London Sports Festival moves from 3×3 basketball success to pickleball at the City of London Corporation’s Guildhall Yard
Santander to offload property business November 21, 2013 SANTANDER said yesterday it will sell its real estate management business Altamira to US private equity group Apollo Global Management, likely to be the largest deal of its kind so far in Spain where the property market is starting to thaw. Several banks have sold or contracted out property management businesses this year, capitalising on [...]
Hong Kong’s Gaw buys M&S London offices November 21, 2013 HONG KONG-based private equity firm Gaw Capital Partners and three South Korean investors have teamed up to buy the London headquarters of retailer Marks & Spencer for around $321m (£198m), adding to a string of property deals by Asian investors this year. Asian investors, including insurers and banks, are buying into European properties as a way [...]
3i gets in shape after acquiring gym chain November 21, 2013 LISTED private equity firm 3i made its latest foray into the buyout market yesterday by taking a controlling stake in European budget gym chain Basic-Fit for €110m (£91.7m). The deal will give 3i, the UK’s oldest private equity investor, a 55 per cent stake in the Dutch company after the gym’s founder chief executive Rene [...]
City helps raise £426,000 at Opportunity do November 21, 2013 AFRICAN song and dance filled the Victoria and Albert Museum on Wednesday night as Opportunity International launched its Spirit of Opportunity Christmas appeal. The City descended on the museum for a fabulous evening, which included performances by African dance and drum group Frititi, dinner under the dome and a live auction in aid of the [...]
Lessons of the crisis loom large for challenger November 21, 2013 Metro Bank’s Craig Donaldson is determined not to make the same mistakes as the big banks METRO Bank has made a splash since it was granted a banking licence just over three years ago. When it launched in 2010 the new lender was the first to the high street in more than 100 years – [...]
EU emissions rules help boost Matthey profit November 21, 2013 CATALYST maker Johnson Matthey beat its own expectations with a 13 per cent rise in profit yesterday, lifted by increased car and truck production globally, and tighter European rules on emissions due to come into force in January. The speciality chemicals firm said underlying first-half profit before tax totalled £212.9m, at the higher end of [...]
Rolls-Royce wins Brazil contract November 21, 2013 ROLLS-ROYCE has scored a five-year $138m (£85.4m) maintenance contract with Petrobras, Brazil’s government-controlled oil and gas provider. Rolls-Royce will repair and maintain 15 power generation units on four of Petrobras’ oil platforms in Campos Basin. Together, these platforms produce 25 per cent of Brazil’s oil output, or over 50,000 barrels of oil daily. This deal [...]
Sales slump at Abercrombie & Fitch November 21, 2013 RETAILER Abercrombie & Fitch reported a quarterly loss yesterday, with comparable-store sales declining for the seventh straight quarter as the teen apparel retailer struggles with the changing tastes of young shoppers. Net sales fell 12 per cent to $1.03bn (£619m). Total comparable sales, including online sales, fell 14 per cent.
Daily Mail trust optimistic for 2014 ad growth November 21, 2013 DAILY Mail & General Trust (DMGT), publisher of The Daily Mail and the morning freesheet Metro, has said it has made a solid start to the 2014 financial year, with advertising revenue already outperforming 2013 during the first seven weeks. “We have entered the new financial year with our businesses performing well and in line [...]
Nokia to hand over the keys to its headquarters to Microsoft November 21, 2013 NOKIA said it plans to hand over the lease of its headquarters to Microsoft when the US company takes over its mobile phone business in a deal scheduled to close early next year. Nokia had already last year sold the glass and steel building in the city of Espoo, which is on the Baltic Sea [...]
