City news in brief: Clapham House, Fortis
A round-up of the shorter City news stories from the Evening Standard, including Clapham House, Iberdrola, building societies, Fortis and Warren Buffett
Tasty profits: Gourmet Burger's owner Clapham House reported 30% a profits jump today
Gourmet Burger owner's sales soar
Restaurants owner Clapham House today reported a 30% jump in profits but warned rising food and energy prices were causing a headache at a time when households are reluctant to splash out.
The firm, which has 98 restaurants including Gourmet Burger Kitchen, Tootsies, The Real Greek and The Bombay Bicycle Club, reported profits of £4.7m for last year after revenues rose 30% to £59.5m.
Iberdrola buys stake in explorer Petroceltic
Iberdrola , the Spanish electricity giant which owns Scottish Power, has taken a 22% stake in the Aim-listed explorer Petroceltic International. Iberdrola is paying $55m (£28m) for the stake in Petroceltic, which is developing gas projects in Algeria, a country that has become strategically important as Europe seeks new large sources of supply.
Building societies flee industry forum
Building societies are planning a mass defection from the Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML) because they feel their voices are being drowned out by the big four banks which now account for 95% of all new house lending. The societies are expected to shift their mortgage data back to the Building Societies Association that spawned the CML 19 years ago as several societies demutualised.
Russian tycoon pours £315m into Fortis
Financial services group Fortis has been given a $630m (£315.9m) capital injection from Russian billionaire Suleiman Kerimov, according to reports.
Fortis raised §1.5bn (£1.2bn) from a heavily discounted share issue last week. Kerimov, listed number 35 on Forbes' World's Richest People List, has invested through his Swiss vehicle, Millennium Group.
Chinese investor's $2m Buffett lunch
A chinese investment fund manager has won the auction for lunch with legendary investor Warren Buffett after a record bid of $2.1m (£1m). Zhao Danyang, of Hong Kong-based Pure Heart China Growth Investment Fund, will dine with Buffett in New York when the two men can schedule it. The money will go to the Glide Foundation which helps the poor in California.
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