CITY MOVES Who’s switching jobs July 6, 2009 BDO Stoy HaywardThe accountancy firm has hired three new partners to its London business restructuring team. Danny Dartnaill joined BDO in 2003 and has recently been involved in high-profile restructurings in the retail and asset management sectors. Nick Goldstone, who joined the firm in 2002, specialises in the leisure and hospitality sector, while insolvency practitioner [...]
WHAT THE OTHER PAPERS SAY THIS MORNING July 5, 2009 THE SUNDAYSThe Sunday TelegraphPRU ENSURES CHANGES TO CAZENOVE RESEARCHJP Morgan Cazenove has rewritten a piece of research about Prudential that initially made a string of adverse comments about the insurer’s accounting procedures. The research note is understood to have made disparaging remarks about reporting decisions taken by Tidjane Thiam, set to take over as chief [...]
StanChart plumps for John Peace July 2, 2009 EMERGING markets bank Standard Chartered, which has enjoyed healthy revenues and profits, confirmed yesterday it had appointed John Peace as the group’s new chairman with immediate effect. Peace, 60, is set to receive £650,000 a year and a further £500,000 in shares, which will vest over the next three years. He is also chairman of [...]
Home Retail Group fights off an investor rebellion over exec pay July 2, 2009 HOME Retail Group, the owner of Argos and Homebase, yesterday saw off an investor rebellion over proposed changes to pay plans at its annual shareholders meeting. A resolution to approve a new executive bonus scheme, which will see some managers paid up to 150 per cent of their salaries in cash, was passed. However, 35.7 [...]
Land Securities sells its Portman House office to Libyan investor July 1, 2009 PROPERTY giant Land Securities said yesterday it has sold its Portman House retail and office building on Oxford Street to a Libyan state-backed investor for £155m. The multi-let building in the heart of the West End shopping district has been bought by Kinloss Property, a wholly owned subsidiary of the Libyan Foreign Investment Company. The [...]
Hutchings makes Lupus exit July 1, 2009 THE entrepreneur Greg Hutchings yesterday stood down from his executive chairman role at Lupus Capital, the group he founded in 2004 to invest in building materials and construction-related businesses, as it renegotiated its banking facilities. Lupus has for some months been struggling because of its exposure to the moribund housing market and has been weighed [...]
When the going’s tough, the City goes shopping June 28, 2009 SIR Stuart Rose has recently waived more than £1m worth of Marks & Spencers share options, and could come under more pressure at this week’s annual meeting. Discount retailers like Aldi and Lidl have just announced a slowdown in growth, while on TV Mary Portas has moved from advising high street stores to charity shops. [...]
THE TIPSTER OIL PRESSURE COULD DRIVE PRICES UP June 28, 2009 OIL stocks have been finding their way into many portfolios recently, with US crude back above $70 per barrel and the threat of further disruption in Nigeria helping to support prices. New problems at Gazprom and in the Ukraine could mean further unease in the energy sector, and prices could rise further as we move [...]
Regeneration is taking off in the Olympic quarters June 25, 2009 STRATFORD has long been one of those London areas that is supposedly on the verge of gentrification. The coming of the DLR, then the Jubilee Line, were meant to turn it into an up-and-coming area attractive to thrusting young professionals. It never quite happened. But last week, two things took place which mean that Stratford [...]
CITY MOVES WHO’S SWITCHING JOBS June 23, 2009 AvivaMatt Saker is to join the savings, investment and insurance group as its new chief actuary for Europe. Saker joins from Watson Wyatt, where he worked for over 18 years, becoming a partner in 2003. In his new role, he will be responsible for capital management, life and general insurance reserving and market-consistent embedded value [...]