The Business Matrix: Thursday 9 October 2014

VTB Capital buys 70% of Cavalli

VTB Capital has made a cash payment to secure a deal to buy most of the Italian fashion house Roberto Cavalli by the end of November, according to Reuters. The investment arm of the Russian lender VTB Bank will buy a 70 per cent stake in the Florentine company known for its colourful animal prints, which is valued at €400m.

Barclays in £12m Libor settlement

Barclays has agreed to pay nearly $20m (£12m) to resolve a US class action lawsuit accusing the bank of manipulating the Libor benchmark interest rate, according to court papers filed in New York. The proposed deal is the first such settlement of private litigation in the US against various banks accused of manipulating the rate.

Now FirstGroup loses ScotRail

Shares in the trains and buses operator FirstGroup tumbled by nearly 5 per cent after it admitted it has lost its ScotRail franchise, the fourth big contract it has lost out on this year. First will continue to run the £2.5bn franchise until April when the winner of the contract, the Dutch rail firm Abellio, takes over.

Sales cheer for Marston’s

The brewer and pubs company Marston’s said it made sound progress after annual sales in its premium pubs rose 3.1 per cent on the previous year. It opened 27 new pub-restaurants in the period, creating 1,350 jobs and including its 100th new-build opening since 2009. The rain hit sales in August but trade has since rebounded.

Bird strikes ruffle FastJet’s feathers

FastJet, the low-cost African airline backed by easyJet’s founder, Sir Stelios Haji-Ioannou, said its operations have been disrupted by an unusually high number of bird strikes in Tanzania. News of four strikes in a fortnight, causing delays and cancellations, weighed on FastJet’s London-listed shares.

Complaints land Three £250k fine

The telecoms regulator has fined the mobile network Three £250,000 for poor handling of customer complaints. An Ofcom investigation found that Three did not handle some customer complaints in a “fair and timely manner”, and had closed cases without establishing that they were fully resolved.

EE are all set for Sky challenge

The mobile phone operator EE is taking on Sky with its own set top box TV service. It has launched a service combining smart phone, tablet and TV called EE TV which will be free for its home broadband and landline customers and £9.95 a month for its mobile customers.

Jessops surfaces in Sainsbury’s

The Dragons’ Den judge Peter Jones has brokered a deal to open Jessops stores within Sainsbury’s supermarkets. The photography retailer, bought out of administration by Mr Jones last year, debuted at a Sainsbury’s store in Newport, south Wales, yesterday.

German growth forecast slashed

A group of leading economic institutes are expected to slash its forecasts for German economic growth to 1.3 per cent for this year and 1.2 per cent for 2015. The previous forecast was 1.9 per cent growth in 2014, and 2 per cent next year.

Pilot strike costs Air France €500m

Air France has warned that last month’s two-week pilot strike cost it €500m – more than a fifth of its forecast annual earnings. The airline said it lost €350m from lower takings on its own flights and buying customers tickets on rival carriers.