SPANISH infrastructure firm Ferrovial is selling part of its stake in British airport operator BAA to Qatar’s sovereign wealth fund.
The company said yesterday that it would sell off 10.6 per cent of BAA’s holding company for €607 million (£480m), leaving it with a stake of just under 40 per cent.
Qatar Holding, a unit of the Gulf Arab state’s sovereign wealth fund, will end up owning 20 per cent of BAA, which runs Aberdeen and Glasgow airports in Scotland. The firm was forced to sell Edinburgh Airport this year on competition grounds.
Expansys wins Orange contract
Mobile network firm Expansys has won a contract to handle online mobile top-ups for Orange in the UK.
Expansys said its Buckinghamshire-based e-commerce division PJMedia will take on the account to provide top-up services to pre-pay customers of Orange, which is owned by Everything Everywhere in the UK.
Sportswear giant on the front foot
Sports footwear retailer Foot Locker’s results have beaten Wall Street estimates for eight quarters in a row as more customers flocked to the company’s stores.
The global retailer, which sells branded shoes of Adidas, Nike and Reebok, has better managed its stock levels over the past few quarters and has benefited from new and eye-catching designs of sports gear.
EU trade surplus hits record high
Increased exports to emerging markets saw the eurozone’s trade surplus increase sharply to 14.9bn euros (£11.7bn) in June, up from 200 million euros a year ago.
The surplus was the highest since the European Union’s statistics body Eurostat began collecting data in 1999.
Germany, the Netherlands and Republic of Ireland recorded the biggest surpluses among the 17-member euro area.