The Business Matrix: Tuesday 24 June 2014

BAE wins £70m deal from Navy

BAE has won a £70m contract from the Ministry of Defence to maintain Type 45 destroyers – the largest and most-powerful ships the Royal Navy has ever had – at Portsmouth and on operations in the UK. Yesterday’s two-year deal is in addition to BAE’s existing £22m contract to maintain the Navy’s four River Class vessels.

GE sale will save jobs, says Alstom

The boss of Alstom yesterday claimed the French engineer’s $17bn (£9.98bn) deal to sell most of its power generation business to US rival General Electric would save jobs and protect France’s national interests. Patrick Kron said the transaction was “a combination of Alstom’s qualities and GE’s economic strength”.

Top Right profits suffer downturn

Profits went south at Top Right Group, the media firm which was Emap. Profits before exceptional items fell by more than 2 per cent to £68.8m last year, its annual results showed yesterday. It blamed the sale of CAP Motor Research, which contributed £5m a year earlier. The events business saw its sales rise by 13 per cent.

Partnership staff go on Budget blow

Chancellor George Osborne’s Budget assault on annuities cost 100 employees of Partnership Assurance in London and Redhill, Surrey, their jobs. The annuities provider, which dropped out of the FTSE 250 last week, said yesterday that cutting almost 20 per cent of its workforce would help to achieve cost savings of £21m a year.

AA drives stellar Cenkos numbers

The listed brokerage Cenkos Securities made more money in the first half of the year than in the whole of last year. Cenkos revenues were boosted £30m by yesterday’s £1.4bn AA flotation, whereas total revenues last year were £43.2m. Chief executive Jim Durkin said the pipeline for deals remained “very strong”.

Firms stay put on election doubts

DeVono Property, an agent acting for commercial tenants in London, said enquiries for new offices in the last quarter were 20 per cent lower than a year earlier. Its survey of 300 clients found more than three-quarters blaming next year’s general election as the main reason for delaying moves.