City Moves for 19 May 2016 | Who’s switching jobs May 19, 2016 Bryan Cave LLP International law firm Bryan Cave LLP has expanded its banking and finance practice in Germany with the addition of Sandra Pfister, who joins as a partner. Sandra is known internationally for her banking and finance work. Joining with Sandra is associate Reinhard Bunjes. Sandra’s expertise is in the area of banking and finance [...]
Five reasons why investing in Iran is too great a risk for British firms May 19, 2016 This morning, in a giant ballroom in one of London’s most luxurious hotels, executives from leading corporations will gather for a major investment conference. In some ways, the conference will be like dozens that take place across London each year. However, this one has an unusual and ominous twist: it is organised precisely to encourage [...]
P2P lending: Why the Lending Club fiasco won’t send us all back to the dark ages May 19, 2016 You'd be forgiven for thinking, following last week’s news that Lending Club’s chief executive Renaud Laplanche was stepping down amid allegations around loan sales and misconduct, that this is the end of P2P lending as we know it. Commentators have been quick to discredit the P2P sector, with online lenders labelled “banks in disguise”, up [...]
Lending Club fiasco: This is the company helping P2P platforms grow up with integrity May 19, 2016 The resignation of US giant Lending Club’s chief executive last Monday sent a icy wave of unease through the P2P lending industry. Writing in City A.M. last week, AltFi’s Rupert Taylor commented: “the failures at Lending Club justified robust action because they related to a discipline that is central to what distinguishes P2P from conventional [...]
Addison Lee is pouring cash into its luxury car fleet after a jump in demand May 19, 2016 Private hire company Addison Lee has spent £3.2m on 100 new Mercedes Benz E-Class saloons in response to a 15 per cent jump in executive car bookings over the last year. Andy Boland, chief executive at Addison Lee, said: We have made major investments to expand our executive fleet, this has ensured we have the best drivers and the best vehicles [...]
After the Queen’s Speech set out ambitious social reform plans, would Brexit put the government’s agenda at risk? May 19, 2016 Therese Coffey, Conservative MP for Suffolk Coastal, says Yes. This Queen’s Speech contained some ambitious proposals to strengthen the social fabric of our country, from prison reform and boosting social care, to measures to increase school independence and expand the National Citizen Service. But these policies, aimed at helping the poorest and neediest in our country, [...]
EU referendum: Brexit risks compromising plans to build hundreds of thousands of new homes May 19, 2016 If Britain votes to leave the EU it risks sparking a chronic construction skills deficit, compromising plans to build hundreds of thousands of new homes. According to new research, a Leave vote could lead to a cut in the construction workforce, which would in turn jeopardise plans to expand the UK's housing stock that would otherwise ease [...]
Cold weather and early Easter hit the pub trade in April, according to CGA Peach’s Coffer Peach Business Tracker May 19, 2016 Pub sales suffered as a result of cold weather and an early Easter, according to figures from CGA Peach's Coffer Peach Business Tracker. Pub groups experienced a 2.7 per cent sales decline on the same month last year, undermining wider growth in casual dining trading, although restaurant groups registered a like-for-like trading increase of 2.5 per [...]
More BHS bidders revealed following deadline for offers May 18, 2016 Hilco Capital has been named as one of the bidders for beleaguered department story chain BHS, following last week's deadline for offers. BHS went into administration last month, and the company had reportedly attracted the interest of five suitors hoping to buy the whole of the high street retailer ahead of last week's bid deadline. Hilco, reported by ITV [...]
Google just launched a personal assistant that can control your home, book movies and search the internet May 18, 2016 How would you like to run your whole house by using just your voice? Google just made that possible by cashing in on the Internet of Things trend. The tech giant today launched Google Assistant, a digital Man Friday, at its annual developer conference in Mountain View, California The new device, similar to Apple's Siri, allows users [...]