Lords defy Darling on pensions June 21, 2009 Chancellor Alistair Darling will face harsh criticism over his plans to tax pension provisions, with the publication of a report by the House of Lords economic affairs committee this week. The committee, led by Lord Vallance, will say that the plans outlined in the chancellor’s Budget, will affect far more people than the chancellor has [...]
How the King of the UK back office plans to keep his business growing June 21, 2009 IT is fascinating to listen to David Andrews talk about his business. For most of us, back offices may seem deadly boring – but when you discover Andrew’s passion for Xchanging, the FTSE 250 back office outsourcing giant he founded 10 years ago, you suddenly realise just how true it is that finance and corporate [...]
Making sure you’re fashionably on time June 21, 2009 THE true sign of a top-notch timepiece is not the beautiful design of its exterior, but the technological quality of its interior. The leading Swiss watch producers pride themselves on a level of finesse that can boggle the mind. For that reason, luxury watch enthusiasts have tended to have a rather sniffy attitude towards fashion [...]
SALTY OLD SEADOG OF PROPERTY TAKES TO HIGH SEAS ONCE AGAIN June 21, 2009 PROPERTY guru Mike Slade’s firm Helical Bar might have crashed further into the red over the past year as its annual losses tripled, but it hasn’t stopped the salty old seadog getting up to his usual tricks. Outside of the property world, the 61-year-old is best known for his passion for sailing, having racked up [...]
BILL OF THE WEEK June 21, 2009 MONEY was obviously of little concern to these four diners at South Kensington restaurant L’Etranger last week, as they spent a corking £2,263.33 on the restaurant’s “1961 Table” tasting menu. For £500 per person, they ate scallops wrapped in prosciutto parma ham and black tobiko with oyster, chive and champagne vinaigrette; a three-way game platter [...]
Cadbury sales jump as Brits turn to treats June 18, 2009 CHOCOLATE giant Cadbury yesterday reported improved trading in April and May, as a recession-hit Britain snapped up its new “bitesize” range and relaunched Wispa bars. The world’s second-largest confectioner said it was cashing in on the frugal times with the bitesize bags of chocolate-coated sweets as a low-cost treat for consumers, who tend to stay [...]
HOW DO YOU RATE CADBURY’S PERFORMANCE? June 18, 2009 JULIAN HARDWICK RBS“We expect consensus earnings forecasts will be revised down as analysts review their currency assumptions, and this is likely to have some adverse impact on the shares in the near term despite the generally reassuring tone of this update we say “hold”. JEREMY BATSTONE-CARR CHARLES STANLEY“Our “hold” recommendation is based on our perception [...]
Panmure deal gets go-ahead June 18, 2009 SHAREHOLDERS in City stockbroking firm Panmure Gordon have given a resounding show of support to an equity stake-building proposal from QInvest, Qatar’s largest investment bank, as they voted 99 per cent in favour of the deal at a general meeting yesterday. Panmure said in May it had conditionally raised £23m via the share placing agreement, [...]
Finsbury Foods earns its bread and butter in Goswell acquisition June 18, 2009 BAKER Finsbury Foods yesterday announced it taken another bite out of the bread market, acquiring rival Goswell Enterprise for £2.2m. Finsbury Food’s subsidiary bread making unit, Nicholas & Harris, has snapped up Goswell, whose brands include Vogel’s, Cranks, Doves Farm and Caribbean Cuisine. Goswell last year reported earnings before interest and tax of £0.4m in [...]
LITTLE LUXURIES June 18, 2009 LUXURY handbag maker Mulberry yesterday raised hopes that the downturn in the high-end retail sector is starting to ease, after like-for-like sales rose by more than a fifth over the first 10 weeks of its financial year. Mulberry said its understated British style and a new range of cheaper bags had boosted its performance in [...]