John Lewis sales boost shows confidence is back November 15, 2009 Bellwether retailer John Lewis provided fresh signs of confidence seeping back into the high street by reporting a 17.1 per cent rise in sales last week compared to last year. And the group said that the past week’s trading is also £500,000 up on 2007, pre-credit crunch, when shoppers spent £71.98 on average each. John [...]
CITY MOVES WHO’S SWITCHING JOBS November 15, 2009 Berrymans Lace MawerThe law firm has hired Chris Fitton to its professional indemnity team as a partner.Fitton joins from rival Pinsent Masons, where he was also a partner and headed up its Birmingham insurance team. He specialises in resolving professional negligence claims against solicitors and financial intermediaries, with clients including Lloyd’s underwriters, composite insurers, IFAs [...]
DO YOU THINK WE WILL SEE A LULL IN THE HOUSING MARKET? November 15, 2009 HOWARD ELSTON AYLESFORD INTERNATIONALWe nearly always get a lull once November turns into December unless the market is absolutely roaring. But I suspect the market is not strong enough this year for it to be a good month. I don’t think we will see activity picking up again until the middle of January. ED STANSFIELD [...]
Google scales back online library plans November 15, 2009 Google and the Authors Guild have filed a new version of a proposal to create a massive online library, hoping to avert antitrust and copyright concerns in the US and overseas. As part of the amended deal, books in the registry would be reduced to those copyrighted in the US or published in the UK, [...]
A stylish new hotel comes to the Square Mile November 15, 2009 There’s a new hotel in the City – and about time too. Considering the area’s global pre-eminence as a centre of finance and business, with people constantly jetting in from around the world to do deals, it’s surprising how light it’s been on good places for them to stay. That’s about to change thanks to [...]
Sweet success is on the horizon for G founders November 15, 2009 CHOCOLATE mousse firm Gü is in the final stages of its proposed sale, with Noble Foods believed to be the front-runner for the deal. Gü founder James Averdieck founded the brand back in 2003 with £100,000 of personal funds, but appointed Cavendish Corporate Finance in May this year to work on a sale of the [...]
Superdry set to smash its way into FTSE 250 November 15, 2009 Supergroup, the fashion retailer behind the Superdry brand best known for its urban style and for gracing David Beckham’s body, is set to strut its way into the FTSE 250 next year with a stock market listing valuing the business at £400m. The retailer has hired City broker Seymour Pierce to advise on the float, [...]
Paddy Power targets France November 12, 2009 IRISH bookmaker Paddy Power will move into the French online sports betting market and said it remained on track to meet market consensus for full-year profits yesterday. Ireland’s biggest bookie agreed a five-year outsourcing deal to provide betting technology and pricing for French horse racing operator Pari Mutuel Urbain (PMU), the largest betting organisation in [...]
Germany: GM should find Opel funds independently November 12, 2009 GENERAL MOTORS (GM) should come up with its own financing for Opel, Germany’s economy minister Rainer Bruederle said yesterday, after the US carmaker axed plans to sell off its European arm. In a blow to the group, which is seeking state aid, he said GM should shoulder the responsibility of restructuring Opel, which trades as [...]
O2 tops rivals and grows in third quarter November 12, 2009 Mobile operator O2 said yesterday that it was the only UK network to grow its revenues in the third quarter, as it benefited from its since-expired deal to be the exclusive seller of Apple’s iPhone. The UK arm of Spain’s Telefonica said that it saw demand for its mobile data services – customers accessing the [...]