Travelex boss to buy The Office in £43.3m deal September 5, 2010 LLOYD DORFMAN, founder of currency exchange Travelex, is to acquire serviced office company The Office Group for £43.3m. Dorfman is acquiring the company from Bridges Ventures, the private equity firm launched by Sir Ronald Cohen and dedicated to urban regeneration. Dorfman will take over a portfolio of six sites in London and one in Bristol, [...]
Fitness First sparks fresh talk of an IPO September 5, 2010 FITNESS FIRST, the gym chain owned by BC Partners, is understood to be adopting international accounting methods in a move that could position it for a £1.2bn flotation. Fitness First’s 2009/10 accounts will be prepared in line with international financial reporting standards (IFRS), the format used by publicly listed companies. The news will prompt renewed [...]
British bankers ask Hague to help fight Bahrain travel ban September 5, 2010 THREE BRITISH bankers who are banned from leaving Bahrain as part of a financial investigation have called on foreign secretary William Hague to intervene in their case. The three men, along with several others from Ireland and Canada, have been prevented from leaving the Arab state since 2009 while authorities look into the financial activities [...]
Japanese finance minister says he is willing to stem yen’s rise September 5, 2010 JAPANESE finance minister Yoshihiko Noda says Tokyo would take decisive steps to stem the yen’s rise when needed, while suggesting that coordinated currency market intervention was a difficult option. Traders are getting cautious about bidding the yen up too much after Japanese ministers kept up warnings against the currency’s surge to 15-year high versus the [...]
Germany will soon tire of footing the euro bill September 5, 2010 HOW much longer will Germany want or need to be a member of the Eurozone is a question that’s been increasingly asked since the start of this financial crisis. With the stunning strength of the bounce back in Germany becoming clearer with every data series release, this is a crucial yet slow burn story that [...]
HayFin to lend €3bn with Cohen backing September 5, 2010 HAYMARKET FINANCIAL, the recently-established small business lender, has raised €450m (£375m) from Lord Rothschild, Sir Ronald Cohen and an Australian fund. HayFin was set up last year to extend credit to young businesses with enterprise values of between €100m and €500m. It is run by former Goldman Sachs partner Tim Flynn and boasts non-executive advisers [...]
FXPro to announce plans for Aim float September 5, 2010 RETAIL broker FXPro will today signal its intention to float on the AIM junior stock market, in a move that could make existing shareholders up to £60m. An announcement to the stock market is expected at 7am today, when the Cyprus-based firm will outline its plan to place 30 per cent of its existing shares [...]
IOD chairman lays into new boardroom rule September 5, 2010 INSTITUTE of Directors (IOD) chairman Neville Bain has slammed the new rules that force board members at top firms to face annual re-election. Bain, the former chairman of Royal Mail, warned the recommendation that FTSE 350 directors must pass a vote of confidence once a year could play havoc with shareholder relations. “Annual board evaluations [...]
Chinese bid to block BHP Billiton tie-up September 5, 2010 CHINESE officials have ordered state companies to meet investment bankers to explore ways to block BHP Billiton’s $39bn (£25.3bn) bid for Potash. In response to the directive, sources say Sinochem is holding meetings with several banks, including Citigroup, HSBC and Morgan Stanley. The order from Beijing underscores the seriousness with which China is taking the [...]
Gartmore to lock in more key managers September 5, 2010 AILING fund manager Gartmore is considering extending a share incentivisation scheme designed to lock in key staff as fears grow of defections. Gartmore was rocked two months ago when Guillaume Rambourg, a star European fund manager, resigned to concentrate on a Financial Services Authority inquiry into irregular trades made through his account. Small companies expert [...]
