Pensioner bonds: George Osborne heralds over £1bn sold to over-65s as a “huge success” January 17, 2015 More than 100,000 savvy silver-haired savers have jumped at the chance to buy the government's new pensioner bonds, netting the Treasury more than £1bn in just two days. Chancellor George Osborne called it "the biggest opening sales of any retail financial product in Britain's modern history” after the one and three-year bonds went on sale [...]
Pensioner bond website crashes due to demand January 15, 2015 THE CHANCELLOR has proclaimed the launch of £10bn worth of guaranteed growth bonds for over 65s as a “huge success”. A rush of interested investors caused the National Savings and Investments (NSI) website to crash after the bonds were launched yesterday morning. The bonds offer market leading rates, at 2.8 per cent interest over one year or [...]
Pensioner bonds go on sale with up to 4 per cent interest rate for over-65s January 15, 2015 Excited savers clamoured for "granny bonds" which went on sale today, but the stellar demand has caused the National Savings and Investments website to crash. "We are currently experiencing high demand for our 65+ Guaranteed Growth Bonds – customers may have to wait longer than normal to contact us," a spokesman for NS&I told the BBC. "We're [...]
Private equity firms line up for £400m ticket to Big Bus Tours January 11, 2015 A HOST of international private equity firms are vying to acquire British sightseeing bus tour operator Big Bus Tours, it emerged yesterday. European buyout specialist Permira, the UK-headquartered Exponent Private Equity, America’s Advent International and Omers Private Equity – the investment arm of a Canadian pension fund – are circling the London-based company, which is [...]
The fast food revolutionary: EatFirst co-founder Rahul Parekh talks long hours, calories, mopeds and Mayfair hotels January 11, 2015 If you're after a startup story with a good luck streak, then that of Rahul Parekh, co-founder of EatFirst, might be the one for you. One evening, late last April, Parekh was holed up in a Mayfair hotel. He got chatting to some friends of a friend who, it transpired, worked for Rocket Internet – [...]
Gimme 5: Entrepreneurial reads for January January 11, 2015 Playing to Win by A G Lafley The chief executive of Proctor & Gamble shares how he restored the fortunes of the consumer goods giant. Lafley cleverly demonstrates the key connections between daily action and realising a long-term vision. £14.39 (Harvard Business Review Press) The Power of Habit by Charles Duhigg The award-winning author [...]
Unite picks Pinsent for pensions January 5, 2015 UNITE the Union, the largest trade union in the UK and Ireland, has appointed international law firm Pinsent Masons as the sole adviser on its £800m Unite Pension Scheme for staff and officers, it emerged yesterday. The pension pot recently doubled in size following the recent merger of the former TGWU and Amicus union pension [...]
The billionaire philanthropist: Chemical magnate Jon Huntsman talks egg boxes and saving lives January 4, 2015 Most men lead lives of quiet desperation and go to the grave with the song still in them.” That is what Jon Huntsman Senior, the self-made billionaire who has given away over 80 per cent of his wealth, said to me when I asked him what message he would like to send to today’s wealthy. [...]
How Tech City’s Future Fifty programme helped to supercharge my company’s growth January 4, 2015 My company, as one of a class of 12 firms, graduated from the Future Fifty at the end of last year, making room for a new class of 12. Future Fifty, a programme run by Tech City that aims to accelerate the development of growth-stage digital companies, has by now assisted many businesses well known [...]
Gimme 5: New Year events for entrepreneurs January 4, 2015 Grow Your Business in Europe A two-hour workshop on taking your business into Europe with limited resources, run by UCL in partnership with the British Library. 27 January, 2-5pm, British Library Free www.ucl.ac.uk/advances Digital Marketing Masterclass Grow, the small business marketing experts, host a masterclass covering the nine areas of digital marketing you must [...]
