Host Brandreth outshines the gong winners March 28, 2014 LONDON’S share price heroes were out in force last night at the KPMG UK Stock Market Awards but there wasn’t a winner in the room that could make as much of an impression as host Gyles Brandreth did as he blustered his way through the gong list. Brandreth mistook absent EasyJet boss Carolyn McCall (travel [...]
Bosses have rough night out to raise Action for Children funds March 28, 2014 CITY workers passing through Paternoster Square last night were met with the curious sight of camping equipment being prepared inside a steel fence. Not the return of the Occupy camp, but the inaugural CEO Sleepout, where 13 executives agreed to spend the night to raise money for Action for Children. The intrepid bosses were offered [...]
Rusal disrupts Metal Exchange warehouse plan March 28, 2014 THE LONDON Metal Exchange’s reforms suffered a major setback yesterday, after a court agreed with Russian aluminium producer Rusal that plans to cut warehouse queues were “unfair and unlawful”. The world’s largest metals exchange said it is taking legal advice on whether to appeal the London high court’s decision. The court ruled in favour of [...]
Battersea Power Station flats to be sold with £1m-plus price tag March 28, 2014 A SLICE of Battersea Power Station will set homebuyers back a cool £800,000 for a studio and £4m for a four bedroom flat, developers of the landmark building revealed today ahead of their launch in May. Battersea Power Station Development Company, which was set up by its Malaysian owners, plans to build 254 flats ranging [...]
Aldermore names Glyn Jones chair March 28, 2014 Challenger bank Aldermore yesterday named former Coutts and Standard Chartered banker Glyn Jones as its new chairman. Aldermore was founded in 2009 and has established itself as one of the more credible newcomers taking on high street players. Jones fills a void left after David Arculus stepped down as Aldermore chairman in July, leaving director [...]
Babcock slides on rights issue to buy Avincis March 28, 2014 BABCOCK International’s share price plummeted yesterday, after the engineering firm announced a £1.1bn rights issue to fund the acquisition of heavily indebted helicopter services company Avincis. The FTSE 100 company said it is buying Avincis for £920m from private equity firms Investindustrial and KKR, but will also assume Avincis’ debt of £705m. The deal will [...]
EasyJet agrees growth deal with Gatwick March 28, 2014 EASYJET has agreed to launch more flights at Gatwick as part of a deal on fees, forcing a reshuffle for other airlines at the airport. The budget carrier has signed a seven-year settlement that “incentivises the airline to grow at the airport”. The agreement means EasyJet will move its flights into the north terminal, in [...]
Summer season brightens sales at Thomas Cook March 28, 2014 HOLIDAY operator Thomas Cook yesterday said it had enjoyed a pick-up in summer bookings in the second quarter of the year but warned that holiday-goers opting to go on shorter breaks had caused average prices to fall. The 173-year-old travel group said that 50 per cent of summer holidays had already been sold – one [...]
Jaeger boosted by further £7.5m investment from Better Capital March 28, 2014 JAEGER, the high end fashion brand and retailer, has received an additional £7.5m investment from its private equity owners Better Capital it announced yesterday. The investment comes two years after Better Capital bought Jaeger out of administration after a difficult autumn and winter in 2011 hurt sales. “We have a clear strategic and creative vision [...]
Crossrail extends to reading March 28, 2014 LONDON’S new east-west railway will run to Reading, the Department for Transport announced yesterday, giving the Berkshire town more direct links to the capital. Crossrail, which opens fully in 2019, was originally intended to terminate at Maidenhead, but will now take in two extra stops in the west.