Branson urges Britain to stay in the EU January 3, 2013 SIR Richard Branson yesterday waded into the debate over the UK’s EU membership, urging Britain to stay in the union. “An exit would be very bad for British business and the economy as a whole,” he said. Addressing calls by MPs for a referendum on the issue, Branson added the EU would be in “better [...]
Sporting stars eye up future jobs in the City January 3, 2013 CAPTAIN of Leicestershire County Cricket Club and former England player Matthew Hoggard recently did his best to bowl over Global Payments’ London office, as part of a work placement initiative to help cricketers gain business skills. The project is a joint effort between the Professional Cricketers’ Association and English Cricket Board, which helps to prepare [...]
Which Russian oligarch would live in a giant house like this? January 3, 2013 IT has been hard to avoid the stories about the making of Rivendell, the fictional Hobbit colony out in New Zealand. But here is a current construction that leaves the film village looking elf-like in comparison. Russian oligarch and chairman of Evraz, Alexander Abramov, is the owner of New Zealand’s biggest, most expensive new residential [...]
CRH’s spending spree for 2012 reaches £511m January 3, 2013 IRISH building materials group CRH revealed yesterday it had made €630m (£511m) of acquisitions in 2012, its highest investment spend for four years. Over the second half of last year, the FTSE 100 firm, which moved its primary listing to London last year, undertook 18 deals, with a value of €375m. CRH’s Americas division made [...]
Ex-Treasury minister Sassoon steps into a top role at Jardine January 3, 2013 FORMER Treasury minister Lord Sassoon has re-entered the private sector by taking a senior job at Asia-focused conglomerate Jardine Matheson. Sassoon will take up his new executive role, based in London, on 14 January. He is also being lined up to take board seats on the firm’s other listed companies, which include insurance group Jardine [...]
Balfour Beatty expands its US business January 3, 2013 INFRASTRUCTURE firm Balfour Beatty has beefed up its American business by acquiring a US energy storage firm in a deal thought to be worth around $18m (£11m). Balfour Beatty subsidiary Parsons Brinckerhoff has bought Texas-based Subsurface, a consulting and engineering firm providing services in energy storage. Subsurface is forecast to generate around $50m in revenue [...]
John Menzies to close cargo operations at Chicago airport January 3, 2013 DISTRIBUTION and aviation group John Menzies said yesterday it would take a £7m hit from the closure of its loss-making cargo handling operations at Chicago Airport. The closure of the operations – which comes as John Menzies has “exhausted all alternative options” – will improve earnings by around £1.4m next year, it said. Following the [...]
Chemring hires former Umeco exec as new finance director January 3, 2013 THE NEW chief executive of defence services firm Chemring yesterday hired two new executives in an effort to turn around the company’s fortunes. In a boardroom shake-up, new chief executive Mark Papworth appointed Steve Bowers, former director of aerospace materials group Umeco, as group finance director with effect from 7 January. He takes over from [...]
Jet2 chooses new leader as its founder vacates one of his jobs January 3, 2013 LEISURE airline and holiday firm Jet2 has picked Steve Heapy as its new chief executive as founder Philip Meeson takes a back seat. Heapy, most recently the chief commercial officer at Jet2.com and managing director at Jet2 Holidays, has been with the firm since 2009. Meeson will become executive chairman at the airline, while keeping [...]
Gap buys luxury retailer Intermix January 3, 2013 Gap, the US clothing giant which also owns Banana Republic and Old Navy, revealed yesterday it is tapping into the luxury market with the $130m (£80m) acquisition of women’s fashion boutique Intermix. The business sells clothes and accessories brands such as Yves Saint Laurent and Jimmy Choo via its 32 stores in the US and [...]