Jaeger is officially up for sale, confirms private equity guru Jon Moulton March 5, 2017 Struggling retail chain Jaeger is up for sale, private equity veteran and Better Capital boss Jon Moulton has confirmed. Moulton told City A.M. that a sale "process is under way" with "a considerable number" of buyers having approached him already. Better Capital has hired AlixPartners to advise over the sale of the 133-year-old fashion brand. The [...]
Jack Wills to open first German store in fight against currency pressures March 5, 2017 Varsity-style clothing retailer Jack Wills will open its first mainland Europe store in Germany, as part of a strategy to increase sales in overseas currencies. The company hopes to offset the effect of the weaker sterling by developing a “natural hedge” through new openings abroad. Founder and CEO Peter Williams said: “what we are trying [...]
Leading Brexiteers Michael Gove and Dominic Raab have joined calls for Downing Street to protect EU nationals’ rights March 5, 2017 The pressure is growing on Prime Minister Theresa May to guarantee the rights of EU nationals after a cross-party group of MPs, including some heavy hitter Brexiteers, called on Downing Street to act. The House of Lords last week passed an amendment to the Article 50 Bill including a unilateral offer to protect Europeans resident [...]
Guy Hands plotting £1.3bn sale of Italian solar power firm March 5, 2017 Terra Firma boss Guy Hands is plotting a £1.3bn sale of Italian solar power giant RTR. Hands is in talks with banks to explore a sale of the Rome-based renewable energy company, the Sunday Times reported. RTR, which was snapped up by Terra Firma in 2011, produces energy for 160,000 families every year through its sites in [...]
Bullish Hammond warns the UK will “fight back” if unable to secure a Brexit deal March 5, 2017 Chancellor Philip Hammond has warned European member states the UK "has a fighting spirit" and will not "slink off as a wounded animal" if Brexit talks collapse. Prime Minister Theresa May will fire the starting gun on negotiations later this month, and Hammond today warned that Britain will do "whatever it takes" to remain competitive. [...]
Facebook Messenger is testing a dislike reaction button (astonished face!) March 5, 2017 Facebook is playing around with what might just be the most demanded feature ever on the social network – a dislike button. It's not quite a thumbs up to a thumbs down yet, but the tech giant's messaging service is hosting tests of a new dislike reaction, joining others such as love, angry and sad. [...]
Ed Balls is refusing to rule out a return to Westminster politics March 5, 2017 Former shadow chancellor Ed Balls is refusing to rule out a return to the world of Westminster politics, but the one-time Strictly Come Dancing contestant may not reappear for a little while. Speaking on Peston on Sunday, Balls said "never say never" when asked about whether he would seek to become an MP once again, [...]
Budget 2017: The government’s promised £500m to get young people into higher paying jobs in technical training shake-up March 5, 2017 The government is promising to invest £500m a year in technical training for young people to ensure they have the high level skills needed by businesses in the future, in a huge shake up designed to boost the country's productivity. The radical overhaul of post-16 education will see a dizzying array of 13,000 different qualifications whittled [...]
Scotland’s Aberdeen Asset Management and Standard Life are mulling an £11bn merger March 5, 2017 Two of Britain's top fund managers are in talks about one of the most significant mergers in the City for years, it has been confirmed. Aberdeen Asset Management and Standard Life have been holding talks about a merger which could valued at £11bn, Sky News first reported. The Scotland-based companies employ more than 9,000 people and [...]
This chart shows what’s changed since since the Bank of England began its quantitative easing programme in 2009 March 4, 2017 Tomorrow is the eighth anniversary of the Bank of England (BoE)'s quantitative easing (QE) programme and of interest rates being cut to the "emergency" level of 0.5 per cent. It also happens to be the deadline for written submission to the treasury select committee's enquiry into the effectiveness and impact of the post-2008 monetary policy. Laith Khalaf, senior [...]