UK mobile firms join meeting on broadband plan October 6, 2013 TELECOMS groups including the UK’s largest mobile operators will today meet with the Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) over ongoing plans for the rural broadband rollout. Executives from EE, Vodafone and Three will all attend a meeting to explore ways of expanding coverage using mobile technologies, according to a report from the Financial [...]
City office lets reach three-year high but value still tops wish list October 6, 2013 LETTINGS of prime “grade A” office space in the City hit their highest level in three and a half years in the third quarter at 470,640 square feet. Research out today by Colliers International showed that most deals were for second-hand offices as cautious companies continue to put value at the top of their lists. [...]
UK businesses not among the top innovators October 6, 2013 BRITAIN’S leading businesses are notably absent from a list of the top 100 global innovative companies. Foreign companies Apple, Canon and Alcatel-Lucent all made the list, but pioneering UK businesses such as Arm Holdings, Rolls-Royce and BAE Systems are all missing from the Thomson Reuters Top 100 Global Innovators report. The list is described as, [...]
More interested parties mulling BlackBerry bids October 6, 2013 GOOGLE, Cisco and SAP have all been named on the growing list of companies interested in bidding for BlackBerry, the struggling Canadian mobile manufacturer. Such a bid would come as an alternative to the agreement reached with Fairfax Financial on 23 September to take the company private for $4.7bn, a bid which has faced some [...]
Merkel steps up talks to secure crucial German coalition partner October 6, 2013 CHANCELLOR Angela Merkel led her conservatives to their best result in over two decades in the latest German election – and is now stepping up talks to secure a crucial coalition partner. After holding preliminary talks with the Social Democrats (SPD) on Friday she has agreed to more discussions on 14 October. In the meantime [...]
UK investor Melrose Industries nears deal to sell Crosby Group October 6, 2013 MELROSE Industries, the UK manufacturing investor, is nearing a deal to sell heavy lifting company Crosby Group. Melrose, listed on the FTSE, put the US-based company on the block earlier this year and is thought to have received a slew of offers for the business. Buyout shop KKR, which pioneered the practice of buying firms [...]
Consumer firms to spark next flotation frenzy October 6, 2013 BRITISH department store House of Fraser is on the cusp of appointing advisers to explore plans for a float of the chain, amid a resurgence in consumer–focused brands looking to list in London. The chain is thought to have held a beauty parade of investment banks, laying plans for a £300m float after the Christmas [...]
Oriel Securities is back on track after dismal 2012 loss revealed October 6, 2013 ORIEL Securities, the resurgent City broker, made the first loss in its decade-long history last year after corporate finance fees fell to a four-year low, annual accounts show. Oriel, which has since returned to an even keel after securing a tie-up with Canadian outfit CIBC last month, saw turnover fall 22 per cent in the [...]
Pension Insurance Corporation considers public funding source October 6, 2013 PENSION Insurance Corporation, the pension scheme buyout firm, is considering tapping the public equity markets for capital to help foster its rapid rate of growth. The company, which was set up by private equity investor Edi Truell six year ago, is thought to be considering a range of options including private investments or a float [...]
Bank of America chief happy to be butt of jokes October 6, 2013 They’re back. The banker jokes were flowing as freely as the champagne at the Banker awards where some of the City’s brightest investment bankers gathered to pat themselves on the back and collect awards. BBC broadcaster Michael Buerk, who in another age was famous for his reports from a starving Ethiopia, hosted the evening and [...]