Europe

Google has been named as the company UK adults most want to work for—with rival Apple coming a close second.

In a survey carried out of more than 2,133 UK adults by research and consulting organisation YouGov for Croner, Google was named 81 times and Apple 80 times as the most desirable companies to work for.

High-profile UK companies also featuring in participants’ responses included John Lewis (72 mentions), Virgin (62 mentions) and the BBC (55 mentions). The NHS also featured high on the list.

China Investment Corporation (CIC) has acquired an 8.68 per cent stake in Thames Water, the UK water and sewerage company.

The purchase is the Chinese sovereign wealth fund’s first in the UK, and comes after George Osborne's visit to China this week, where he urged China to invest in UK infrastructure projects.

The price CIC paid for the stake has not been disclosed.

CIC was set up in 2007 to make strategic investments using China’s £2 trillion of foreign exchange reserves.

A survey released today has revealed that despite falling business optimism, companies in the UK are spending more on their marketing activities in an effort to ward off competition.

The latest IPA Bellwether survey published today showed that marketing budgets were revised up in Q4 for a second successive quarter.

Netherlands-based construction and infrastructure specialist Ballast Nedam has won a €25 million contract for expansion works at a refinery in Suriname.

Expansion works to double the processing capacity at Tout Lui Faut Refinery to 15,000 barrels a day are due to commence in April. Staatsolie Maatschappij Suriname, the state oil company of Suriname, has awarded Ballast Nedam the general civil and steel piling works contract for the project.

French electronics manufacturing services (EMS) company Asteelflash has announced the acquisition of the American EMS company, Catalyst Manufacturing Services Inc., based on the East Coast of the United States and in Mexico.

Asteelflash is already established on the west coast of the United States, and this acquisition extends its presence in North America, adding three production sites in Owego (New York), Raleigh (North Carolina) and Tijuana (Mexico).

Ensor Holdings has announced its acquisition of Technocover, the Wales-based manufacturer, supplier and installer of security products.

Technocover's products are used for the protection of critical national infrastructure assets operated by UK and European utility companies within the water, energy, communication and transportation sectors.

Ensor said it believes Technocover’s services to government-driven national security initiatives demonstrate resistance to recessionary pressures.

Swiss onboard products and services provider gategroup has won a contract with Virgin Atlantic Airways to provide end-to-end catering services for the airline's long-haul operations from the UK.

The agreement, worth CHF40 million to CHF50 million per annum, is for services on Virgin’s flights from London Heathrow, London Gatwick, Manchester and Glasgow. The contract will take effect from June 1 this year for three years, with an option to extend for a further two years.

UK infrastructure developer Aeternum has revealed plans to develop an energy park near Blackburn in Lancashire, as well as new residential housing.

The company has acquired the 118-acre site of the former Sappi Paper Mill in Feniscowles to the south-west of Blackburn, which it will develop alongside sites at Castleford and Bromborough for mixed use (using the existing attributes of its power station, reservoirs and brownfield land where the mills were situated), together with new homes within the borough.

Swiss food giant Nestlé has announced a RMB 2.5 billion investment in China’s milk district.

The mayor of Shuangcheng, Mao Chen, and Nestlé’s director of Production Technology for the Greater China Region, Zhan Yudong, have signed a memorandum of understanding to jointly develop modern dairy farming in the milk district.

The aim of the agreement is to ensure the district becomes China’s benchmark for best practice in dairy farming and management, Nestlé said.