Bored RBS selfie boss quits his new top job at investment bank March 30, 2015 TOP RBS executive Rory Cullinan stepped down yesterday, after disagreeing with its board over the implementation of its investment banking strategy. The executive chairman of the corporate and institutional banking arm has been in the role only for a matter of weeks, but has been at RBS as a turnaround specialist for six years. Cullinan [...]
Amazon moves drone testing to Canada after US takes too long to grant licence March 30, 2015 Tech giant Amazon appears to have followed through on its threat to move futuristic drone testing out of the US, after complaining of excessive red tape. The company is testing drones just across the border in Canada. It plans on using the unmanned flying machines to deliver goods ordered through its website. Just last week, Amazon [...]
Marshall Motors IPO: Stealth flotation values car dealership at £115m March 30, 2015 Car dealership Marshall Motor Holdings (MMH) revealed a successful flotation on the Alternative Investment Market (Aim) yesterday, raising £50m from investors. The deal, which values the group at around £115m, was run as a so-called stealth initial public offering (IPO) by investment bankers at Investec. That means the stock market debut was not pre-announced [...]
Cenkos keen on more big deals after British Car Auctions float March 30, 2015 Brokerage Cenkos yesterday reported record profits for 2014, on the back of its successful AA float. So far this year, it has also successfully got away the British Car Auctions (BCA) float, something which a series of larger rivals failed to achieve last year. Its revenues jumped 72 per cent to £88.5m, and profit before [...]
Reputation of Kingfisher boss Veronique Laury tarnished after collapse of Mr Bricolage deal March 30, 2015 Europe's biggest DIY group Kingfisher said yesterday that its €275m (£201m) bid for smaller French rival Mr Bricolage had collapsed after facing opposition from one the French rival’s major shareholders. Kingfisher first entered exclusive talks in April last year to buy 26.2 per cent of the share capital from the Tabur Family and 41.9 per [...]
Tesco begins land sell-off in cost-cutting drive March 30, 2015 Tesco has hired property advisory firm Savills to sell six development sites as part of plans announced earlier this year to cut costs. Chief executive Dave Lewis said in January that he would halve capital spending and save £250m a year by axing 43 stores, shelving 49 projects and closing its Cheshunt head office. The [...]
Morrisons hurt by downgrade March 30, 2015 SHARES in Morrisons dropped one per cent yesterday after analysts at Goldman Sachs downgraded the supermarket chain and forecast lower margins. The bank said that despite the retailer being “the most proactive” of the UK grocers in cutting prices and improving service to boost footfall, like-for-likes remained negative, leading them to forecast lower margins in [...]
Quindell begins to recover with £637m law deal March 30, 2015 QUINDELL chairman David Currie said yesterday that the company’s deal to sell its professional services division to Australian law firm Slater & Gordon was a watershed for the group. Shares in Quindell were up by over five per cent yesterday, after the £637m deal was confirmed. Currie told City A.M. it would help counter the [...]
Headache for retailers as business rates to reach record level in 2017 March 30, 2015 Businesses will be footing a rates bill based on half of the rental value of their properties – the highest level yet – according to research out today. Business rates, charged on commercial properties including offices and shops, are calculated according to their rental value. The system has been blamed for the demise of the [...]
Ex-director Tim Ingram piles pressure on Alliance Trust chief executive March 30, 2015 Alliance Trust’s board is failing to scrutinise the management, and non-executives who try to ask questions are eased out, ex-director Tim Ingram told City A.M. yesterday. Ingram is backing activist investor Elliott Advisors’ bid to put three new directors on Alliance’s board, in the hope of shaking up the investment firm’s strategy. Ingram believes that [...]
