IT consultant ordered to pay £50,000 after being accused of stealing Soho House members’ personal details
Lululemon names new chief as founder Chip Wilson quits December 10, 2013 HIGH-END Canadian yoga-wear retailer Lululemon Athletica yesterday named Laurent Potdevin as its chief executive, as it said founder Chip Wilson will step down as non-executive chairman. Lululemon has been looking for a new CEO since June, when Christine Day said she would step down once a replacement was found. Potdevin will take over in January [...]
Miner Centamin makes takeover bid for Ampella December 10, 2013 GOLD miner Centamin yesterday said it has offered to buy smaller explorer Ampella Mining, as it looks to diversify from its core Egyptian operations and snap up a new asset at the bottom of the cycle. The FTSE 250-quoted firm wants to buy the Australia-listed explorer in an all share deal for A$41m (£22.7m), a [...]
British executive takes on fresh international role at Walmart December 10, 2013 WALMART, the world’s biggest retailer, has appointed British executive David Cheesewright as the new CEO of its international division, the firm said yesterday. Cheesewright, 51, is currently head of Walmart’s European, Middle Eastern and African operations. He will take the reins from Doug McMillon, who was chosen to replace Michael Duke as chief executive of [...]
BHP Billiton looks to reduce its annual spending by one quarter December 10, 2013 FTSE 100-listed mining giant BHP Billiton yesterday indicated that it would cut annual spending to around $15bn (£9.1bn), as it looks to simplify the business and grow its margins. “A 25 per cent reduction in capital and exploration expenditure is planned for this financial year and our level of investment will decline again next year,” [...]
BP survey: Oil and gas industry is struggling to attract women December 10, 2013 OIL AND gas remains male dominated even though gender diversity and womens’ career prospects have improved, according to a survey yesterday in which almost a quarter of respondents said the industry was doing a poor job achieving a diverse workforce. Oil and gas executives have long said that attracting skills and talent to a sector that [...]
Fresnillo slashes gold guidance December 10, 2013 Mexico-focused miner Fresnillo yesterday reduced its full-year gold guidance by 8.4 per cent, down to 425,900 ounces. Silver production remains unchanged at 41m ounces. The FTSE 100-quoted firm reiterated its belief that there is no reason why a temporary explosives ban for two of its mines, Herradura and Soledad, should not be lifted. Fresnillo is [...]
BG Group lifts resource estimate December 10, 2013 FTSE 100-listed oil and gas explorer BG Group yesterday increased its estimate of recoverable resources at blocks located off southern Tanzania, after concluding a successful drilling and testing campaign. “The aim of our appraisal programme now is to optimise the future development plan and place the most economic gas into the proposed project first to [...]
Clarification December 10, 2013 Further to yesterday’s article The Truth Behind Peacocks’ Demise (p23), we would like to clarify that Lawrence Tomlinson’s report into RBS lending practices did not use the administrations of Peacock or the other companies mentioned as part of its evidence base, nor were they specifically referred to in the Tomlinson report itself. They were some [...]
City Moves for 11 December 2013 | Who’s switching jobs December 10, 2013 Colliers International The real estate services firm has recruited Andrew MacKenzie as a consultant in its retail team. He was most recently chief executive of Jaeger. MacKenzie has previously held senior director positions at Allders, First Restaurant Group and Matisse Holdings. Towry The wealth management firm has hired Mehdi Douali as an analyst in its [...]
Best of the Brokers for 11 December 2013 December 10, 2013 To appear in Best of the Brokers, email your research to notes@cityam.com GREAT PORTLAND ESTATES Beaufort Securities is impressed by the company’s decision to offload 20 St James’s Street for £54.5m – yet, “given the resilient demand scenario and slow growth in rental value”, maintains its hold rating on the stock with a target price [...]