Boden readies for foreign shores September 20, 2009 Boden, the catalogue retailer best known for selling middle class Britons their weekend clothes, is understood to be preparing for expansion into Europe. The privately-owned firm – headed by founder and 60 per cent shareholder Johnnie Boden – is eyeing openings in Belgium, the Netherlands, Luxembourg, Scandinavia, France and Switzerland. Boden posted a 9.5 per [...]
Boost for Chorion’s characters September 20, 2009 Chorion, the owner of children’s brands Noddy, Mr Men and Agatha Christie’s Poirot and Miss Marple, posted a 63 percent rise in annual earnings as the company said consumers turned to familiar characters in turbulent times. “We’ve noticed a drift from new to classic,” chairman Waheed Alli told Reuters in an interview. “People are looking [...]
Osborne hits out at Labour over tax row September 20, 2009 SHADOW chancellor George Osborne was last night at the centre of a row with Labour and the Treasury after he accused the party of hiding a £14bn “income tax bombshell”. He released what he called “secret” figures from the treasury, showing a 3p in the pound income tax hike over future years. But MPs hit [...]
JP Morgan moots Cazenove buyout September 20, 2009 JP MORGAN and its joint venture partner Cazenove are understood to be weighing up an agreement that would see Cazenove sell its interest in the company to the US bank. Under the terms of the deal that saw Cazenove and JPMorgan Chase launch the venture in 2005, JPMorgan has an option to call, and Cazenove [...]
Ball wants bumper ITV pay packet September 20, 2009 Former BSkyB chief Tony Ball is locked in talks with ITV over the remuneration package he has been offered to succeed Michael Grade as chief executive at the broadcaster. Ball is understood to be demanding a pay deal worth up to £30m, including share options back-dated to when he was first touted as a candidate [...]
Julius Baer spurns ING unit September 20, 2009 Julius Baer has looked at the private banking assets Dutch bank ING is putting up for sale but is not interested for the moment, the Swiss bank’s chief executive said yesterday. Boris Collardi told an Italian newspaper that the bank was not close to a deal for the units, but said his firm would remain [...]
Pepsi’s Michael White retires September 20, 2009 Veteran Pepsi executive Michael White is retiring from the company by the end of the year. The 57-year-old vice chairman, board director and head of international businesses, was described by chairman and chief executive Indra Nooyi as her “closest partner” in running the snack and beverage giant. White has played a major role in key [...]
CLEGG’S HOME TAX September 20, 2009 Liberal Democrat leader Nick Clegg has unveiled plans to hit million-pound home owners with a tax system overhaul. He said yesterday the rich in society had benefited from rising property prices and dodging taxes. He wants to tax those in high-cost homes and put the money towards tax cuts for low and middle income homes.
Songbird wins founder stake September 20, 2009 Canary Wharf founder Paul Reichmann has dumped his stake in Canary Wharf, marking the end of his 22-year chaotic involvement with the Docklands site. Songbird Estates on Friday said that it had upped its shareholding from 60.8 per cent to 69.3 per cent. Reichmann originally owned the stake, but Songbird purchased it from Commerzbank after [...]
Kraft boss to jet into London to begin the charm offensive September 20, 2009 Irene Rosenfeld, Kraft’s determined chief executive, is set to jet in to London this week in a bid to convince institutional shareholders to support the group’s proposed takeover of British confectionery firm Cadbury. Rosenfeld, ranked as the sixth most powerful woman in the world by Forbes magazine for the past two years, will hold a [...]