A step towards Scottish independence? TV debate victory sees Yes camp narrow the gap September 1, 2014 The likelihood of Scotland breaking apart from the rest of the UK appears to have been significantly boosted by last week’s TV debate between First Minister Alex Salmond and ex-chancellor Alistair Darling. With just over a fortnight until Scotland goes to the polls, a shock survey published last night reveals a seven-point swing towards support for [...]
Blow for Boris as island airport is rejected September 1, 2014 LONDON Mayor Boris Johnson was dealt a blow last night after his plan for an island airport in east London was rejected by the Airports Commission. The Mayor’s transport advisor Daniel Moylan called the decision not to back the scheme, dubbed Boris Island, “shortsighted” but said the campaign to build a four-runway hub in the [...]
Phones 4u loses key Vodafone contract in 2015 September 1, 2014 High street mobile retailer Phones 4u saw the value of its debt, listed on the Irish stock exchange, plummet over 50 percentage points yesterday after Vodafone announced it would not renew its contract with the group. Vodafone, which accounted for 27 per cent of Phones 4u’s contract sales and 16 per cent of its pay [...]
A third of new KPMG partners women – but chair wants more September 1, 2014 Consultancy giant KPMG yesterday announced 52 new partners, pushing the total number over 600 and improving the firm’s gender balance at senior levels. A third of the new promotions are women – in comparison to only 15 per cent of KPMG’s existing partners. The firm said that it made particular efforts to bring in more [...]
Goldman Sachs faces BES losses September 1, 2014 GOLDMAN Sachs lent over £500m to Banco Espirito Santo (BES) just a month before the Portuguese government was forced to bail out the crisis-hit bank. The Wall Street bank bought up $835m (£503m) worth of the Portuguese lender’s bonds in July through a special investment vehicle, Oak Finance, with the intention of selling on the [...]
Quindell buys out RAC partner September 1, 2014 QUINDELL is poised to announce today that it is buying the RAC’s stake in a joint venture for black boxes in cars. The London-listed insurance claims processor, whose shares have slumped this year after criticism about its business model, will inform the stock market today that it is to take full control of Connected Car [...]
Perform Group mulling £700m takeover bid by Len Blavatnik September 1, 2014 Ukrainian-born billionaire Len Blavatnik’s investment group Access Industries said yesterday it is planning to buy out the remaining stake in Perform Group that it does not already control, in a deal that would value the London-listed internet sports distribution firm at £701.6m. Perform, which floated in 2011, saw its shares soar 26.35 per cent [...]
Tower Hamlets on top as London districts dominate high growth index September 1, 2014 Nine London boroughs are among the top 10 most dynamic local economies in the country, leading the rankings based on both their recent progress and potential. A report yesterday by accountancy network Grant Thornton ranked Tower Hamlets first on its high growth index, an analysis of the districts which have the strongest demographic and economic [...]
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 [...]