodity and precious metals funds to avoid roller-coaster equity markets. Inflows into precious metal funds reached $550m over the past four weeks, said ETF Securities, one of the largest providers of Exchange Traded Funds. “Flows into gold ETPs rose at an unprecedented pace, with ETF Securities seeing gold ETC assets rise almost $3bn to $11.4bn,” the fund company said. Global physically-backed gold fund assets soared to $83bn, up $18bn, in the first half, ETF said.

Not even M&A activity can lift gloomy markets

European shares failed to keep the optimism that fuelled Wednesday’s rally, and stayed subdued ahead of more economic data from the US.

The FTSE 100 Index barely added 4 points to 5,371, while Germany’s DAX practically didn’t move to stay at 6,083 points and the CAC40 added 0.2% to 3,631 points in Paris.

Man Group led risers in London with a 4%, or 12.2p jump to 225.7p after Numis Securities recommended the shares.

British software maker Autonomy soared 85p, pr 5.2%, to £17.16p on speculation that the company could be the target of a takeover bid. Traders cited US software giants such as Microsoft and Oracle as possible bidders, but company officials did not return calls seeking comment.

Shares in Royal Bank of Scotland rose after the bank confirmed it plans to axe 3,500 jobs in the UK. The stock rose 0.8% to 46.1p as investors cheered the news on hopes that the cuts will lift profits at the tax-payer owned lender. The government owns 84% of RBS after the bank had to be bailed-out last year following multi-billion pound losses.

Carluccios shares jumped 47% after the Italian restaurant chain said it agreed to be taken over Landmark group, a Dubai-based retail firm, for £90.3m. The deal valued Carluccios shares at 142p in cash, sending the stock 45p higher to to 136.2p. London restaurant entrepreneur Richard Caring is the company’s largest shareholder with a 12% stake. Caring has also owned the Strada and Belgo chains, as well as Annabel’s club in London.

Markets were also flat as more gloomy economic data pushed down hopes of a pacey economic recovery. Nationwide Building Society said UK house prices fell the most in six months in August. The average home price fell 0.9% from July to £166,507, the mortgage lender said.

The pessimistic outlook on the economy sent gold prices higher to $1,250 an ounce. Investors have recently poured money into commodity and precious metals funds to avoid roller-coaster equity markets. Inflows into precious metal funds reached $550m over the past four weeks, said ETF Securities, one of the largest providers of Exchange Traded Funds. “Flows into gold ETPs rose at an unprecedented pace, with ETF Securities seeing gold ETC assets rise almost $3bn to $11.4bn,” the fund company said. Global physically-backed gold fund assets soared to $83bn, up $18bn, in the first half, ETF said.

Not even M&A activity can lift gloomy markets

European shares failed to keep the optimism that fuelled Wednesday’s rally, and stayed subdued ahead of more economic data from the US.

The FTSE 100 Index barely added 4 points to 5,371, while Germany’s DAX practically didn’t move to stay at 6,083 points and the CAC40 added 0.2% to 3,631 points in Paris.

Man Group led risers in London with a 4%, or 12.2p jump to 225.7p after Numis Securities recommended the shares.

British software maker Autonomy soared 85p, pr 5.2%, to £17.16p on speculation that the company could be the target of a takeover bid. Traders cited US software giants such as Microsoft and Oracle as possible bidders, but company officials did not return calls seeking comment.

Shares in Royal Bank of Scotland rose after the bank confirmed it plans to axe 3,500 jobs in the UK. The stock rose 0.8% to 46.1p as investors cheered the news on hopes that the cuts will lift profits at the tax-payer owned lender. The government owns 84% of RBS after the bank had to be bailed-out last year following multi-billion pound losses.

Carluccios shares jumped 47% after the Italian restaurant chain said it agreed to be taken over Landmark group, a Dubai-based retail firm, for £90.3m. The deal valued Carluccios shares at 142p in cash, sending the stock 45p higher to to 136.2p. London restaurant entrepreneur Richard Caring is the company’s largest shareholder with a 12% stake. Caring has also owned the Strada and Belgo chains, as well as Annabel’s club in London.

Markets were also flat as more gloomy economic data pushed down hopes of a pacey economic recovery. Nationwide Building Society said UK house prices fell the most in six months in August. The average home price fell 0.9% from July to £166,507, the mortgage lender said.

The pessimistic outlook on the economy sent gold prices higher to $1,250 an ounce. Investors have recently poured money into commodity and precious metals funds to avoid roller-coaster equity markets. Inflows into precious metal funds reached $550m over the past four weeks, said ETF Securities, one of the largest providers of Exchange Traded Funds. “Flows into gold ETPs rose at an unprecedented pace, with ETF Securities seeing gold ETC assets rise almost $3bn to $11.4bn,” the fund company said. Global physically-backed gold fund assets soared to $83bn, up $18bn, in the first half, ETF said.

US economy sheds half as many jobs as expected

Markets were cheered this afternoon by much better-than-expected US non-farm payrolls data, which showed the economy lost just 54,000 jobst in August, half as many as feared.

Wall Street had been expecting a fall of 100,000. July’s drop of 131,000 has also been revised to a drop of 54,000. Employment has been falling for three months now but the picture is now far less gloomy than previously thought.

The FTSE 100 index in London, which was trading up about 30 points before the figures were released in the US, climbed more than 67 points to 5437.88, a gain of 1.24%. US stock index futures rose as well.

The figures will calm nerves at a time when many fear the US economy could slide back into recession. Economic growth slowed sharply in the second quarter.

US economy sheds half as many jobs as expected

Markets were cheered this afternoon by much better-than-expected US non-farm payrolls data, which showed the economy lost just 54,000 jobst in August, half as many as feared.

Wall Street had been expecting a fall of 100,000. July’s drop of 131,000 has also been revised to a drop of 54,000. Employment has been falling for three months now but the picture is now far less gloomy than previously thought.

The FTSE 100 index in London, which was trading up about 30 points before the figures were released in the US, climbed more than 67 points to 5437.88, a gain of 1.24%. US stock index futures rose as well.

The figures will calm nerves at a time when many fear the US economy could slide back into recession. Economic growth slowed sharply in the second quarter.

US economy sheds half as many jobs as expected

Markets were cheered this afternoon by much better-than-expected US non-farm payrolls data, which showed the economy lost just 54,000 jobst in August, half as many as feared.

Wall Street had been expecting a fall of 100,000. July’s drop of 131,000 has also been revised to a drop of 54,000. Employment has been falling for three months now but the picture is now far less gloomy than previously thought.

The FTSE 100 index in London, which was trading up about 30 points before the figures were released in the US, climbed more than 67 points to 5437.88, a gain of 1.24%. US stock index futures rose as well.

The figures will calm nerves at a time when many fear the US economy could slide back into recession. Economic growth slowed sharply in the second quarter.

Gloom returns to markets after average house price drops

Bad economic news returned the market, reversing yesterday’s euphoric tone and bringing back fears of a protracted slump.

The FTSE-100 Index barely moved 2 points to 5,368 at 9:30am after Nationwide Building Society said UK house prices fell the most in six months in August. The average home price fell 0.9% from July to £166,507, the mortgage lender said. The fall has lowered the annual gain from last year to 3.9%, the weakest pace since November.

Richard Hatch, head of residential at property consultancy Carter Jonas said: “Last year, there was a major disconnect between the property market and the economy. House prices rose at a rate that was simply unsustainable and a degree of correction was always on the cards. An increase in the number of properties for sale, specifically at the lower end of the market, is diluting demand and seasonal factors will have added to that downward pressure in recent months.”

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