Ex-M&S exec Simon Webster to lead Silvertown Quays regeneration in London’s Royal Docks January 18, 2015 Former Sainsbury’s and Marks and Spencer director Simon Webster has been appointed to lead the £3.5bn regeneration of Silvertown Quays in London’s Royal Docks. The Silvertown Partnership, a consortium of developers Chelsfield Properties, First Base and Macquarie Capital, said Webster has joined the team as managing director. He was previously managing director of The Goodman [...]
Ex-Tesco chief Sir Terry Leahy backing staff discounts app Work Angel January 18, 2015 Former Tesco chief executive Sir Terry Leahy is reportedly leading a £3.3m funding round for smartphone startup Work Angel. Work Angel helps firms retain and reward staff with discounts and deals via a smartphone app. It was founded by serial entrepreneur Jamie True, who made an estimated £15m from the sale of his mobile app [...]
China-maker Wedgwood is put up for sale January 18, 2015 WATERFORD Wedgwood, the 250-year-old luxury china and glassware maker, has been put up for sale by its owners, six years after being rescued from the brink of collapse. KPS Capital Partners, the US private equity firm, has hired bankers at Goldman Sachs to find a buyer for WWRD, the owner of the Waterford, Wedgwood, Royal [...]
Tech division set to benefit as McLaren revs up for fundraising January 18, 2015 British car manufacturer McLaren has turned to investors in search of £300m, with two-thirds of the funds to be used to overhaul the company’s shareholder structure. The Woking-based firm will allot £100m of the fundraising to its prospering technology division. The remaining £200m will be handed back to the McLaren Technology’s existing investors, chief executive [...]
John Laing due to float for the second time January 18, 2015 INFRASTRUCTURE investment group John Laing was silent yesterday on reports that it is to float on the London Stock Exchange again, seven years after it went private. The company, which has been owned by asset management group Henderson since 2006, is expected to raise tens of millions of pounds if it successfully completes its listing, [...]
Centrica exec Colette Cohen takes top spot at The National College for onshore oil and gas January 18, 2015 The National College for onshore oil and gas has appointed Centrica’s Colette Cohen as its first chair. Cohen, who heads up Centrica’s UK oil and gas production business, will lead the college’s development board and help with business planning. She commented: “To build a successful shale gas industry it’s vital we attract young people to [...]
Marketers’ wages reach £66,106 after bonuses soar 17 per cent January 18, 2015 The salaries of marketers rose again last year with the average pay including bonuses hitting £66,106 in 2014, a nine per cent increase and the largest since the recession. Bonuses rose 17 per cent to an average of £8,118, according to research from marketing recruiter EMR – and 28,540 more marketers were in full time [...]
Fall in oil prices provides boost for UK economy January 18, 2015 The UK economy is set to benefit from the collapse in oil prices, according to the most recent quarterly forecast from the EY-sponsored Item Club. The economic forecasting group has stated that the decline in oil and other commodity prices will provide a “shot in the spending arm” for UK consumers, who will have more [...]
Saudi increased oil exports as Opec discussed output cuts January 18, 2015 Saudi Arabia’s oil exports rose to a seven-month high in November, the same month that the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (Opec) decided to keep production levels unchanged in the face of falling oil prices. According to the statistics provider Joint Organisations Data Initiative, Saudi exports rose to 7.3m barrels a day, up from [...]
North Sea firms may be forced to cut spending January 18, 2015 NORTH Sea oil firm Enquest declined to comment yesterday on reports that it is looking at job cuts as a way to reduce spending. The company released an interim management statement in November last year, in an attempt to reassure investors. The firm revealed that it had hedged around 65 per cent of its projected [...]