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The Business Matrix: Wednesday 11 June 2014

 

Tuesday 10 June 2014 22:29 BST
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Ryanair raises €850m for bonds

Ryanair has borrowed €850m (£687m) at less than 2 per cent in its debut bond auction, opening a new source of funding that the budget carrier said would give it an advantage over rivals. The corporate bond, which will pay 1.875 per cent coupon, or interest, for seven years, will be listed on the Irish Stock Exchange.

Hamper orders jump 10% at Park

A return of confidence to shoppers saving for Christmas helped the hamper and gift-voucher provider Park Group to get in the festive mood yesterday as it revealed a 10 per cent jump in 2014 orders. The Christmas savings club said that “the ongoing recovery in the UK economy has a positive influence” for the coming year.

B&M float values chain at £2.8bn

The bargain store chain B&M has narrowed the price range for its London initial public offering to 260p-280p a share. The new guidance gives the company, which is chaired by Sir Terry Leahy and owned by the US private equity firm Clayton Dubilier & Rice, a market value of up to £2.8bn, just outside the FTSE 100.

Spirit hopes for World Cup run

The pubs group Spirit posted a 6 per cent rise in third-quarter sales at its managed bars as it hoped a strong performance from England in the World Cup would boost its key summer sales. The Fayre & Square and Chef & Brewer chain’s owner earns a third of its annual profits in the fourth quarter of its financial year.

Angelides quits for Abercrombie

Christos Angelides, the right-hand man of the Next chief executive Lord Wolfson, has left his job as the retailer’s product director to join Abercrombie & Fitch as head of its childrenswear division. Mr Angelides had worked for Next for 28 years. and will start at the US retailer in October.

BP using drones to check pipelines

BP has been authorised to use drones to survey pipelines and other infrastructure on Alaska’s North Slope, the first commercial drone flights over land. AeroVironment started flying its Puma AE drone to survey BP’s equipment at Prudhoe Bay on Sunday, US authorities revealed yesterday.

Palladium shares in shining form

Palladium jumped to its highest level in nearly three-and-a-half years, while platinum also rallied after talks to resolve a five-month strike in top producer South Africa collapsed. Impala Platinum said it “has exhausted all its financial means” in its wage offer.

Cartel to leave oil output unchanged

Ministers at the oil cartel Opec are expected to leave their output targets unchanged at 30 million barrels a day when they meet in Vienna today. The group has benefited from the loss of Libyan production, which has helped keep the price of crude above $100 a barrel.

New Life for Coca-Cola in UK

Coca-Cola is to launch its first Coke drink in the UK in more than eight years. The low-calorie Coca-Cola Life is sweetened with sugar and the plant extract stevia. The drink was trialled in Chile and Argentina and will be on sale in the UK in September.

Fuller’s buys lion’s share of The Stable

The brewer Fuller’s has acquired a 51 per cent share in The Stable, a pizza and craft cider chain with six sites across the South-west for £7.3m. The founders, Richard and Nikki Cooper, will continue to run the business they started in 2006.

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