Syriza defiant despite Greek bank troubles June 16, 2015 The International Monetary Fund bears “criminal responsibility” for the damage caused to Greece’s economy since its first bailout, the country’s Prime Minister, Alexis Tsipras, said during a powerful speech yesterday. Meanwhile Greek Finance Minister Yanis Varoufakis has said a “Grexit” would not be a sensible solution and called for debt restructuring. Tsipras told his MPs [...]
London is cheaper to base expat staff than Hong Kong or Geneva June 16, 2015 HSBC bankers and mining expats look away now: London is cheaper to live than Hong Kong, Geneva and the mining capital of Angola, Luanda, according to a new study. London came 12th in the cost of living poll, which assessed the costliest places for multinational organisations to base their expatriate staff – well behind [...]
Whitbread chief Andy Harrison to leave earlier than planned as Alison Brittain prepares for top job June 16, 2015 Whitbread said yesterday that its new chief executive Alison Brittain would replace Andy Harrison two months earlier than planned as the company posted a 4.3 per cent rise in first quarter underlying sales. Harrison, who has helped Whitbread’s stock market value soar from £2.5bn to almost £10bn during his five years in the top job, [...]
Applegreen IPO: Irish owners net €20m in petrol station listing June 16, 2015 Two Irish entrepreneurs are in line for a €20m (£14.37m) windfall after floating their petrol forecourt business on the London stock exchange. Bob Etchingham and Joe Barrett, who founded Irish petrol station group Applegreen 23 years ago, will net €15m and €5m respectively from the listing, according to regulatory documents filed yesterday. Both [...]
Cargiant unveils £5bn plans for Old Oak Common regeneration June 16, 2015 Cargiant unveiled ambitions plans yesterday to turn its 46-acre site at Old Oak Common into a new £5bn district with 9,000 homes, further dashing QPR’s hopes of building a stadium on the land. The car dealership firm and its development partner London & Regional said the site would be renamed Old Oak Park and be [...]
Funerals group Dignity in £38m deal to expand with Laurel purchase June 16, 2015 Listed funeral services provider Dignity is expanding, with the purchase of 36 funeral homes from Laurel Funerals for £38m. Laurel currently operates in 83 locations across the UK. In order to avoid any potential competition concerns, Dignity is only acquiring sites that complement its own geographic spread. The transaction is expected to close in July. [...]
Gatwick airport partners with budget airline WestJet as runway expansion report looms June 16, 2015 Canadian budget airline WestJet has selected Gatwick as its first English destination from Canada, in a boon to the airport’s expansion campaign. WestJet’s wide-body Boeing 767-300 aircraft will begin flying the route next year, with the Canadian airports yet to be determined. WestJet boss Gregg Saretsky said Gatwick is the “ideal airport” for its first [...]
Small firms grow at fastest rate since 2008 June 16, 2015 Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) are growing at their fastest rate since the economic crisis in 2008, according to a report out today. New research from the Enterprise Research Centre (ERC) shows that the private sector added over 600,000 net new jobs last year, allowing SMEs to “regain the ground lost” in 2008. The ERC said [...]
Homebuyers ready to sacrifice space for more shops and bars June 16, 2015 The number of homebuyers that are prepared to sacrifice space in favour of a short commute to work or better nightlife has jumped over the last year, according to a new survey by Santander Mortgages. According to research published by the bank today, Britons are increasingly turning into a “recreation nation”, with those citing proximity [...]
Why it’s not time to dump US equities: A Fed interest rate hike won’t drag down stocks June 16, 2015 For US equity investors, it’s all eyes on the Fed until we see the first lift-off in interest rates in September or potentially December this year. We’ve got beyond the patch of weak economic data earlier in 2015 and are returning to stronger growth, as signalled by healthy labour market data in recent months. Ironically, [...]