A-Plan bought in £300m deal December 15, 2014 LONDON-based private equity firm HgCapital yesterday bought insurance broker A-Plan from Equistone Partners Europe for £300m. Equistone backed a management buyout of A-Plan in April 2008, acquiring a 32 per cent stake in the firm. According to a person close to the deal, Equistone has made a return of 2.8 times its initial investment. HgCapital [...]
Greggs on a roll as sales rise 5pc on newproducts December 15, 2014 HOT DRINKS and sandwich chain Greggs yesterday said its strategy of launching new product ranges increased its sales, confirming its status as a growing rival for Pret a Manger, Starbucks and Costa. The bakery chain, which has nearly 1,700 stores, reported that sales grew 5.2 per cent in the six months to 13 December, ahead of [...]
Qataris buy HSBC Canary Wharf headquarters in £1bn-plus deal December 15, 2014 THE QATARI sovereign wealth fund attempting a takeover of Canary Wharf Group owner Songbird Estates yesterday snapped up HSBC’s headquarters in the east London financial district. The Qatar Investment Authority (QIA) said it had completed its purchase of 8 Canada Square from the National Pension Service of Korea. Both parties declined to comment on the [...]
FCA bans fare-dodging BlackRock manager from financial services December 15, 2014 THE FINANCIAL Conduct Authority yesterday banned the former BlackRock investment manager Jonathan Burrows from the financial services industry for dodging rail fares worth £43,000. The UK’s financial watchdog said that Burrows, who resigned from BlackRock in August, was “not fit and proper” to have a role in any of the services it regulated. Describing him [...]
Rising prices a bigger burden for low earners as inflation hits those spending least December 15, 2014 Households that spend the least and have lower disposable incomes have been hit harder by inflation over the past decade. Households in the lowest 10 per cent of spenders saw prices rise by 3.7 per cent per year on average between January 2003 and October 2014, figures released yesterday by the Office for National Statistics [...]
Online expansion helps H&M beat analysts’ forecasts in November December 15, 2014 SWEDISH retail giant H&M beat analyst forecasts yesterday, after reporting a 10 per cent rise in sales in November. The group, with 3,511 stores worldwide, said overall net sales from 1 September to 30 November – its fourth quarter – totalled 42.6bn Swedish kronar (£3.58bn), excluding sales tax. That compares with 36.5bn kronar a reported [...]
Segro pockets £114m from UK warehouse sale December 15, 2014 SEGRO said yesterday it had sold a portfolio of six UK industrial estates to Orchard Street Investment Management for £113.8m to help pay down debts and fund future developments. Investment manager Orchard Street has pipped rival bidders to the post to buy the Orbital Portfolio. The six estates comprise 97 warehouse units spread around the [...]
Strictly proves it has the X Factor December 15, 2014 IT WAS a night of heavyweight TV shows, but is some of the sparkle coming off ITV’s long-time banker The X Factor? The singing competition saw Croydon crooner Ben Haenow crowned winner, but the show recorded its second-lowest finale audience in its 10-year history. According to industry bible Broadcast, some 9.4m viewers tuned in for [...]
Spectre of beer barred as Bond reorders Martini December 15, 2014 AFTER Wetherspoon’s called final orders on serving Heineken in any of its pubs last week, it looks like the Dutch brewers will not be featuring in next year’s Bond film either. Vodka has been revealed as Bond’s drink-of-choice for Spectre, due for global release in November 2015, after Beldevere Vodka was announced as the franchise’s [...]
Sainsbury’s Christmas in number December 15, 2014 WHAT is the distance between London and Madrid? The answer is around 23m pigs in blankets. That is how many Sainsbury’s is preparing to sell in the week before Christmas. The grocer expects to be inundated with 30 per cent more food orders than a normal week and to make a record 100,000 deliveries in [...]
