Scaling up: Overcoming the challenges – Investec Comment July 12, 2015 Business growth takes many forms, but some companies have the capacity to achieve truly remarkable rates of expansion. They are scaling up: increasing revenues at a rate of over 20 per cent annually for more than a couple of years. This phenomenon is not exclusive to fast-growing markets or sectors. It may be that [...]
Where is Yanis Varoufakis as the Greek parliament votes? July 10, 2015 Lawmakers in Greece are preparing to vote in Parliament today, but Varoufakis will not be there due to family reasons. The Greek government had sent a package of reform proposals to its creditors on Thursday in order to unlock new funds and avoid bankruptcy, which parliament will be voting on in order to endorse immediate [...]
The top 10 most popular cars in June July 6, 2015 The Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) today announced record performance in car registrations in the UK. The figures showed that new car registrations grew by seven per cent in the first half of 2015, which is the highest six month total on record. Mike Hawes, chief executive of SMMT said: It is still [...]
George Osborne under pressure to tweak bank levy in July Budget July 1, 2015 Self-fulfilling prophecy, wishful thinking, fantasy economics: call it what you will, but the prospect of George Osborne fulfilling the desires of Britain’s banks in next week’s Budget is, to say the least, remote. Misplaced expectations that the chancellor would announce a review – or even the abolition – of the bank levy in his [...]
Applegreen IPO: Irish owners net €20m in petrol station listing June 16, 2015 Two Irish entrepreneurs are in line for a €20m (£14.37m) windfall after floating their petrol forecourt business on the London stock exchange. Bob Etchingham and Joe Barrett, who founded Irish petrol station group Applegreen 23 years ago, will net €15m and €5m respectively from the listing, according to regulatory documents filed yesterday. Both [...]
Car manufacturer Renault offers RCI Banque bank account for UK savers June 8, 2015 Car manufacturer Renault’s finance arm is launching savings accounts in the UK for the first time, diversifying its funding base. Motor companies often run finance businesses to fund customers’ purchases of their cars, as well as related insurance products. But offering a wider range of services is not as common. RCI Banque, as the unit [...]
Derby Day Letter: A warm welcome to race-goers from London’s business paper June 5, 2015 Welcome to race day. Today’s special Saturday print edition celebrates one of the greatest and most exciting sporting events of the year. I’m delighted to continue our wonderful relationship with Epsom Downs and Investec again at this year’s event. Here at City A.M., we are truly passionate about the Investec Derby as well as horse-racing [...]
Confident Brits set for new car purchase record June 4, 2015 NEW CAR sales are being tipped by analysts to break their all time annual record this year after they increased for the 39th consecutive month in May. Brits registered 198,706 new cars last month, according to data from the Society for Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT). The figure is up 2.4 per cent on the [...]
UK car sales slowed slightly in May June 4, 2015 Car sale growth slowed to 2.4 per cent in May, down from a rate of 5.1 per cent a month earlier, nevertheless economists said that this wasn't a cause for concern. Dealers registered 198,706 vehicles in May, marking 39 months of consecutive growth according to data released today by the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT). [...]
Insurance customers may be ripped off by poor sales information May 11, 2015 Insurance firms received a slap on the wrist from the City watchdog yesterday for failing to provide proper information to customers on the costs of various payment options. The Financial Conduct Authority’s study found that insurance sellers do not always make it clear how much customers will pay if they pick various different payment options. For [...]