Business news in brief 16/04/2012

Lingo24 announces million–dollar deal

Edinburgh-based translations company Lingo24 has announced a major new American contract. Founder and CEO Christian Arno said: “The initial phase, worth $1 million, will take six months to complete … subsequent phases will be worth up to $6m.”

Lingo24’s existing clients include MTV, American Express and Orange. Its Turnover in 2011 was £6.5 million; projected turnover for 2012 is £8 million.

‘Olympic effect’ boosts Carlton

CARLTON Books, official publisher for books related to this summer’s Olympic Games, has revealed the benefits of the appointment, with first-quarter sales up 28 per cent on the same quarter of 2011.

Jonathan Goodman, chairman, said: “The Olympic effect is fantastic and of a magnitude not seen before.”

Carlton made a profit of £1.5 million on sales of £15.8m last year.

African miner looks to London for cash

A BAUXITE mining company from Africa is set to launch a $200 million (£126m) flotation on London’s Alternative Investment Market this week.

Guinea’s Alufer Mining is raising $40m to complete a feasibility study for its Bel Air mine, which it estimates could produce up to ten million tonnes a year.

Guinea has a third of the world’s reserves of bauxite, the raw material for aluminium.

Strong rebound for Goldman profits

GOLDMAN Sachs, the US investment bank, will tomorrow unveil the highest profits it has made in a year, benefiting from the European Central Bank’s moves to ease the eurozone sovereign debt crisis.

Goldman is expected to make a first quarter profit of $1.8bn (£1.1bn), powered by a strong fixed-income performance. It is well down on the $2.74bn from the first quarter of 2011, but a strong rebound from the $1bn in the final quarter of last year.

Virgin Atlantic to appeal BA–BMI deal

VIRGIN Atlantic boss Sir Richard Branson is to appeal against the proposed British Airways acquisition of BMI.

It comes after the European Commission approved BA’s acquisition of loss-making BMI from Germany’s Lufthansa in “just 35 working days”, Branson said at the weekend.

The £172.5 million deal will mean BA holds 54 per cent of the take off and landing slots at Heathrow.

Clarke in talks over fresh appointment

MARTIN Clarke, one of the UK’s best-known private equity dealmakers, who sits on the board of retailer New Look, is said to be in talks to join an advisory boutique set up by one of his former colleagues.

Clarke, formerly with private equity group Permira, is in discussions with Phillipe Robert about joining OceanBridge Partners. Robert, a co-founder of OceanBridge, previously ran Permira’s French business.