Gulf firms seal further plane deals in Dubai November 18, 2013 AIRBUS and Boeing added a further $5bn (£3.1bn) in plane parts deals yesterday, following a $150bn deal spree on the first day of the Dubai Air Show. Abu Dhabi’s state investment vehicle, Mubadala, signed separate deals with the two firms agreeing to supply a total of $5bn-worth of raw materials and build plane parts. Boeing [...]
Miliband adds childcare to list of policies funded by bank levy November 18, 2013 LABOUR leader Ed Miliband yesterday revealed details of his plan to pay for more free childcare for working parents with the proceeds of the banking levy – a funding tactic that the Conservatives said was impractical. Miliband said he would offer 25 hours of free care for children aged between three and four, up from [...]
Paul Sykes will give backing to Ukip campaign November 18, 2013 WEALTHY businessman Paul Sykes said yesterday he would “do whatever it takes” to help the UK Independence Party (Ukip) fight next year’s European Parliament elections. Ukip is threatening to steal further support from Prime Minister David Cameron’s Conservatives and poses one obstacle to his return to Number 10 at the next General Election in 2015. [...]
Pindar to leave Capita after 26 years at the top November 18, 2013 OUTSOURCING firm Capita yesterday said its longstanding chief executive Paul Pindar will step down next year, after 26 years with the company. He will be succeeded by the current deputy chief executive and deputy operations chief Andy Parker, effective from 1 March 2014. Pindar, who has been at the helm of the FTSE 100-listed firm [...]
State-owned RBS reveals talks to offload equity derivatives business to third party November 18, 2013 ROYAL Bank of Scotland (RBS) has said it is in talks to sell its retail investor products and equity derivatives business, as it slims down its investment bank. Several industry sources have identified BNP Paribas, France’s biggest bank, as front-runner to buy the business. RBS, which is 81 per cent owned by the government, declined [...]
Dutch software maker for top UK firms taken private for €1bn November 18, 2013 THE PRIVATE equity backer of UK sofa store DFS yesterday agreed to take a Dutch software provider for businesses like EDF Energy and Lloyds Bank private for about €1.2bn. Advent International, which also owns share service Equiniti, has agreed to buy listed firm Unit4 at €38.75 a share, giving shareholders a 55 per cent premium [...]
Teachers have sweet tooth for biscuit maker November 18, 2013 BURTON’S Biscuits, the company behind retro favourites Jammie Dodgers and Wagon Wheels, was sold yesterday to a Canadian pension fund investor for £350m. The biscuit-maker, which also makes Maryland Cookies, will be taken over by Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan’s private equity unit after Ontario beat 30 other suitors to take control of the coveted business. [...]
Low-key pension fund that owns $4bn of UK assets November 18, 2013 Housed in a discreet Georgian terrace-lined street in Mayfair lies one of the world’s most powerful and influential investors. Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan – which aims to pay the pensions of 300,00 retired and current Canadian teachers – would appear a cuddlier proposition than some of its hedge fund neighbours, but its deal making prowess [...]
Lord Rothschild slashes dollar holdings amid £250m fund rise November 18, 2013 LORD Rothschild, scion of banking’s famous dynasty, halved his fund’s exposure to the dollar while building a bigger position in sterling, new results show. RIT Capital Partners, his listed investment trust, cut dollar holdings to 41 per cent at the end of October from 80 per cent in June, while increasing sterling from 31 per [...]
France criticised as trade figures fail to impress November 18, 2013 FRANCE’S economic woes are showing little sign of improvement, with analysts pointing to a notably poor performance in trade data from the Eurozone for the first nine months of the year. Berenberg chief economist Holger Schmieding called France “the real sick man of Europe”, adding: “The major reason why France now sticks out as the [...]