Insolvency Service quizzed Chappell consultants over £1 BHS purchase September 11, 2016 The Insolvency Service has questioned two consultants who advised former bankrupt racing driver Dominic Chappell over the purchase of BHS. Stephen Bourne and Mark Tasker worked with Chappell ahead of him buying the loss-making chain for £1 from retail tycoon Philip Green. Bourne and Tasker were paid £387,500 each for advising Chappell’s Retail Acquisitions according to [...]
Raspberry Pi maker shareholders set to vote on Avnet takeover offer September 11, 2016 Shareholders in the electronics maker behind the Raspberry Pi computer Premier Farnell will vote on the 185p-per-share offer for the company today. Investors are expected to back the £868m deal, which is seen as a sign the UK’s tech industry is still attractive to overseas investors. The deal requires 75 per cent of shareholders – [...]
Investors eye strong earnings at Morrisons September 11, 2016 Supermarket chain Morrisons is expected to deliver its best half yearly performance in four years this week. The chain, which is in the middle of a back-to-basics turnaround, has been slashing prices and doing deals with competitors to try and tempt customers through its doors. Analysts are expecting like-for-like sales growth of 0.7 per cent [...]
Go Compare to go its own way in Esure demerger September 11, 2016 Go Compare will be spun off from its parent company, Esure, in a £500m demerger to be announced this week, according to reports. Sky News reported this evening the board of insurance group Esure will approve the deal to offload Go Compare and make a formal announcement to the stock market within the next few days. The move follows [...]
Steve Holliday to receive a bumper pension after 10 years leading National Grid September 11, 2016 The former chief exec of National Grid will be celebrating the start of his retirement next month by drawing down on a £11,000 a week pension that kicks-in on his 60th birthday. “We need to retain and recruit high quality management and for that we need a competitive and fair remuneration policy. Board-level remuneration is market-based and [...]
Flybe boss: Forget Heathrow v Gatwick – government should look at issues outside of south east September 11, 2016 For the British aviation industry, the debate of the day (and decade) is south-east airport expansion: Heathrow versus Gatwick. Everyone in the industry has an opinion, and Saad Hammad, the chief executive of regional airline Flybe, is no exception. “From my analysis of the Davies report [into airport expansion], it looks like Heathrow is the [...]
Alexis Tsipras attacks troika divisions for threatening Greek recovery September 11, 2016 Greek prime minister Alexis Tsipras has attacked the arguments over Greece's bailout programme between the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and European Union for stifling the country's recovery. Speaking in Thessaloniki this morning, Tsipras said: "What is creating conditions of delay in regaining trust of markets and investors … is the constant clash and disagreement between the IMF and [...]
Struggling newspaper group Johnston Press set for activist investor meeting September 11, 2016 Newspaper publisher Johnston Press could come under pressure this week when its chairman meets with an activist investor. The company’s share price has fallen from close to 100p this time last year to 8p. Johnston Press publishes more than 200 regional and local newspapers and bought the national i newspaper from the Independent publisher earlier this year. [...]
Sumo Digital bought by small and medium-sized business investment specialist September 11, 2016 A private equity fund focussed on investing in the north of England made a healthy return by selling the video game developer behind Sonic and Sega All Star Racing. NorthEdge sold Sumo Digital to London-based private equity house Perwyn. Read more: Struggling retailer Game Digital's stock dips after new chairman appointed The sale sees NorthEdge realise a return that [...]
Labour donor Michael Foster has been suspended from the party for likening Corbyn backers to stormtroopers September 11, 2016 Labour has suspended one of its most prominent individual donors over an article which likened backers of Jeremy Corbyn to Nazi stormtroopers. Michael Foster made the comparison in the Mail on Sunday last month, after losing out in a legal challenge on Corbyn's eligibility for the party's leadership contest. And Foster revealed his suspension in [...]