Yorkshire and Clydesdale Bank chief exec quits before flotation January 6, 2015 CLYDESDALE Bank chief executive David Thorburn is standing down after four years at the National Australia Bank (NAB) subsidiary, the bank said yesterday. NAB is selling the Clydesdale and Yorkshire Banks, after poor performance in the UK. Last year, the group had to set aside £420m to pay for payment protection insurance (PPI) claims. But recruiting [...]
Investors feasted on £13.6bn in London-listed IPOs last year January 6, 2015 Hungry investors feasted on billions of pounds in initial public offerings (IPOs) on the London Stock Exchange last year. In 2014 around 104 plucky issuers raised a total of £13.6bn on London's main and AIM markets. This represented a 10 per cent increase from the previous year's activity according to data from Thomson Reuters. Throughout the [...]
Rocky year ahead for flotations as market uncertainty reigns January 5, 2015 THE GENERAL Election in the UK and turmoil abroad could shake the equity capital markets in 2015, JP Morgan’s regional boss told City A.M. Vis Raghavan expects some flotations to take off strongly in any case, but predicts more marginal firms to either hold off floats or cut the price of their stock when volatility strikes. “You [...]
Hong Kong stock exchange chief exec Charles Li writes to Santa to lament loss of Alibaba IPO December 22, 2014 Writing a letter to Santa: At primary school it’s expected, for early teens it’s understandable, for sixth formers it’s a little strange. But for the chief executive of one of the world’s biggest stock exchanges it’s downright bizarre and just a bit bonkers. Charles Li, chief executive of the Hong Kong stock exchange [...]
Lord Myners report rescues Vince Cable over Royal Mail IPO December 18, 2014 The government received unexpected praise over Royal Mail’s float. But the City is being told to make some changes. One quick glance at the share price told the City’s critics’ everything they wanted to hear. The Royal Mail privatisation was another classic case of over-paid charlatans ripping the taxpayer off to the tune of [...]
Lending Club flotation: It’s good news and bad news December 12, 2014 Lending Club is a US-based peer-to-peer (P2P) lender. It acts as a conduit for the passage of money from individuals and institutions to businesses. Some call that crowdfunding – though increasingly that term is being reserved for platforms that raise money for equity, or property investment, or special purposes such as charity. Whatever you [...]
Dream debut as Lending Club valuation soars after IPO in boost to British crowdfunding December 11, 2014 Lending Club’s valuation soared to more than $8bn yesterday as shares rocketed as much as 60 per cent on their first day of trading. The world’s biggest peer-to-peer lender floated in New York, and could kick-start a new tech boom – with British crowdfunding firms getting a big boost from the intense investor interest. [...]
Camden Market IPO: First punks, then goths – now London’s alternative hotspot prepares for stock market investors December 8, 2014 For years a beacon of London’s alternative scene, it is perhaps symbolic that Camden Market is to float on the city’s Alternative Investment Market. Though how far it has come – masterminded by Israeli technology entrepreneur Teddy Sagi, Market Tech Holdings has bought up 11 acres of market real estate across the Camden Borough and now [...]
Camden Market IPO: Owner Market Tech Holdings aims for £100m listing on Aim December 8, 2014 The owner of Camden Market, Market Tech Holdings, yesterday announced its intention to list on London’s Alternative Investment Market. Market Tech is the holding company of a group that combines real estate assets in Camden Borough – namely Camden Stables Market, Hawley Wharf, Union Street Market and Camden Lock Market – with an [...]
FinnCap profits jump on boom in flotations and fundraisings December 2, 2014 BROKER FinnCap almost doubled its capital-raising in the past six months, the firm reported yesterday. The boom in flotations helped the mid-market specialist to raise £135m for clients, up from £75m in the same period of 2013. Revenues climbed 23 per cent to £8.5m, and pre-tax profits jumped 30 per cent to £1.3m. FinnCap’s work [...]