Firms shuttering defined benefit pension plans for new schemes February 17, 2014 GLOBAL firms are mirroring UK corporate pension trends by closing defined benefit (DB) schemes, a poll shows today. Just six per cent of companies in a sample of Fortune 500 companies were willing to keep DB schemes open, according to the poll by PwC. Nine out of 10 said they were switching to defined contribution [...]
US buyout house wins race for credit checking firm Callcredit February 17, 2014 CREDIT reference agency Callcredit Information Group has been sold to a US-based private equity outfit as part of a £480m-plus management buyout of the group. The Yorkshire business, which employs about 950 people in the UK and overseas, has been bought by Chicago-based GTCR after winning a hotly contested bidding process, with management taking a [...]
Soros stock reshuffle bumps Microsoft off top investment spot February 17, 2014 SOROS Fund Management, founded by George Soros, has boosted its stake in Israeli firm Teva – making the pharma company the fund’s top holding. The fund disclosed it took a $373m position in the company last quarter. The fund’s top holding last quarter was computer giant Microsoft.
Pub backing helping Brasserie Bar Co think big February 17, 2014 A CHAIN of restaurants named after French chef Raymond Blanc has secured £13.5m of funding to grow its gastropub brand. Brasserie Bar Co, the owner of Brasserie Blanc restaurants, said today that the funds from private equity firm ESO Capital will be used mainly to expand its White Brasserie pub chain. The group, which runs [...]
UKTV moves into West London headquarters February 17, 2014 UKTV, the owners of the Dave television channel, is moving its 250 staff into new headquarters in Hammersmith this summer. The broadcaster has signed a 15-year lease for 32,500 square feet at 10 Hammersmith Grove, which is owned by Development Securities and the SWIP Property Trust.
Footfall rises but high street is still losing out February 17, 2014 HIGH-STREET shops have failed to make any gains from improved footfall in January’s sales, continuing to slip behind other platforms for bricks and mortar retailers. A boost to sales following Christmas didn’t translate into more traffic for high streets, according to new figures released today by Springboard and the British Retail Consortium (BRC) – but [...]
Cara Delevingne launches new Mulberry range February 17, 2014 MULBERRY has unveiled a new collection of bags in collaboration with model Cara Delevingne, as the luxury group attempts to revive its fortunes after issuing a second profit warning in less than a year last month. The Cara Delevingne Bag, which was launched yesterday as part of London Fashion Week, is the latest in a [...]
The site helping investors in Lego mini-figure it out February 17, 2014 THE MOVIE version of classic Scandi toy, Lego, has got everyone talking at the moment, not least because it took £30m in its first three days in the box office in the US and is expected to perform just as well here. But whether you’re an Afol (adult fan of Lego – it’s a real [...]
Sounds of the City brought to life February 17, 2014 WHAT does the UK sound like? Unfortunately at the moment, howling winds and lots of splashing but outside of that, which noises are quintessentially British? According to the marketing whizzes at VisitBritain the pouring of a cup of tea (surely the whirr of a Nespresso?), a black cab beeping (an electric one, we assume?) and, [...]
Three things you didn’t know about… February 17, 2014 Jones Lang LaSalle UK CEO Guy Grainger 1 He’s been commuting to work on a Vespa for about 12 years and absolutely loves it. He admits he’s got a more grown-up, modern, black one now but used to ride a 1968 flame orange Vespa, with an open-face helmet. 2 He once appeared on The Apprentice [...]
