Premier Inn to open German hotel by 2015 October 21, 2014 THE UK hotel and restaurant group Whitbread, owner of Costa and Premier Inn, announced yesterday that it was expanding into Germany after a successful first half of 2014. Its share price dipped slightly, by 0.66 per cent, after the firm revealed that it had purchased a 200-room hotel in Frankfurt to trial Premier Inns in [...]
Carpetright chairman Lord Harris to take his leave after 26 years October 21, 2014 CARPETRIGHT founder and chairman Lord Harris announced yesterday he would be stepping down – and this time for good – after naming Mitchells & Butlers boss Bob Ivell as his successor. Harris first announced his retirement in May only to reveal weeks later that he planned to stay on as non-executive chairman until a replacement [...]
Arm Holdings’ Simon Segars: Britain’s chief chipmaker is moving from smartphones to the Internet of Things October 21, 2014 Simon Segars, the boss of Britain’s biggest tech firm, believes his Chinese customers will begin adopting Arm’s latest chip designs in low-end smartphones next year, a move that would dramatically boost royalties. In its third quarter results yesterday, Arm Holdings, which makes processors for most of the world’s smartphones and tablets, revealed a two [...]
Quindell sees shares soar on contract news October 21, 2014 INSURANCE outsourcer Quindell yesterday saw its share price soar 8.4 per cent, on the back of the news that it had secured a five-year contract with an unnamed “major insurer”. The deal will see Quindell provide telematics technology, devices and associated services to the Canadian top-three business, which has more than three million customers, 1,700 [...]
London house prices: Property market stalls in September October 21, 2014 The inexorable rise in London’s house market stalled in September according to Sequence, a national estate agency network. The number of transactions fell by one per cent, adding to the body of evidence pointing to a marked slowdown in the London housing market. “What we are seeing is a return to normality in the housing [...]
Lloyds boss calls for easier rules to fix Britain’s housing crisis October 21, 2014 TENS OF thousands more homes should be built each year to ease the UK’s housing crisis, Lloyds boss Antonio Horta Osorio said last night – and the government should take the lead by building on under-used Ministry of Defence land. The bank is setting up a new fund, starting with £50m, to help finance construction [...]
Galliford Try chief steps down to pursue other commitments October 21, 2014 GALLIFORD Try chairman Ian Coull yesterday announced he was stepping down with immediate effect due to other business and personal commitments. As a result of the decision, the construction firm has initiated a temporary board reshuffle to continue to deliver Galliford growth plans. Chief executive Greg Fitzgerald, who announced last month that he also planned [...]
Asos CEO Nick Robertson: Bruised and burnt but fighting back October 21, 2014 What doesn’t kill you makes you stronger, Nick Robertson declared yesterday. The Asos chief executive has had a tough year, riddled with profit warnings, a fire at its main warehouse, and slowing international sales that have left the firm’s shares badly bruised. Until this year, Asos’ shares have enjoyed a meteoric rise, thanks to [...]
The government’s growing debt pile is a threat to Tory tax cuts – Bottom Line October 21, 2014 When Labour were finally booted out of office in 2010, the departing chief secretary to the Treasury infamously left his successor a note – “I’m afraid there is no money,” it read. “Kind regards – and good luck!” Pretty funny, as far as Whitehall humour goes, and not too far from the truth. To one [...]
Car auctioneer float comes to a screeching halt October 21, 2014 BRITISH Car Auctions (BCA), owner of the webuyanycar.com, became the latest casualty of weak equity markets yesterday after it was forced to pull its impending stock listing. The private equity-owned group, backed by Clayton Dublier & Rice, blamed “volatility in global equity markets” for pulling down the listing, which aimed to raise £200m. “The board [...]