Europe

Mayor of London Boris Johnson has secured a £600 million bond issue to help finance the city’s Crossrail project.

The bonds will be issued in association with Lloyds Bank Corporate Markets—the first time for 17 years that a local authority has gone to the capital markets for finance in this way.

The planned Crossrail rail route, the newest rail line in the country and the biggest single extension to the south-east network in half a century, will connect Maidenhead in Berkshire with Shenfield in Essex, passing through the West End and Canary Wharf.

UK telecommunications giant Vodafone has agreed to sell its 24.4 per cent interest in Polish telecoms operator Polkomtel for approximately €920 million.

Vodafone is selling its stake to investment vehicle Spartan Capital Holdings, which is controlled by Polish businessman Zygmunt Solorz-Zak.

The Newbury, Berkshire-based company said the sale underpinned its strategy to realise value from its non-controlled assets, adding that proceeds from the sale would be used to reduce its net debt.

Engineering powerhouse Siemens says it expects new orders to increase again in the third quarter of fiscal year 2011, driven by a major order in May for new ICx long-distance trains.

The company also anticipates a clear increase in revenue compared to the same period a year earlier.

“We're continuing to invest strongly in innovation and the expansion of our global market footprint,” said Siemens CFO Joe Kaeser at the Siemens Capital Market Day in Shanghai on Tuesday. “Our growth expectations have come along in the third quarter."

Nordic Mines has already sold some of the gold from its mine in Finland: Laiva will make Nordic one of Europe’s leading gold producers—and the timing couldn’t be better.

Chinese regulators have approved Diageo’s acquisition of an additional four per cent stake in Sichuan Chengdu Quanxing Group, a Chinese white spirits company.

The deal is worth £13 million, Diageo said.

Once completed, the four per cent transfer will bring Diageo’s holding in Quanxing to 53 per cent.

Diageo has agreed to facilitate financing for Quanxing of up to approximately £193 million for the development of its main business.

Offshore Marine Management is deftly responding to gaps in the market provided by the expansion of the renewable energy sector and the investment being poured into it, moving from human capital to project management to business critical support partner with proven offshore experience.

HMV Canada has been sold to British retail restructuring specialist Hilco UK for £2.05 million as part of HMV Group’s plans to reduce debt and secure its main business in the UK.

Hilco UK will also provide HMV Canada with up to C$25 million in working capital to fund the Canadian management team's plans for the continued evolution of the business.

A Chinese company has placed an order to purchase 582 Saab vehicles with a total value of €13 million from Saab Automobile, offering the company a short reprieve from its financial difficulties.

The order will allow the beleaguered car maker to pay its employees’ wages and make partial supplier payments.

Meanwhile, Swedish Automobile and Saab Automobile are continuing discussions with several parties in the hope of securing additional short-term funding to restart production.

The UK government has earmarked eight sites across the country as suitable locations for new nuclear power stations.

The announcement came as the government published its finalised Energy National Policy Statements (NPSs) for debate in parliament.

The Energy NPSs provide a framework for decision making and outline the need for a drive on investment in new energy sources, including 33GW of new renewable energy capacity.

The government hopes to have nuclear facilities up and running at the eight locations by 2025.

Stephan Vitus, project development manager of Icon Yachts, talks to Jayne Flannery about the radical new approach to building the iconic super yachts that the company has pioneered.