Andy Harrison’s Whitbread exit dents shares April 28, 2015 SHARES in Whitbread slipped 2.5 per cent last night after Andy Harrison announced plans to step down following five years as chief executive in which pre-tax profits have surged by more than 220 per cent. The Costa Coffee and Premier Inn owner has seen its market value grow fourfold to almost £10bn since Harrison joined [...]
RBS puts chief exec in place ahead of Williams & Glyn float April 28, 2015 ROYAL bank of Scotland has appointed Jim Brown as chief executive of Williams & Glyn, the company’s new UK challenger bank. Brown is currently boss of RBS’ Irish business and will replace John Maltby. Williams & Glyn comprises 314 branches and is focussed on lending to small businesses. Brown is best knowns for turning around [...]
No horseplay as racecourse group rakes in cash April 28, 2015 RACECOURSE Media Group (RMG), which owns 34 British racecourses, received £74.4m in media rights revenues in 2014, a 15 per cent increase on the previous year. RMG chairman Simon Ellen yesterday put the increase partly down to the addition of Ascot to the firm’s portfolio, with chief exec Richard Fitzgerald lauding the racecourse’s “global reputation”.
Kier Group will raise £340m to pay for Mouchel April 28, 2015 Construction group Kier will control 30 per cent of the UK’s road network if its proposed deal with international infrastructure firm Mouchel goes ahead. The FTSE 250 company yesterday confirmed that it has entered into a conditional agreement to buy Mouchel in a deal worth £265m. Shares in Kier Group went up by [...]
Balfour Beatty sells Edinburgh stake for £72m to specialist fund manager Equitix April 28, 2015 The transformation of infrastructure group Balfour Beatty moved forward again yesterday, as the company announced the sale of its 50 per cent interest in the Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh public-private partnership for £72m. Balfour’s investment is being bought by funds managed by specialist fund manager Equitix, and the sale is expected to complete in June. [...]
Coach hits the buffers as sales plummet amid rebrand attempt April 28, 2015 LUXURY fashion retailer Coach posted a steep drop in sales yesterday as the company attempts to rebrand. For the three months ended 28 March, sales were $929m (£606) – a 15 per cent drop compared with the same period last year. The decline in sales led to a decline in net income to $100m from [...]
Who’s the fastest City London Marathon runner? Capco star Andy Greenleaf steals a march on Mark Carney April 28, 2015 Who is the fastest runner in the City of London? The Capitalist has challenged City runners to beat the banker by submitting their Virgin Money London Marathon race times and we've already seen some pretty impressive times come in. Fit as a proverbial fiddle, Bank of England governor Mark Carney was commended for completing [...]
UK mortgage lending starting to edge upward April 28, 2015 MORTGAGE lending and lending to businesses picked up in March. The number of new house-purchase mortgages totalled 38,751 in March, up from February’s 37,453, according to figures released by British Bankers Association (BBA) yesterday. It marks the highest level of monthly mortgages in six months. The rise in the number of mortgages saw lending for [...]
London business bosses come out against mansion tax policy April 28, 2015 Over half of London business leaders are opposed to a so-called mansion tax, according to a new survey. ComRes conducted a poll of more than 500 London business leaders for the London Chambers of Commerce and Industry (LCCI). It found that 52 per cent of them are against an additional tax on properties valued [...]
Grosvenor’s bet on calling top of London luxury market pays off April 28, 2015 GROSVENOR Group, the property firm owned by the Duke of Westminster, enjoyed its highest total return last year since the start of the financial crisis after calling the top of the London luxury market and selling huge swathes of property. The company, which has owned most of London’s upscale Mayfair and Belgravia districts since 1677, [...]
