All change at the top as companies reshuffle their boardrooms September 1, 2014 TWO TOP NISA EXECUTIVES TO DEPART Convenience store group Nisa said yesterday that two of its most senior executives are to leave the business. Chief executive Neil Turton is stepping down in spring next year after 23 years with Nisa for a role at a “non-competing business.” Chief operating officer Amanda Jones is also leaving [...]
Barclays’ Spanish sell-off gets positive response despite loss September 1, 2014 BARCLAYS was given a generally positive response from analysts and shareholders yesterday to the sale of most of its Spanish arm, as the bank pursues a major restructuring including disposal of non-core assets. Spain’s third largest bank Caixabank will pay €800m for parts of Barclays Spanish business, but Barclays revealed it will make a £500m [...]
Growth slips to lowest in a year for UK factories September 1, 2014 BRITISH manufacturers reported the slowest growth in more than a year for August, hinting at a slowdown for the UK’s economic recovery in the second half of the year. Markit and the Chartered Institute of Purchasing & Supply’s purchasing managers’ index fell to just 52.5, the firms said yesterday. Although the figure is above the [...]
Italy and France’s manufacturers signal shrinkage as Europe slows September 1, 2014 MANUFACTURING firms in two of the largest Eurozone economies are shrinking, according to Markit’s latest purchasing managers’ index (PMI) data. France’s reading came in at 46.9 for August, and Italy’s at 49.8, both below the neutral 50 level. While Spain and Germany’s scores are higher at 52.8 and 51.4 respectively, both have fallen in recent [...]
Size of Help to Buy mortgages getting smaller September 1, 2014 The average size of a Help to Buy mortgage is falling, with the typical loan now nearly £10,000 lower than the limit imposed by one of Britain’s biggest banks. According to Mortgage Advice Bureau (MAB), the average Help to Buy loan now runs to £140,138, down by more than £6,000 from the average in May. [...]
Neil Woodford dumps entire HSBC holding September 1, 2014 Neil Woodford, one of the City’s top performing fund managers, has sold his entire stake in HSBC just 16 months after buying into the group. Woodford sold his holding due to the rising number of fines HSBC faced, a trend he dubbed fine inflation. He bought the shares in May 2013. HSBC was fined $1.9bn [...]
London housing market is back to normal, says Berkeley chair September 1, 2014 HOUSE builder Berkeley’s chairman Tony Pidgley has said that London’s housing market is “stabilising”, in a trading update. “Since the start of the current financial year, the market has reverted to normal transaction levels from the high point in 2013, providing a stable operating environment. Demand for the right product with good design in the [...]
Whitbread boss takes seat on Dunelm board September 1, 2014 DUNELM Group, the out-of-town specialist homeware retailer, yesterday added the boss of Whitbread to its boardroom. Andy Harrison, who has been at the helm of the Costa Coffee owner since 2010, was named as a non-executive director earlier this year and formally took up his seat on the board yesterday. Harrison, a former chief executive [...]
British Land gets full house at Regent’s Place after Guinness Partnership takes 10 year lease September 1, 2014 PROPERTY giant British Land said yesterday that its 13-acre Regent’s Place campus near Euston station is now fully let after securing The Guinness Partnership as a tenant. Regent’s Place was completed last summer and is made up of a cluster of buildings let to firms including Debenhams, Santander, Manchester City Football Club and Facebook. British [...]
Microchip willing to offer cash to sweeten CSR takeover offer September 1, 2014 MICROCHIP Technology, the US maker of memory and analog chips, has sweetened its bidding for British microchip firm CSR by revealing it is likely to pay cash for the firm should a deal be agreed. CSR confirmed it had knocked back a takeover approach from its US rival last week, saying Microchip would have to [...]