M’s man Martin squashes the beef at Gaucho October 23, 2018 The boss of Gaucho has declared the days of London suits going out and “eating a kilo of steak” are over, as the restaurant chain prepares to rebound out of administration with a fresh, millennial-friendly look. Martin Williams, founder and chief executive of M Restaurants, is back in the saddle at Gaucho after leaving in [...]
FTSE asset management fund LBOW takes £25m loan from challenger bank Oaknorth October 17, 2018 UK challenger bank Oaknorth has completed a £25m loan to ICG-Longbow (LBOW), the London listed commercial real estate lender. Oaknorth has said today that it agreed a ‘loan-on-loan’ deal with LBOW, in which the challenger firm will lend the asset manager money which can then be further loaned out to property investors. The deal is [...]
Investec shares grow as it plans to demerge asset arm for London listing September 14, 2018 Shares in South African banking group Investec flew up 10 per cent today as it revealed plans to spin off its asset management arm and list it in London. Investec Asset Management (IAM) will be listed on the London Stock Exchange in a demerger Investec believes “simplifies the group”. It will also have an inward [...]
How to do a private sale of your business – Investec Comment September 6, 2015 When it comes to selling a business, one size certainly does not fit all. This is particularly true in a private sale and for medium-sized companies, which tend to be tightly staffed. Where there is a wall of cash waiting to invest in growing companies, it is easy to be tempted into a “spray [...]
The economic risks looming for small firms – Investec Comment August 31, 2015 Last week’s sharp sell-off in equity markets, apparently sparked by fears over the health of the Chinese economy, dramatically highlighted the risks to the global economic outlook. But the UK is still likely to enjoy moderate growth for at least the next two years. The CBI last week upgraded its UK forecasts for 2015 and [...]
Investec Comment: Five rules for businesses on social media August 23, 2015 Whether it’s Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn or Pinterest, social media has become an essential channel for businesses of all sizes to reach customers, potential customers, and wider society. The past few years have seen an intensification of the social trend. The ability of a company to access consumers directly (and vice versa), to be in the [...]
Investec Comment: Why UK investors have warmed to tech firms August 16, 2015 London has all the ingredients to remain an attractive location for technology companies to grow and seek investment. The capital has thriving public markets that have warmed to tech stocks. More and more VCs are putting money into London startups. There’s a greater number of incubators and accelerator programmes around. UK investors have also [...]
What private client FX offers entrepreneurs – Investec Comment: August 9, 2015 Most businesses with vulnerability to foreign exchange risk – whether they’re exporters or have subsidiaries overseas – will have arrangements in place to mitigate their exposure to sharp currency moves. But what about you as an individual? As business owners and entrepreneurs become more globally-mobile, they are more likely to have overseas investments, or [...]
Why I left the City to found a business – Investec Comment August 2, 2015 What makes a barrister, with a comfortable salary and a promising career, leave her job and risk everything by starting her own company? It’s a question – or a version of it – that many in the City with an entrepreneurial spirit will have asked themselves. I won’t pretend that it wasn’t a big decision [...]
Investec Comment: Managing your foreign exchange risk July 19, 2015 In the first three months of 2015, the value of the euro fell 10 per cent against sterling. Since a stronger pound makes UK exports relatively less competitive in other markets, for a company doing business in the Eurozone, such a sizeable move could have had a significant impact on their profitability. Plenty of firms [...]