Buskers battle it out for TfL certification July 27, 2015 DO YOU have the X-Factor? Yesterday TfL began the first of eight days of busking auditions around London to look for the next big thing in street performance. Over 200 musicians will compete for just 70 busking licenses. Standards are already pretty high, so good luck!
Zegona swoops for Telecable de Asturias: Former Virgin Media execs buy Spanish outfit July 27, 2015 Two former Virgin Media executives yesterday struck a €640m agreement to buy a Spanish telecoms firm, the maiden investment for their newly launched takeover vehicle. Eamonn O’Hare, former chief financial officer at Virgin Media, and its ex-chief operating officer Robert Samuelson floated Zegona in March with the backing of blue chip fund mangers like Neil [...]
EE boss Olaf Swantee takes rivals to task over complaints about BT’s takeover July 27, 2015 EE boss Olaf Swantee yesterday hit back at rivals attacking a proposed £12.5bn takeover by telecoms giant BT amid fears the deal will dilute competition in the sector. “We have about 20 of our competitors who want to use lawyers to get a certain result, rather than using engineers to help them differentiate,” he said. [...]
Eurozone credit and money growth give a boost to growth prospects July 27, 2015 The amount of lending and the money supply climbed in the Eurozone last month. The annual growth rate of loans to households climbed to 1.7 per cent in June from 1.4 per cent in May, according to data released by the European Central Bank yesterday. Lending to companies rose at a slower rate of 0.1 [...]
Climb in confidence of German business as Greek crisis subsides July 27, 2015 GERMAN business confidence climbed in July, survey data showed yesterday, as fears over Greece leaving the Eurozone subsided. Research institute IFO said its Business Climate Index rose to a 108 this month from 107.5 in June. It followed two months of contraction. The survey, which looks at responses from around 7,000 German firms, revealed rising [...]
Hiscox posts increased profit and premiums despite tough market July 27, 2015 INSURANCE group Hiscox reported an “excellent” start to its year yesterday, with premiums and profits up during the first six months of 2015. Gross written premiums jumped from £979m in the first half of 2014, to £1.1bn, while pre-tax profit increased to £135m from £125m. The company also said its retail business had delivered record [...]
Petra Diamonds keeps its shine July 27, 2015 PETRA’S production for the year is up two per cent, in line with expectations, however revenue dropped by 10 per cent due to lower average diamond prices compared with 2014. The firm saw a strong performance at three of its mines during the year, but this was offset by a weaker performance at its other [...]
Cranswick sales show marked improvement July 27, 2015 UK FOOD producer Cranswick yesterday reported an eight per cent rise in revenue during the three months to 30 June, compared with the same period of last year. The meat products firm said its improved performance was driven by strong volume growth across most product categories. Underlying sales were also up, by four per cent, [...]
City Moves for 28 July 2015 | Who’s switching jobs July 27, 2015 Cording Real Estate Group The real estate investment and asset management firm has appointed Philip Gittins as group finance director. He was most recently managing director of Saltgate’s Luxembourg operation. Gittins has worked in investment since 1987, and spent almost 20 years at Henderson Global Investors. Ingenious Asset Management George Moorey-Denham has been appointed business [...]
FTSE wipes all 2015 gains as commodity stocks take a tumble – London Report July 27, 2015 The FTSE fell back to where it started this year, erasing all its gains made since January, down 8.4 per cent since hitting a record high in April. The blue-chip FTSE 100 index ended 1.1 per cent lower at 6,505.13 points, in its longest losing streak so far in 2015. Fears for economic [...]
