AUSTRALIAN – GREAT BRITAIN

Ramsay plays down Brexit risks as recovery starts to show

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Original article by Carrie LaFrenz
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 17 & 22 : 1-Mar-19

Ramsay Health Care has reported a 2018-19 interim net profit of $270.1 million, up 9.6 per cent, while revenue rose by 14.9 per cent to $5.12 billion. Meanwhile, CEO Craig McNally says its UK division is beginning to show some promising signs, although Brexit could pose some short-term challenges. Ramsay’s UK unit generates less than 10 per cent of the private hospital operator’s revenue. McNally says that staffing and supply would be the two biggest areas where Brexit would impact on its UK division.

CORPORATES
RAMSAY HEALTH CARE LIMITED – ASX RHC, CAPIO AB, MONTGOMERY INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT PTY LTD

Exiting Bunnings UK is the least bad outcome for Scott

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Original article by Sue Mitchell
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 17 : 13-Mar-18

The recent Arctic-like weather that afflicted the UK and Ireland was a mixed blessing for Wesfarmers’ struggling Bunnings business there. The inclement weather did not help its nursery operations, but it did lead to increased demand for products like sand, salt and snow shovels. The impact of the bad weather may extend the time needed for the strategic review that Wesfarmers CEO Rob Scott announced into Bunnings UK and Ireland in February to be completed. JP Morgan has concluded that it will cost Wesfarmers less to pull out of the UK and Ireland than it will for it to stay there.

CORPORATES
WESFARMERS LIMITED – ASX WES, BUNNINGS GROUP LIMITED, JP MORGAN AUSTRALIA LIMITED, WOOLWORTHS GROUP LIMITED – ASX WOW

US, Britain soak up cash

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Original article by David Uren
The Australian – Page: 28 : 27-Apr-17

Data shows that Australian foreign investment doubled in the 10 years to 2015, to $A534bn, and offshore investment now accounts for 32.4 per cent of GDP. The US tops the list of overseas investment destinations, at $A105bn, ahead of the UK ($A85bn). However, Andrew Parker of PwC notes that Asia accounts for only 10.9 per cent of Australia’s total foreign investment. A survey by PwC has found that Australia’s dividend imputation system is generally not regarded as a deterrent to investing in Asia.

CORPORATES
PRICEWATERHOUSECOOPERS AUSTRALIA (INTERNATIONAL) PTY LTD, COMMITTEE FOR ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT OF AUSTRALIA, STANDARD AND POOR’S ASX 200 INDEX, ASSOCIATION OF SOUTH-EAST ASIAN NATIONS

Unlockd secures deal with Tesco

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Original article by Paul Smith
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 27 : 10-Jun-16

Australian telco and mobile advertising group Unlockd has continued to expand globally, after securing a deal to supply its technology to Tesco Mobile in the UK. The deal with Tesco Mobile, which boasts some 4.6 million customers, includes content partnerships with Facebook and the British division of News Corporation. Unlockd CEO Matt Berriman says the company is enjoying monthly revenue growth of 75 per cent. It secured a deal with Sprint Telecom in the US earlier in 2016.

CORPORATES
UNLOCKD PTY LTD, TESCO MOBILE, FACEBOOK INCORPORATED, NEWS CORPORATION – ASX NWS, SPRINT TELECOM, LEBARA AUSTRALIA LIMITED, SEVEN GROUP HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX SVW, SPOTLESS GROUP HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX SPO, CARSALES.COM LIMITED – ASX CAR, SEEK LIMITED – ASX SEK, CITIBANK PTY LTD, TRANSURBAN GROUP LIMITED – ASX TCL, CATCH-OF-THE-DAY.COM.AU, BRITISH AIRWAYS PLC, McDONALD’S CORPORATION, BRANSTON, DORITOS

Investors wary of Wesfarmers’ Homebase bid

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Original article by Catie Low,{SPAC}Brian Robins
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 11 & 16 : 15-Jan-16

Wesfarmers plans to launch its Bunnings brand in the UK via the acquisition of the Homebase home improvement business from Home Retail Group for $A700m. Craig Young of Nikko Asset Management cautions that Wesfarmers may not able to replicate the success of Bunnings in the UK, noting that US-based Lowe’s has struggled in Australia with the Masters joint venture. He adds that Wesfarmers’ success in the UK will also depend on the quality of the management team it selects to run the business.

