Insurance brokers slapped on wrist over conflicts of interest May 27, 2014 BROKERS must treat small businesses better when the firms come to them to buy insurance, the city watchdog warned yesterday. The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has found intermediaries sometimes act as an agent for both the small business and the insurance firm, giving rise to conflicts of interest which are not properly managed. Brokers do [...]
Firms launch TripAdvisor for bank loans in a bid to lift competition May 27, 2014 SMALL businesses are now able to compare banks on a new site designed to show which lenders can help them the most. The Business Banking Insight website has been put together by the Federation of Small Businesses (FSB) and the British Chambers of Commerce (BCC). The pair commissioned a survey of 5,000 small firms by pollsters ICM [...]
Co-op bank hires new ethics director May 27, 2014 TOP LAWYER Laura Carstensen was yesterday appointed to improve behaviour at the Co-op Bank. She is now a non-executive director and will chair the values and ethics committee, designed to make sure the bank sticks to co-operative principles. Carstensen was formerly a partner at Slaughter and May as well as deputy chairman of the Competition Commission.
Investors balk at pub landlord’s debt restructure May 27, 2014 DISGRUNTLED investors wiped almost 30 per cent off the value of Punch Taverns yesterday after the indebted pub company said it is nearing a deal to restructure its £2.3bn debt mountain, which could see it offer bondholders a debt for equity deal. “We’ve made substantial progress with groups including the ABI,” said a person close [...]
R&R Ice Cream scoops up Aussie rival firm Peters Food for £250m May 27, 2014 EUROPE’S second-largest ice cream maker, R&R Ice Cream, will buy Australian rival Peters Food Group in a deal expected to be worth around AU$450m (£247.5m). Yorkshire-based R&R, which owns the Kelly’s, Oreo and Rowntree’s Fruit Pastil ice lolly brands, will do the deal with Australia’s biggest private equity firm Pacific Equity Partners. “By combining the [...]
Tesco ends talks to sell off 191 Turkish stores May 27, 2014 TESCO confirmed yesterday that it has scrapped plans to sell its loss-making business in Turkey after talks with potential joint venture partners broke down. The supermarket chain was in talks with various groups over Kipa, which has 191 stores. These parties were reported to include private equity group BC Partners about creating a joint venture [...]
M&S’s Swannell to help the state sell off assets May 27, 2014 ROBERT Swannell, the chairman of Marks & Spencer, is to become the chair of the Shareholder Executive as the government body gears up for more privatisations and restructuring this year. Swannell, who joined the Shareholder Executive as a non-exec in January, will take over from Patrick O’Sullivan, who is leaving after two and a half [...]
Ladbrokes taps retail bond cash May 27, 2014 BETTING firm Ladbrokes yesterday said it was venturing into the retail bond market with the launch of a new issue. The bond, which has just over an eight year maturity, will pay a fixed rate of interest of 5.125 per cent. Barclays, Canaccord Genuity and Lloyds Bank are acting as joint lead managers on the [...]
Media execs bullish views May 27, 2014 MEDIA and entertainment bosses have given an upbeat assessment of the global economy, with more than two in three seeing an uptick in activity, a new study suggests. The poll, by EY, found 64 per cent thought the state of the global economy was improving. A further 34 per cent planned to pursue acquisitions over [...]
Espirito Santo’s biggest investor to take part in €1bn rights issue May 27, 2014 ESPIRITO Santo Financial Group said yesterday it will retain a 25 per cent holding in Banco Espirito Santo following the bank’s €1.045bn (£848m) rights issue, sparking a rise in BES’s share price. ESFG, controlled by Portugal’s Espirito Santo family, will exercise its right to buy most of the stock in the share sale, meaning its [...]
