Ministers to reveal high speed rail link winner October 31, 2010 THE government is this week set to unveil the winner of a contest to buy the high-speed rail link from London to the Channel Tunnel for up to £2bn. Ministers will pick one of four consortia vying for the 68-mile line, used by Eurostar trains between London St Pancras, Paris and Brussels as well as high-speed [...]
Focus owners seek financial help or a sale October 31, 2010 THE owners of the UK’s fourth-largest DIY chain Focus are looking to investment bankers to advise on the future of the heavily debt laden business, which could lead to a sale. US based private equity firm Cerberus is taking advice from Lazard on the future of Focus, and is in talks with its banks about [...]
Robbie and pumpkins: clearly we’re not broke October 31, 2010 THANK God it’s Monday. It’s nice to get back to the doom and gloom of untradeable equity markets, the melting dollar and on-going sovereign debt disasters. So much better than the nonsense of the past couple of days, which included spending a load of money on Halloween rubbish for the kids and phoning up Ticketmaster [...]
Germany to simplify tax rules by 2012 October 31, 2010 GERMANY could simplify its tax rules by 2012 to allow the public to file a tax declaration every other year instead of annually, Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble said in a radio interview yesterday. Cutting taxes and simplifying the complex rules were central pledges of the ruling centre-right’s coalition reform agenda but doubts about scope for [...]
CITY MOVES | WHO’S SWITCHING JOBS October 31, 2010 Marriott Harrison The City law firm has taken on Hadleigh Graves as a partner in its media and technology practice. Graves was previously a partner at music specialist law firm Statham Gill Davies and also an M&A and private equity lawyer at Ashurst. He has particular expertise in music industry-based M&A and joint ventures, as [...]
BEST OF THE BROKERS October 31, 2010 CENTRICA S&P continues to rate the utility a “strong buy” with a 12-month target price of 385p. The broker believes the shares are good value, despite ongoing competition in the UK energy supply market, and that the firm’s trading update on 17 November will show a continued strong performance, particularly in the US. AGGREKO UBS [...]
M&S looks to Europe again October 31, 2010 MARKS & Spencer (M&S) is reportedly planning an ambitious return to continental Europe by buying back the stores it left almost ten years ago. The retailer is believed to be holding discussions with Spanish chain El Corte Ingles about taking back some of the nine stores it sold in 2001. M&S is also believed to [...]
MGM creditor deal gives 007 licence to film October 31, 2010 THE creditors behind MGM studios have voted in favour of a new deal which puts Spyglass Entertainment at the helm. The deal will enable the Hollywood filmmaker to proceed with the production of the latest James Bond film, which had been mothballed due to failure to secure a sale of the studio. More than half [...]
Hands’ EMI payout capped October 31, 2010 TERRA Firma boss Guy Hands will only receive a quarter of the compensation he is seeking from Citigroup if his legal action is successful. A New York Judge has ruled Hands can receive no more than $2bn (£1.25bn) in his case against the bank, which he says misled him into overpaying for his ill-fated EMI [...]
Royal Mail set to trial an evening delivery service October 31, 2010 EVENING deliveries are being trialled by Royal Mail, as the post operator looks to offer consumers more choice over the way they receive goods purchased online. London homes within the M25 motorway will be eligible for the new service, which enables shoppers at selected retailers to ask for items to be delivered between 6pm and [...]