Goldman Sachs and UBS’s £1 RBS and Lloyds bank share sale fee baffles top MPs September 9, 2015 An influential committee of MPs was puzzled yesterday by the revelation that some of the City’s biggest firms had charged the government just £1 for handling the sale of shares in Royal Bank of Scotland and Lloyds. Top officials from UK Financial Investments (UKFI) – the body that manages the government’s stake in the lenders – [...]
Plexus unveils wellhead developed in response to Gulf of Mexico crisis September 9, 2015 AIM-listed oil and gas services firm Plexus Holdings yesterday launched its new Python Subsea wellhead, developed to address safety issues thrown into light by the Gulf of Mexico disaster in 2010. Plexus has been working on the new wellhead since 2011, as part of a joint industry project supported by BG, Shell, Maersk, Total and [...]
Lufthansa to cancel 1,000 flights tomorrow as pilots extend strikes September 8, 2015 German airline Lufthansa will cancel 1,000 flights tomorrow, after the pilot strike was extended into a second day and ramped up a notch. Lufthansa said its pilots' union broadened strike action from long-haul flights to medium- and short-haul services, meaning around 140,000 passengers will have to endure cancellations tomorrow. But it said 500 flights will still run, [...]
CBI chief Paul Drechsler sounds alarm over the National Living Wage September 8, 2015 The boss of one of Britain's biggest business bodies has warned over the unforeseen impact of the National Living Wage, amid growing concern from some of the companies that will be affected. "I've talked to several chief executives and been surprised by the impact on their profits of the change," Paul Drechsler, chief executive of [...]
Rolls-Royce dented by anti-corruption moves in China September 8, 2015 Rolls-Royce yesterday conceded that sales of its luxury cars have been hit by a fall in demand in China. The chief executive Torsten Mueller-Oetvoes, talking to the BBC World Service’s World Business Report, said the turnaround in the market had been unexpectedly fast. “We have been surprised by the speed of development in the Chinese [...]
John Lewis shakes up management team promoting Andrew Murphy to group productivity director September 8, 2015 John Lewis has reshuffled some of its management team after promoting its retail director Andrew Murphy to a new role focused on coming up with new ideas for boosting the performance of the department store chain. The retailer said Murphy’s new position as group productivity director will see him work closely with the board to [...]
Pharma M&A is heating up again: Mylan makes $27bn hostile bid for Irish drug company Perrigo September 8, 2015 US drugmaker Mylan is making a hostile bid for Irish rival Perrigo, in a sign that the pharmaceutical industry's wave of M&A activity is far from over. On 14 September, an estimated $27.1bn (£17.6bn) will be offered to Perrigo shareholders in the form of cash and stock. The company manufactures private label over-the-counter medicines, [...]
Bargain Booze parent Conviviality Retail’s share price soars as confirms its buy out of Matthew Clark from Punch Taverns and Hertford Cellars for £200m September 8, 2015 Bargain Booze parent company Conviviality Retail's share price leaped this morning after confirming it is buying out wholesaler Matthew Clark for £200m. The deal, a reverse takeover that will be subject to shareholder approval, is being struck via Conviviality's subsidiary Conviviality Brands, and will create a major player in the industry with a combined annual turnover [...]
Watch out Mike Ashley: Unite the union protesters to target Sports Direct AGM dressed as Dickensian workers over “Victorian” zero-hours contracts September 8, 2015 Sports Direct's AGM tomorrow is set to be an even more lively affair than usual. Unite the union has revealed plans for a protest outside the AGM with members dressed as Dickensian workers. They will be demanding "an end to ‘Victorian’ work practices at the retailer’s nearby Shirebrook warehouse and that the company pays [...]
Behold, Betty Power: Paddy Power and Betfair reach agreement on all-share merger September 8, 2015 The boards of Paddy Power and Betfair have reached an agreement on the terms of a recommended all-share merger to create a new entity called Paddy Power Betfair – or "Betty Power" to its friends… Having agreed a deal in principle to create one of the world’s largest online gambling companies by revenue, the pair [...]