Private equity firm Hellman in Auto Trader bid February 1, 2015 PRIVATE equity firm Hellman & Friedman is putting together a takeover bid for used car business Auto Trader, which could put an end to the firm’s plans to float on the London stock market. A source close to the deal said an offer from the US private equity house was a “logical step” for Auto [...]
BT’s pension deficit hits £7bn while profits rise from TV, broadband and sport customers January 30, 2015 The figures In its third quarter results, BT revealed revenue slipped two per cent to £13.2bn in the nine months to 31 December, while adjusted pre-tax profit leaped 11 per cent to £2.1bn. BT's consumer division, including TV, broadband and those all-important BT Sport customers, increased pre-tax profit by 43 per cent to £251m. Its business division also grew [...]
A cradle-to-grave savings service will empower us all to grasp pension freedoms January 29, 2015 The pension reforms announced in George Osborne’s 2014 Budget gave savers new freedoms. They marked the end of a paternalistic system, where the government dictated how your money was used in retirement, and completed a shift in responsibility for pension savings and retirement income from the state and the employer to the individual. This, however, [...]
Third of pension savers in limbo about plans for retirement pot January 27, 2015 One in three Brits with a pension are still in limbo about how to use the cash, just two months before new rules giving them the freedom to do what they want come into force, a survey has shown. New rules in April will scrap the requirement of savers to purchase an annuity with their [...]
Pension funds complain about Ellison’s influence over Oracle January 26, 2015 TWO EUROPEAN pension funds yesterday published an open letter to US software giant Oracle complaining about the influence that key shareholder Larry Ellison wields over the company and demanding it allow outside investors a greater say over pay policies. The letter marks the latest attempt in a four-year campaign by Dutch pension group PGGM and [...]
TheTrainline.com boss Clare Gilmartin “delighted” as US private equity giant KKR snaps up rail ticket seller January 22, 2015 US private equity player KKR yesterday announced its acquisition of TheTrainline.com, the UK’s leading online platform for selling rail tickets, from buyout rival Exponent for an undisclosed sum. TheTrainline.com is the most downloaded travel app in the UK and ranks fifth by gross transaction value in the UK’s e-commerce sector. The company is licensed to [...]
Peer-to-peer lender receives US investment January 21, 2015 AMERICAN asset management firm Victory Park Capital said yesterday it would invest up to £150m in loans arranged by British peer-to-peer lender Assetz Capital under a five-year contract. The Chicago-based Victory Park, which specialises in middle market debt and equity investments, said the funds would support the development of UK small businesses. Peer-to-peer lending in [...]
Private equity guru Damon Buffini exits UK’s Permira after nearly three decades January 20, 2015 Veteran Permira executive Damon Buffini, who worked his way up from humble origins to become one of the most powerful men in the City, has announced his exit from the group after 27 years. Buffini became a lightning rod for anti-business campaigns at the height of the buyout boom when he was Permira’s managing partner. [...]
Active Private Equity set for £7m investment in Honest Burgers January 18, 2015 British investment firm Active Private Equity is set to take a stake in fast-growing gourmet burger chain Honest Burgers, it emerged yesterday. The venture capital and private equity specialist, which owns stakes in Evans cycles shops and Leon cafes, is reportedly investing £7m in return for 50 per cent of the business. Active’s Spencer Skinner [...]
Defined benefit pensions axed from big firms January 18, 2015 Fewer of the UK’s largest firms are offering substantial defined benefit (DB) pension schemes. The number of FTSE 100 companies offering sizeable DB schemes dropped from 65 to 56 in the 12 months to September, according to figures released yesterday by consultants JLT Employee Benefits. A DB scheme is defined as sizeable if the costs [...]