Q & A : CVC’S ROYAL MAIL BID May 31, 2009 Q.WHAT IS CVC CAPITAL PARTNERS?A.CVC is one of the world’s biggest private equity houses with 19 offices across Europe, Asia and the US. Since its founding in 1981 it has snapped up stakes in department store chain Debenhams and Formula One Group among over 250 others. It is in line to buy Barclays’ iShares asset [...]
Ball demands ITV rights issue May 31, 2009 Former BSkyB boss Tony Ball has told ITV shareholders that he would insist on a rights issue and financial restructuring of the struggling broadcaster if he took the role of chief executive. Investors in the company have given the proposal a mixed reaction, though many are believed to want Ball at the helm of ITV.
PPF Partners launched May 31, 2009 Italian insurer Generali and Czech financial group PPF have launched a new private equity venture called PPF Partners. The new venture – which has already raised ¤615m (£537m) from Generali, PPF and PPF’s founder, Petr Kellner – will target central and eastern European investments. It has spent half the money on six assets transferred from [...]
Lloyds investors ponder law suit over HBOS deal May 31, 2009 A GROUP of small investors is preparing a legal campaign against the directors of Lloyds TSB over their takeover of HBOS, as the bank’s board faces up to a showdown at this Friday’s AGM. The UK Shareholders’ Association (UKSA) is sounding out more than a million small investors in Lloyds about a possible legal action [...]
GOING FOR GOLD May 31, 2009 HOLIDAY Inn, the hotel budget chain will today announce it is the official sponsor of the London 2012 Olympics. It is believed the commercial partnership is worth around £10m – half of which is cash and the other half is through the provision of hotel rooms in the capital. The InterContinental Hotel chain has already [...]
RAMSAY RUFFLES A FEW RIVAL FEATHERS May 31, 2009 AFTER years of back-stabbing and open mutual hatred, you’d have thought Gordon Ramsay would have checked his facts before starting a slanging match with arch rival Marco Pierre White. Both celebrity chefs have fed many a wealthy City mouth at the likes of Maze and Restaurant Gordon Ramsay and White’s Marco at Stamford Bridge and [...]
BILL OF THE WEEK May 31, 2009 CHINESE food has long been a favourite of City slickers in search of (relatively) cost-effective comfort food at the weekend, particularly when there’s no excuse to put the bill on expenses. So it was off to Goldfish in Hampstead last weekend for this group of well-heeled locals, who chowed down on crispy duck, wasabi prawns, [...]
Ashley enlists Harris for his Geordie exit May 31, 2009 SEYMOUR Pierce yesterday confirmed it had been appointed to achieve a rapid sale of Mike Ashley’s football club Newcastle United. Keith Harris, chairman of the City broker has advised on a number of football deals, including playing a pivotal role in selling Chelsea to the Russian tycoon Roman Abramovich in 2003. If the sale of [...]
House market enjoys some spring stability May 31, 2009 HOUSE prices remained stable for the first time in 20 months last month, according to the latest survey by Hometrack. House prices remained unchanged in May, compared to month on month declines since the housing slump. A combination of stronger sales volumes, continued buyer interest and a dwindling supply of property for sale has provided [...]
Surveys hint at slowish turnaround May 31, 2009 THIS week’s May purchasing managers’ indices (PMI) are expected to give a further boost to hopes of a recovery, with many economists now forecasting a return to positive growth in the second half of 2009, although they warn it will not be painless. All three PMIs are expected to show that the rate of contraction [...]