Shell winds down UK retail sites as it sells off 185 service stations April 13, 2015 Shell has continued to downscale its European retail operations after announcing its intention to sell off 185 UK service stations yesterday. The announcement by the Anglo‐Dutch oil giant, which last week launched a £47bn bid for BG, comes after the firm made similar divestments in Italy, Germany and Norway last year. The sell-off will involve [...]
Utopia Village: Market Tech’s £44m Camden project to lure entrepreneurs April 13, 2015 The gentrification of the iconic Camden Market precinct shows no sign of slowing as Market Tech pumped £44m into acquiring the Utopia Village office scheme yesterday. The firm hopes to use the area’s rough-around-the-edges appeal to attract entrepreneurs. Located in Chalcot Road, the property sits close to the market entrance, and the new owner hopes [...]
Top companies now firing fewer chief executives as share of female bosses edges up April 13, 2015 The biggest firms in the world are opting to plan for their bosses’ successions rather than firing them in a panic, a new report has claimed. According to research from PwC consultancy Strategy&, when firms perform poorly and fire the chief executive, the uncertainty unleashed by the change at the top can lead to a [...]
The Ukraine crisis has cost Russian banks $5bn – that’s 25 per cent of their revenues April 13, 2015 The Ukraine crisis has hit Russian banks to the tune of somewhere between $4bn and $5bn, credit ratings agency Standard & Poor's reckons. That's between a fifth and a quarter of their total operating revenues. It's hardly surprising that the crisis has cost lenders money – but what is surprising is that S&P believes there [...]
Deloitte fine over MG Rover case reduced to £3m after appeal tribunal April 13, 2015 Deloitte has been fined £3m by a City watchdog over failures in the lead-up to the collapse of MG Rover a decade ago. The penalty is a significant reduction on an initial fine imposed last year, following an appeal by Deloitte and former partner at the firm Maghsoud Einollahi, the advisers who worked on MG Rover's sale [...]
UK Oil and Gas Investments share price falls as it seals Markswell Wood license deal for more Weald Basin oil fields after Horse Hill discovery near Gatwick April 13, 2015 The company behind the discovery of huge amounts of oil at Horse Hill near Gatwick has sealed a deal to increase its interests in the area in the south of England dubbed "Britain's Dallas". Shares in UK Oil and Gas Investments (UKOG) fell as much as 6.4 per cent to 2.07p in mid-morning trading, after it [...]
European markets fall from record highs as political uncertainty hits sterling April 13, 2015 Following the jubilant highs achieved by European markets on Friday, things looked rather more muted this morning. Stocks across Europe started the day down amid political and economic uncertainty, while Greece prepared to enter yet another last-chance saloon. The FTSE 100 was down 0.29 per cent in early trading, while Germany's Dax fell 0.27 per [...]
Halfords finance chief Andrew Findlay flies off to EasyJet April 13, 2015 The finance chief of Halfords is swapping bikes for airplanes, flying off to EasyJet to fill the CFO role at the budget airline. Findlay fills the position left vacant by Chris Kennedy who announced his departure for UK chip designer ARM at the start of the year. It's the second time a senior executive has [...]
The death of cash: Brits pay by card and mobile instead April 13, 2015 Cash makes up just £18.33 of every £100 spent in the UK, Halifax said today, as card and digital payments take over. The rise of digital payments is starkly outlined in new figures from the bank, which show how quickly Britons have adopted cutting-edge technologies. Cheques account for just 1.2 per cent of all current [...]
Edi Truell looks to sell Tracker Network in £100m IPO April 12, 2015 Venture capitalist Edi Truell has hired investment bankers to advise him on the possible sale of Tracker Network. Truell hopes the vehicle tracking firm, which has sales of around £20m per year, would be worth around £100m. He has hired bankers at Evercore to look into the possibility. Alternative options include debt financing, a trade [...]