Denis MacShane in comeback bid as author of Brexit book March 2, 2015 What might we see if Britain left the EU? Planes falling out of the sky? Excessively bendy bananas? Global economic carnage? Maybe not. Yet the prospect has been sufficient to prompt warnings from financial giants HSBC and Goldman Sachs already this year. “Having the UK be part of Europe is the best thing for all of [...]
Balfour Beatty developing the Olympic Village March 2, 2015 BUILDER Balfour Beatty will move into property development with a deal to construct 1,500 homes at two new neighbourhoods at the Olympic Village site. Balfour has agreed to put in half of the equity required to complete the project – about £35m – and carry out the building work, which is expected to generate £400m [...]
Tory pledge lays foundations for rise in homebuilder shares March 2, 2015 SHARES in residential building companies were given a boost yesterday, after David Cameron pledged to build 200,000 new affordable homes by 2020. The homes will be sold at a 20 per cent discount, achieved by removing levies and regulation on brownfield site properties. Shares in Berkeley were up 1.45 per cent at the close, Bellway [...]
Marks and Spencer Asia head quits ahead of store shake-up March 2, 2015 MARKS & Spencer said yesterday that its regional director for Asia was quitting after less than two years in the role as it announced a review of plans for China including the closure of five Shanghai stores. Bruce Findlay, a former retail director for Calvin Klein who is leaving to join Diesel, took on the [...]
Wolseley splashes out on online bathroom retailer Bath Empire March 2, 2015 WOLSELEY has bought a major stake in UK online bathroom retailer Bath Empire for an undisclosed sum, the plumbing supplies group said yesterday. The FTSE 100 company, which employs around 50,000 people around the world, set out its plans last year to expand by making further bolt-on acquisitions in all its core markets. The deal [...]
Game digital buys events company multiplay March 2, 2015 GAME DIGITAL has spent £20m on Multiplay, a company that organises gaming events such as the industry’s biggest festival Insomnia, which attracted 67,000 visitors this year. The high street video games retailer said the deal will help “drive deeper interaction with gamers” and provide a platform to expand its community events and competitions.
Deutsche Bank’s client growth helps firm leap up adviser table March 2, 2015 DEUTSCHE Bank was the big winner in the first-quarter adviser rankings making gains in both the stockbroker and financial adviser categories in terms of client market capitalisation, according to figures from Adviser Rankings. The Frankfurt-based investment bank, which boasts clients such as British American Tobacco, Unilever and Greene King, stood out as the biggest climber [...]
City watchdog launches study into pension fund fee structure March 2, 2015 THE FINANCIAL Conduct Authority (FCA) and the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) have called on members of the country’s investment industry to help fashion new rules on how workplace pension scheme costs should be reported to savers. From April this year, Independent Governance Committees (IGCs) and pension scheme trustees will be required to report [...]
Directors: Fund firms risk scorn March 2, 2015 THE INSTITUTE of Directors has warned the fund management industry is “ripe for investigation” as it unveiled its key priorities in its corporate governance manifesto. The influential lobby group’s director general Simon Walker said there was an “alarming lack of transparency” around fund management pay and warned managers risked becoming “the new investment bankers” as targets [...]
WH Ireland look to the future March 2, 2015 UK WEALTH manager and broker WH Ireland yesterday posted a fall in pre-tax profits but said it had taken steps to put the group on a steadier footing this year. The company made £500,000 in profits for the full year of 2014, down from £1.7m last year. One-off costs like the restructuring its private wealth [...]
