Disastrous for Labour, good for the Tories June 7, 2009 IT was a disastrous night for Labour, and an even worse one for Gordon Brown, now a lame duck prime minister who cannot even appoint the cabinet of his choice. But Labour’s crushing defeat – it got just 21.3 per cent of the vote in London, was beaten in Wales by the Tories for the [...]
WHAT THE OTHER PAPERS SAY THIS MORNING June 7, 2009 THE SUNDAYSThe Sunday Telegraph WIGLEY TO ADVISE ADVENTThe former chairman of Merrill Lynch’s European operations and a respected City figure, is joining the private equity firm Advent International to identify investment opportunities across the financial services industry. Wigley will become a part-time operating partner at Advent, which is sitting on a large cash-pile after raising [...]
THE LONDON REPORT June 7, 2009 CORPORATE data due out this week could help to steer the market, particularly with regards to retailer and consumer stocks, while investors in Independent News & Media will be hoping for an update on the future of the ailing publisher at its annual meeting on Wednesday. Today’s 17-week trading statement from JD Sports Fashion is [...]
Sales surge at WM Morrison June 4, 2009 SUPERMARKET group WM Morrison yesterday reported a better-than-expected 8.2 per cent jump in first quarter like-for-like sales, after it poached new customers from premium retailers. Chief executive Marc Bolland said Britain’s fourth largest supermarket had attracted an extra 500,000 customers a week over the period, largely driven by strong growth in London and the South. [...]
Final salary schemes on the way out June 4, 2009 PENSIONS analysts sounded the death knell for final salary pension schemes yesterday, after supermarket chain WM Morrison became the third major company in a week to end its scheme. The retailer’s decision to bring the curtain down on the scheme follows similar moves by Barclays, which transferred 18,000 staff to a hybrid scheme and energy [...]
WHAT THE OTHER PAPERS SAY THIS MORNING June 4, 2009 FINANCIAL TIMES AQUASCUTUM IN BUY-OUT TALKSAquascutum, the classic British clothing brand, could be sold to the Hong Kong clothier that distributes the label in China and south-east Asia after an offer from the brand’s management to buy the business was rejected at the eleventh hour last week. Japan’s Renown, which bought the British label in [...]
CITY MOVES WHO’S SWITCHING JOBS June 3, 2009 RWC PartnersThe asset manager has appointed Mike Corcell to its London office to launch a new UK long/short equity fund, expected to open in the third quarter of this year. Corcell joins RWC from SAC Investment Management, which he joined last year after a five-year stint at Threadneedle, where he launched and managed the $700m [...]
HAMMERSON BIDS ADIEU June 3, 2009 PROPERTY company Hammerson yesterday said it had sold its Les Trois Quartiers office and retail property in Paris to private equity real estate investor MGPA for €21m (£18.2m). The property was valued at €275m at 31 December 2008 and commands rents of €19.8m a year. The group has been trying to dump Les Trois Quartiers [...]
Westfield cuts service charge June 1, 2009 Shopping centre giant Westfield is offering to cut service charges at its west London mall by seven per cent in a bid to end a long-running disagreement with retailers over its decision to hike the fees just a few days after the £1.6bn centre opened its doors. The developer is now offering to cut service [...]
WHAT THE OTHER PAPERS SAY THIS MORNING May 27, 2009 FINANCIAL TIMES MISYS PUTS NEW FINANCE IN PLACE FOR ALLSCRIPTSMisys, the banking and healthcare software group, has refinanced the debt package it agreed in the wake of the collapse of Lehman Brothers last year. The $210m (£131m) three-year deal replaces a $325m package to secure the acquisition of Allscripts, the US clinical software record provider, [...]