UBS: Sterling to be hit by General Election chaos April 20, 2015 No party is set to win a majority at the General Election next month, and analysts at investment bank UBS predict a minority government is the most likely outcome. Such an administration is considered less stable than a majority or coalition government, and so the analysts expect sterling to take a hit after the vote. [...]
Consumer credit firms cut back lending on watchdog delays April 20, 2015 Payday borrowers could be left without credit, as lenders are forced to cut back business on delays to authorisation from the regulator, a former Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) worker said yesterday. The FCA took over regulating the 50,000 consumer credit firms last year, giving them all temporary licences and asking them meet tough new rules [...]
Nomad Foods tycoons swoop for Iglo-owned Birds Eye in €2.6bn deal April 20, 2015 Iglo Foods, the owner of Bird’s Eye fish fingers, was sold to a US consumer foods group chaired by former City minister Lord Myners in a €2.6bn (£1.9bn) deal yesterday. Nomad Foods, which was founded last April to launch consumer takeovers, has bought the group from London-based Permira. UK-headquartered Iglo is Europe’s biggest frozen food [...]
Tesco set to report record loss. Is new boss Dave Lewis the man to lead a turnaround? April 20, 2015 Dave Lewis arrived at Tesco with the nickname “Drastic Dave” – earned after he streamlined Unilever UK in 2007, cutting 40 per cent of costs and 300 jobs. When he took up the role of Tesco chief executive in September he had every reason to live up to that moniker. Facing a £263m accounting error, [...]
Queen’s Awards for Enterprise: Her Majesty grants 141 firms lucrative business prize April 20, 2015 Dozens of British firms are in line for a Queen’s enterprise award today to recognise their achievements in international trade, innovation and sustainable development. The award can provide a massive boost to ambitious firms with robust growth targets. One winner last year was EnergyNet, which organises a global portfolio of investment conferences focusing on the [...]
G4S scraps quarterly reporting to ease barrage of financials April 20, 2015 Security group G4S has scrapped quarterly reporting of its financials, taking advantage of rules which came into force last year to reduce the frequency of its publications. The firm said that its contracts and income flows tend to be relatively predictable. Instead, it plans to report its financial results every six months, and fill the [...]
Rothesay Life gets new top brass in the boardroom as insurer reveals plans for £3bn IPO April 20, 2015 Five new directors will join the board at insurance firm Rothesay Life it announced yesterday after stating 2014 pre-tax profits leap by a third. Among the new appointments will be Andrew Stoker, the current chief financial officer, who will be taking up the role of executive director. In addition to Stoker, Richard Beriland, Glenn Earle, Naguib [...]
Russell Brand and BBC lift Audioboom’s podcast audience April 20, 2015 Online podcast provider Audioboom has been living up to its name lately, reporting explosive growth in content and registered users in yesterday’s performance update. Audioboom, home of The Russell Brand Podcast, signed on over 150 new content partners in March, acquiring programs like BBC Radio’s Six O’Clock News and the Wimbledon Tennis Championships. The additions [...]
St Modwen snags new finance chief Robert Hudson from British Land April 20, 2015 St Modwen has snapped up a new financial director in the form of Robert Hudson who will be joining in October from British Land, it announced yesterday. The Birmingham headquartered property developer will see the 41 year old Hudson replace Mike Dunn who last December announced his intention to step down from the role on [...]
Bye-bye HSBC? The British bank is eyeing a move abroad April 20, 2015 HSBC will look into upping sticks and moving its headquarters out of London once the regulatory environment becomes clearer, its chairman said today. "We are beginning to see the final shape of regulation, the final shape of structural reform and as soon as that mist lifts sufficiently we will once again start to look at [...]