Energy giant SSE races to find suitor for £1bn retail arm. Big six energy supplier SSE (SSE) is racing to find a suitor for its £1bn retail arm just months after merger talks with rival Npower collapsed. Sources told Sky News over the weekend that SSE is trying to find a buyer for its retail business and has been in talks with telecoms supplier TalkTalk Telecom Group (TALK) about a potential tie-up in recent weeks. However the chances of a deal going ahead with TalkTalk are understood to be slim, leaving SSE reaching out to other utility providers about a potential deal. It is not clear who else the company has held discussions with. TalkTalk declined to comment while SSE did not respond at the time of writing.
TalkTalk Telecom Group (TALK) Sir Charles Dunstone kicks off £1bn fundraising bid to challenge BT Group (BT.A) in ultrafast broadband infrastructure market. Sir Charles Dunstone is attempting to raise £1bn from international investors to bankroll a new ultra-fast broadband network to challenge BT. The billionaire founder of Carphone Warehouse is backing plans to raise £400m in equity and £600m in debt for FibreNation, an infrastructure venture by his broadband operator TalkTalk. City sources said a formal process is due to begin in the next few weeks and that dozens of funds had expressed interest. Ultra-fast broadband, based on new fibre-optic cables, has become a hot area of investment, in part due to BT’s cautious approach.
HSBC lays claim to Arcadia’s cash as Sir Philip Green battles to secure creditors’ support for restructuring. Arcadia has called on a lender to underpin its supply chain as Sir Philip Green attempts a restructuring of his empire, starting as soon as this week. HSBC Holdings (HSBA) has agreed to act as a guarantor to Arcadia, which has been forced to pay suppliers in advance since credit insurers withdrew support earlier this year. Both parties declined to comment on the deal. The retailer, which owns Topshop, Miss Selfridge, Wallis and Dorothy Perkins, is still working on persuading landlords to back its plans for store closures and rent cuts under a Company Voluntary Arrangement (CVA), a form of financial restructuring.
Sainsbury’s faces further decline as Asda failure piles pressure on Coupe. Sainsbury (J) (SBRY) bosses are scrambling this weekend to put the finishing touches to a revival of the supermarket after a failed £10bn merger with Asda. Chief executive Mike Coupe faces a City grilling on Wednesday over how he will run the chain as a standalone business. He spent the last year insisting it had to join Asda, to compete with German discounters Aldi and Lidl. Sainsbury’s is under pressure to strip out costs and plough the savings into price cuts to stem the decline in its market share. Since Mr Coupe triumphantly unveiled the Asda plan, Sainsbury’s has become the worst performer of the “Big Four” supermarkets.
Questor: it is clear that there is momentum behind Man Group (EMG). The shares are a buy. Questor share tip: the hedge fund manager is better protected from the rise of passive investing than most rivals
