Cement giants outline £25bn merger April 7, 2014 THE WORLD’S two largest cement companies yesterday confirmed their plans to merge, outlining £4bn of divestments in an attempt to assuage competition concerns. France’s Lafarge and Swiss firm Holcim unveiled a share-for-share deal, which would create a self-proclaimed “merger of equals” with sales of €32bn (£26.5bn) and core earnings of €6.5bn. Bruno Lafont, chairman and [...]
Irish pharma giant joins deal bonanza April 7, 2014 IRISH-based pharmaceutical giant Mallinckrodt joined the merger frenzy yesterday by announcing it will buy drugmaker Questcor Pharmaceuticals for around $5.6bn (£3.37bn). The US firm, which has headquarters in Dublin, was keen to gain access to Questcor’s multiple sclerosis drug, Acthar Gel, which is forecast to hit sales of $1bn this year and $1.9bn by 2018. [...]
Architects reveal Battersea Power Station designs April 7, 2014 ARCHITECTS Frank Gehry and Norman Foster unveiled their designs yesterday for the next phase of development at Battersea Power Station that will include 1,300 homes and a new high street forming the gateway to the landmark building. It will be the first building in London for the Canadian-American Gehry, whose works include the Guggenheim Museum [...]
Candy & Candy returns to profit as One Hyde Park demand rises April 7, 2014 CANDY & Candy (C&C), the management and design arm of Nick and Christian Candy’s property empire, has swung back into profit after suffering a loss last financial year. Accounts for the year ending June 2013 showed profit before tax of £326,718, compared with a £46,899 loss in 2012. The firm attributed the change to “an [...]
Developers to partner on £90m Canary Wharf residential tower April 7, 2014 RESIDENTIAL developers One Housing Group and Mount Anvil have joined forces to create 121 new homes at Dollar Bay, a new 31-storey tower in Canary Wharf. Mount Anvil said yesterday that it had bought the site from rival developer Londonewcastle on Friday via its recently formed joint venture with Ares Management. The £90m waterfront scheme [...]
Fund firms may face action over advice failings April 7, 2014 TWO FINANCE companies could face tough penalties after the City watchdog uncovered “egregious failings” in charges levied on customers for financial advice. The unnamed firms, a financial advisory and wealth manager, are likely to be referred by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) to its internal enforcement division after a probe found large swathes of the [...]
Troubled Co-op Bank delays publishing its finances again April 7, 2014 THE CO-OP Bank needs more time to piece together its financial results, the lender said yesterday, as it studies the detail of its latest capital hole. New boss Niall Booker had already pushed the publication of the results back to 8 April, but yesterday had to move it back again to 11 April. Last month [...]
Global watchdog tells banks to work on culture towards risks April 7, 2014 BANK bosses should set the tone towards risk-taking in their firms and make sure all staff stick to it, the Financial Stability Board (FSB) said yesterday. The group of international regulators is concerned that senior managers say the right things on risk-taking but that the culture among staff overall is not cohesive enough to stick to those [...]
Obituary Peaches Geldof 1989-2014 April 7, 2014 Peaches Geldof, second daughter of Band Aid founder and musician Bob Geldof, has died aged 25, leaving a husband and two sons. Police, who were called to her home in Kent yesterday said the death was being treated as “non-suspicious but unexplained”. The writer and TV presenter was married to musician Thomas Cohen, with whom [...]
Recruiter Walters sees lengthy skills shortage April 7, 2014 CUTS TO graduate recruitment during the recession have led to a shortage of qualified professionals that is set to continue for the next few years, according to recruiter Robert Walters. The white collar jobs firm, which yesterday posted an 11 per cent in net fee income to £48.1m for the first three months of the [...]