Profits soar at deals specialist STJ Advisors January 11, 2015 Profits more than tripled at equity dealmaking firm STJ Advisors in 2013-14, the firm’s financial reports show. Since then it has benefited from the boom in the initial public offerings (IPO) market over 2014. STJ brought in £9.8m in revenues last financial year, up from £3.9m in 2012-13. That resulted in profits of £7.03m, up [...]
Countryside Properties appoints chairman ahead of likely float January 11, 2015 COUNTRYSIDE Properties will today announce the appointment of David Howell as its chairman, ahead of a planned stock market flotation next year. The building firm’s hire of the former Berkeley Group director is part of a wider move to bring its governance structure in line with that of a typical listed firm. As part of [...]
Fitness First is back in shape: £220m club revamp programme to be completed ahead of schedule January 11, 2015 Fitness First has taken another step on the treadmill back to financial health after announcing plans to complete its £220m club revamp programme one year ahead of plan. The gym chain, which came close to administration in 2012, launched a three-year plan to win back customers by introducing new equipment, sprucing up changing rooms with [...]
Jaguar Land Rover creates 1,300 UK jobs as it plans a new model January 11, 2015 BRITISH car-maker Jaguar Land Rover is to create 1,300 new jobs at its Solihull manufacturing plant. The company, which is owned by Indian industrial group Tata, has also confirmed today that it will add a new Jaguar performance crossover model to its product portfolio. The new model is set to go on sale in 2016. [...]
Canary Wharf owner Songbird to rebuff Qatari bidders again January 11, 2015 Canary Wharf owner Songbird Estates is expected to dash the Qatari sovereign wealth fund’s ownership hopes this week by issuing a firm rejection of the suitor’s £2.6bn offer. The Qatar Investment Authority, which has made the offer alongside Canadian firm Brookfield, already owns 28.6 per cent in Songbird but needs to win the backing from [...]
UK firms report activity slowing to 19-month low January 11, 2015 THE UK’s economic growth may have slowed towards the end of 2014, new survey data suggests. A purchasing managers’ index (PMI) – calculated from a survey of private sector firms – dropped to 55.2 in December from November’s 57.6, according to figures released by Lloyds Bank today. A PMI value above 50 signifies expansion. The [...]
UBS ditched by Smith & Nephew for bank rival January 11, 2015 MEDICAL supplies firm Smith & Nephew has fired Swiss bank UBS as its corporate broker, hiring Bank of America Merrill Lynch instead, City A.M. understands. It is the second major change in recent months for the firm, which is reviewing all of its corporate relations roles – last summer it sacked PR firm Brunswick in [...]
US law firms now challenge the City’s Magic Circle following financial crisis January 11, 2015 Banks’ troubles following the financial crisis have seen US law firms rise up to challenge the Magic Circle The dominance of the Magic Circle in the City of London is as much an institution as the pin-striped suit. But time is unforgiving, and traditions and fashions are eventually challenged and dispensed with. It is only [...]
Christmas party shoes give Kurt Geiger a boost as sales rise 26pc January 11, 2015 Footwear and accessories retailer Kurt Geiger reported a bumper Christmas yesterday, announcing 14 per cent growth in like-for-like sales for the 2014 festive period. Party shoes led the way, with footwear in its occasion category enjoying an increase in sales of 26 per cent and Kurt Geiger’s handbags proved a popular gift, with sales up [...]
Liam Gallagher’s Pretty Green lives up to its name with a rise in sales January 11, 2015 Liam Gallagher may not be at the top of the charts at the moment but he has proven he can sell clothes, with total sales in his clothing brand Pretty Green up 39 per cent in the six weeks to 31 December. Gallagher set up the Mod-style brand in 2009 and its latest results were [...]