CORPORATES
WESFARMERS LIMITED – ASX WES,{SPAC}BUNNINGS GROUP LIMITED,{SPAC}HOMEBASE,{SPAC}HOME RETAIL GROUP PLC,{SPAC}NIKKO ASSET MANAGEMENT GROUP,{SPAC}LOWE’S COMPANIES INCORPORATED,{SPAC}MASTERS HOME IMPROVEMENT AUSTRALIA PTY LTD,{SPAC}WOOLWORTHS LIMITED – ASX WOW,{SPAC}WAL-MART STORES INCORPORATED,{SPAC}COLES GROUP LIMITED,{SPAC}J SAINSBURY PLC,{SPAC}ARGOS,{SPAC}ARMYTAGE PRIVATE LIMITED,{SPAC}KINGFISHER PLC,{SPAC}TRAVIS PERKINS PLC,{SPAC}JP MORGAN AND COMPANY INCORPORATED

Slater & Gordon takes $1b bet on fallen angel

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Original article by Jonathan Shapiro, Sarah Thompson, Anthony Macdonald
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 1 & 11 : 31-Mar-15

Australian-listed law firm Slater & Gordon will raise $A890m from investors to partially finance the acquisition of Quindell, a UK-based professional services firm. The $A1.2bn deal, which will also be partly financed via debt, will make Slater & Gordon one of Australia’s 100 largest listed companies. Matt Haupt of Wilson Asset Management notes that the deal will increase Slater & Gordon’s market share in the UK to 12 per cent

CORPORATES
SLATER AND GORDON LIMITED – ASX SGH, QUINDELL PLC, WILSON ASSET MANAGEMENT, MORGANS FINANCIAL LIMITED, NATIONAL AUSTRALIA BANK LIMITED – ASX NAB, WESTPAC BANKING CORPORATION – ASX WBC, PRICEWATERHOUSECOOPERS, ERNST AND YOUNG, LONDON STOCK EXCHANGE. ALTERNATIVE INVESTMENT MARKET

Sanitarium ups and goes to UK market

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Original article by Sue Mitchell
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 15 : 30-Jan-15

Australian food company Sanitarium hopes to capitalise on growth opportunities in the British liquid breakfast market. The group will sell its Up&Go product in UK supermarkets via a joint venture company called Life Health Foods UK. Up&Go’s share of Australia’s liquid breakfast market exceeds 90 per cent, and Sanitarium aims to gain more than 60 per cent of the UK market. Up&Go will compete with the rival product of UK-based Weetabix

CORPORATES
SANITARIUM HEALTH FOOD COMPANY, WEETABIX LIMITED, LIFE HEALTH FOODS UK, WINGATE ASSET MANAGEMENT PTY LTD, BRIGHT FOOD GROUP COMPANY LIMITED, SEVENTH DAY ADVENTIST CHURCH, TESCO PLC, KELLOGG (AUSTRALIA) PTY LTD, NESTLE AUSTRALIA LIMITED

Brambles invests $556m in UK firm

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Original article by Richard Gluyas
The Australian – Page: 26 : 10-Sep-14

Australian-listed logistics group Brambles has increased its presence in the UK with the acquisition of Ferguson Group for Stg320m ($A556m). Ferguson specialises in the supply of shipping containers to the offshore oil and gas sector, and boasted revenue of Stg56m and EBITDA of Stg30m in 2013. The acquisition will be funded entirely via debt

CORPORATES
BRAMBLES LIMITED – ASX BXB, FERGUSON GROUP LIMITED

Law of returns as Slater & Gordon hits $61m

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Original article by Chris Merritt
The Australian – Page: 21 : 13-Aug-14

Slater & Gordon has announced a 2013-14 full-year net profit increase of 47.2% to $A61.1m, on revenue that also rose 40.4% to reach $A418.5m. The 12-month distribution has been lifted 21.2%, with the final dividend up 29.9% to $A0.05 fully-franked. MD Andrew Grech says the Australian-listed law firm is seeing a strong contribution by the recently acquired UK businesses. It will also buy Nowicki Carbone and Schultz Toomey O’Brien in Victoria and Queensland respectively, later in 2014

CORPORATES
SLATER AND GORDON LIMITED – ASX SGH, NOWICKI CARBONE AND COMPANY, SCHULTZ TOOMEY O’BRIEN LAWYERS, TRILBY MISSO LAWYERS LIMITED

Iluka silent on Kenmare tilt

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Original article by Barry FitzGerald
The Australian – Page: 18 : 17-Jul-14

Australian-listed Iluka Resources has issued its production data for the quarter ending 30 June 2014, but the report did not make any mention of its takeover bid for UK-based Kenmare Resources. Iluka had recently been unveiled by the UK media as the suitor in a planned $A780m acquisition of Kenmare, which is attractive due to its Moma mineral sands mine in Mozambique. Iluka shares on 16 July closed 4% higher at $A8.53, as the output figures showed a year-on-year increase for zircon, rutile and synthetic rutile of 5.9% to 252,000 tonnes

CORPORATES
ILUKA RESOURCES LIMITED – ASX ILU, KENMARE RESOURCES PLC, ASX LIMITED – ASX ASX, M&G INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT LIMITED