St James’s Place signs up Metro February 25, 2015 WEALTH manager St James’s Place will launch a new banking service in conjunction with challenger lender Metro in April, it confirmed yesterday The FTSE 100 group unveiled the new service as it released full-year results showing a 24 per cent rise in profits up to £173.8m, helping it to hike its full year dividend by [...]
Agnelli family to sell Cushman and Wakefield February 25, 2015 ITALY’S Agnelli family has put real estate advisory giant Cushman & Wakefield up for sale in a deal that could fetch up to $2bn (£1.3bn) Exor, the investment arm of the Agnelli family, has approved management’s hiring of bankers Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley to help find a buyer for the business. “As is the [...]
Topps Tiles appoints Poundland’s Shapland as its next chairman February 25, 2015 TILING specialist Topps Tiles yesterday announced that Poundland chair Darren Shapland will become its chairman after current chair Michael Jack announced his retirement. Jack, who has served as Topps’ chairman since 1999, will step down on 18 March, handing the reins to Shapland. As well as Poundland, Shapland is also chairman of Maplin Electronics, non-executive [...]
Profits jump through the roof at Barratt February 25, 2015 BARRATT chief executive Mark Clare said its £4bn spending spree on land over the past six years had paid off after house sales reached a new high and profits soared by 74.6 per cent in the first half of the year. The housebuilder said yesterday property sale completions reached 6,971 in the six months to [...]
Tory minister Sam Gyimah: I’ll use my City skills to boost childcare February 25, 2015 Conservative minister Sam Gyimah will today launch a programme aimed at convincing businesses to put more cash into childcare. Gyimah, who is a former employee of Goldman Sachs, wants to get so-called social investors around the table with childcare providers – especially those operating in deprived areas. The government describes social investment as “providing capital for [...]
Wizz Air IPO: Low-cost carrier gets first-class treatment after listing in London February 25, 2015 Wizz Air soared yesterday as its shares commanded an eight per cent premium on its offer price during conditional trading. The Hungarian budget airline, which was founded in 2003, has expanded rapidly in recent years as the budget airline capitalised on the collapse of Hungarian flag carrier Malev in 2012. The growth rate saw passenger [...]
Dividend up as revenue grows at Kier Group February 25, 2015 INCREASED confidence among UK businesses helped to push revenue up at construction firm Kier Group, according to boss Haydn Mursell. The company posted an 11 per cent improvement in revenue, up from £1.43bn during the final six months of 2013 to £1.58bn in the same period to 31 December 2014. Profit before tax dipped by [...]
HSBC spoils TSB results party with appearance before MPs – but they don’t mind February 25, 2015 It can be nerve-wracking hosting a party for the first time – what if nobody comes? Have I bought enough food? Will it clash with a more glitzy event in the social calendar? The same applies in the City, too. Yesterday was a big day for TSB, presenting its first set of full-year financial results [...]
Art for Ark – Bank to sell its prized pictures February 25, 2015 Bank of America Merrill Lynch is today auctioning 12 of its finest pieces of art to raise funds for education charity Ark’s acclaimed Mathematics Mastery programme. Works by David Hockney and Henry Moore will go under the hammer, so BAML is counting on you to dig deep. Going… Going… Gone.
Profits prosper in first half for recruiter Hays February 25, 2015 MultinationalL recruiter Hays yesterday reported a 30 per cent rise in operating profit to £81.5m, on a like-for-like basis, for the first half ended 31 December, despite substantial foreign exchange headwinds of £4.1m. Net fees for the FTSE 250-listed firm grew 10 per cent to £384m on a like-for-like basis, with profit before tax jumping [...]
