Ding, ding: Round 1,182 of Toscafund v Speedy Hire smackdown ahead of meeting September 5, 2016 Activist investor Toscafund has issued yet another statement calling for change at Speedy Hire ahead of a general meeting on Friday. Toscafund, whose chief executive Martin Hughes has earned the nickname Rottweiler in the City, is attempting to oust Speedy’s chairman Jan Astrand and wants David Shearer to be appointed to the board. Influential shareholder [...]
FTSE 350 pension deficits increase by £50bn during August September 5, 2016 Lower for longer interest rates led to pensions deficits ballooning to new highs at the end of August according to data released today. The aggregate pension deficits FTSE 350 companies now stand at £189bn, up from £139bn at the end of July. "The seemingly relentless march in pension scheme deficit increases continues," said Le Roy van Zyl of pension specialists Mercer [...]
A Royal Air Force attitude will see your career take off September 5, 2016 The military and the world of business aren’t all that different. There are huge similarities between the two, in terms of attitude and strategy, which could determine whether a business plan works or fails. As a former serviceman in the Royal Air Force, I moved away from my roots in South East London and quickly learned [...]
Northzone raises €300m fund and is eyeing London fintech startups September 5, 2016 A European venture capital firm which has previously backed Spotify, iZettle and London fintech startup MarketInvoice, has launched a new multi-million pound fund to plough into tech startups across Europe, including the UK in another vote of confidence in the country after Brexit. Northzone has closed a €300m (£252m) fund to invest in early stage companies from global institutional investors and is eyeing up tech [...]
Peter Stringfellow on closing Angels, Theresa May, virtual reality clubs and setting up a lingerie range September 5, 2016 The floor of Peter Stringfellow’s office at Angels, his legendary Soho club, was strewn with packing boxes last week. In case anyone imagined his office to be an extension of the club – all leopard print, velvet and disco balls – it isn’t. It’s just a normal office. I visited him on Thursday; on Saturday, [...]
Why PwC’s head of people wants firms to try harder with recruitment September 4, 2016 It’s 2016. The UK has its second female Prime Minister running the country, the US could potentially get its first female President later in the year, and there’s no shortage of positive role models for working women looking for inspiration. This makes the revelation of Laura Hinton, head of people and an executive board member [...]
Why debt crowdfunding platforms must evolve to support scaling businesses and rejuvenate a tired crowd September 3, 2016 Setting the global benchmark for alternative finance, Britain’s effective embrace of peer-to-peer lending platforms has secured debt crowdfunding as one of the leading sources of non-institutional growth capital for SMEs. In the five years since its inception, debt crowdfunding has supported thousands of young businesses in their evolution, from start-ups into established small to medium sized [...]
Four ways to actually have a good time when you go to networking events September 2, 2016 The thought of being stuck in a room full of people you don’t know for the sake of networking can reduce even the most sociable of us to quivering piles of nerves. What if the bigger boys turn on you…? To help you put those fears aside, we sat down with speed networking expert Oli [...]
Manny-less Man Group shakes up senior management team under new chief exec September 2, 2016 Hedge fund Man Group has announced a management shake-up after chief executive Manny Roman was poached by Pimco. Roman has been replaced as chief executive by Luke Ellis, who was previously president of the firm and started in his new role yesterday. As part of the shake-up, Jonathan Sorrell’s role of president will be expanded – taking [...]
Fancy a career change? These are the best paying jobs in the world’s top cities, according to Emolument September 2, 2016 If you're looking to make a change in your career, it might be worth considering a move abroad, and more specifically, heading for the Big Apple. New York is where the highest paying roles can be found, according to research from salary-benchmarking site Emolument.com, which has analysed 5,162 pay data points for professionals working in New [...]
