UK housebuilder Persimmon has reported a rise in sales reservations taken in the year to date of 12 per cent.

The company, which made the comments in a trading update released today, said that sales rates had previously been affected by uncertainty due to the UK’s planned austerity measures and particularly bad weather during November and December.

At the beginning of 2011, Persimmon had a sales order book of £565 million, lower than its £638 million of orders in January 2010. 

Anyone involved with computer networks will know that linking the various elements together doesn’t come easily; but Jeff Daniel looks at one organisation that makes it seem that way.

Study the progress of Dimension Data since its inception—which has been nothing short of meteoric—and you’ll see that it involves three parallel strands.

With many famous names in hospitality presenting uniformity in appearance and approach, Alan Swaby looks at one group of hotels that prides itself on offering superior service and hospitality from breathtaking locations.

Don’t you just love rags-to-riches stories? Well in this case, the story doesn’t exactly begin with ‘rags’—but it’s certainly a tale of a man who punched above his weight, was never afraid to take chances and continually seized every opportunity that came his way.

Jeff Daniels looks at one of Zimbabwe’s most successful companies operating in one of the country’s most important sectors.

Jürgen Hendrich, CEO and MD of MEO Australia, talks to Jayne Flannery about the importance of creative thinking to build shareholder and environmental value through the exploration and commercialisation of hydrocarbon resources.

Raghav Jindal, managing director of Jindal Drilling & Industries Limited, explains to Jayne Alverca why the company should be a preferred partner for international oil and gas corporations wishing to create a footprint in the Indian market.

With Eskom’s New Build Programme forging ahead, Jeff Daniel talks to Johan Bornman, acting general manager for Power Delivery Projects (PDP), the Eskom department responsible for the building and refurbishment of transmission lines and substations in South Africa.

With the global drive towards self-sufficiency picking up pace, Jeff Daniels looks at the efforts being made in Abu Dhabi to become self-reliant in reinforcing steel production.

For years now, Abu Dhabi has been the sand-pit for the world’s biggest names in architecture. There can’t be many other places on earth that can boast the variety and quantity of groundbreaking buildings as this Middle Eastern city. Look at the architectural magazines and it could be that even more wild and wonderful designs are yet to come.

Brewer SABMiller has revealed in its full year trading update that strong performances in Africa and Asia boosted overall results.

The London-based maker of Peroni and Grolsch said that revenues for the 12 months to 31 March 2011 grew by five per cent, with lager volumes rising by two per cent. Within this, lager volumes in Africa increased by 13 per cent and in Asia by eight per cent.

However Latin American volumes remained level with the previous year, and fell in Europe by three per cent.

April 20 marks the first anniversary of the BP oil disaster in the Gulf of Mexico—not an occasion for celebration, certainly, but an event that will live in many memories for a good few anniversaries yet.

A news conference will be held at Myrtle Grove Marina, Sulphur, Louisiana at 10.30am Central time in which speakers will urge Congress to dedicate fines collected under the Clean Water Act to restore degraded coastal wetlands.