Vivendi mulls plan to divide company in two September 11, 2013 UNIVERSAL Music owner Vivendi yesterday said it would consider plans to hive off telecom unit SFR off from the rest of its media business. The French conglomerate said it would make the decision on cutting loose SFR, a French business, by early 2014. “Vivendi’s supervisory board has unanimously decided to launch a study to split [...]
Bumi slips out of FTSE 250 after index kicks out troubled miner September 11, 2013 COALMINER Bumi yesterday slipped out of the FTSE 250 at the index’s quarterly review, bringing an end to a deeply unsuccessful spell in the top tiers of British business. The company will now became a member of the FTSE Small Cap index. Set up in 2010 by Nat Rothschild, Bumi has endured a turbulent existence [...]
United States remembers 9/11 September 11, 2013 THE US yesterday remembered the victims of the 9/11 attacks in a series of memorials marking the 12th anniversary, including at the Empty Sky memorial in New Jersey. The attacks killed almost 3,000 people in New York, Washington and Pennsylvania.
Zurich appoints new chair after death of exec September 11, 2013 ZURICH Insurance yesterday appointed Tom de Swaan to be its chairman, as the company starts rebuilding its board following the death of chief financial officer Pierre Wauthier. Wauthier committed suicide last month, leaving behind a note in which he allegedly blamed Zurich’s ex-chairman Josef Ackermann for putting him under excessive pressure at work. Ackerman resigned [...]
Black taxis back in business as new owner Geely restarts production line in Coventry September 11, 2013 LONDON’S black cabs have started rolling off the production line in Coventry again, six months after Chinese business Geely bought the manufacturer out of administration. Geely has pledged to invest £150m in the factory that makes the iconic TX4 model over the next five years. The firm said yesterday that it has already sold out [...]
Redrow signs £250m loan as it sets sights on further expansion September 11, 2013 REDROW announced yesterday it has agreed on a new and larger £250m loan with its banks, in a further sign of growing confidence in the housing market. The housebuilder said the four and a half year credit facility, which expires in March 2018, was £50m bigger than the existing facility it replaces, while costs were [...]
Lendlease wins on Battersea September 11, 2013 LENDLEASE won planning consent yesterday to build 200 new homes at two schemes in Battersea. The property giant, which is also behind the £1.5bn regeneration of Elephant & Castle, said the developments bring the number of homes for which it has won consent for in London this year to 700. The first site on Surrey [...]
Buyers queuing for homes, says Barratt’s chief September 11, 2013 HOUSEBUILDER Barratt Developments yesterday said queues were forming for its housing schemes for the first time since the financial crisis, as the market recovery spreads beyond southeast England. Britain’s largest housebuilder by volume, said yesterday that buyer appetite for its homes was so strong that for some sites it was making five to 10 sales [...]
Surge in London living costs as rents jump to £2,192 a month September 11, 2013 LONDON rents increased in August after pausing for six months, according to numbers out yesterday from estate agency Move with Us. Rents in the capital increased 1.74 per cent in August to an average of £2,192, though that is still 3.38 per cent below the level a year ago. The increases come at a time [...]
Cable and bank boss voice fears on Help to Buy September 11, 2013 BUSINESS secretary Vince Cable and Barclays’ Anthony Jenkins mauled the Treasury’s Help to Buy scheme yesterday, adding to fears about the risk of a new housing bubble. Cable said: “We should certainly think about how it should come into effect, indeed whether it should come into effect in the light of changing market [...]
