Retail veteran John Allan in the running for Tesco chairman role February 1, 2015 DIXONS Carphone deputy chairman John Allan is tipped to be named as the next chairman of Tesco as the supermarket attempts to revive its fortunes and draw a line under last year’s accounting scandal. Tesco is understood to have drawn up a shortlist of potential candidates to replace Sir Richard Broadbent, who announced in November [...]
Private equity firm Hellman in Auto Trader bid February 1, 2015 PRIVATE equity firm Hellman & Friedman is putting together a takeover bid for used car business Auto Trader, which could put an end to the firm’s plans to float on the London stock market. A source close to the deal said an offer from the US private equity house was a “logical step” for Auto [...]
Genel Energy to reshuffle its executive team February 1, 2015 OIL FIRM Genel Energy will announce a shake-up of its executive team this morning. The four-year-old company, which is led by former BP boss Tony Hayward, is to reveal that Julian Metherell is stepping down as chief financial officer, according to Sky News. Metherell, who was previously a partner at Goldman Sachs, is expected to [...]
Heathrow plans for new runway blasted by rival February 1, 2015 HEATHROW Airport has underestimated the cost of a new runway by up to £5.6bn and will take at least four years longer than planned to complete the project, according to research from EC Harris that was commissioned by Gatwick Airport. The report stated that Heathrow’s timetable for delivery is over-ambitious due to the extent of [...]
Chinese banks’ brands overtake HSBC and Santander by value February 1, 2015 CHINESE banks are leaping up the league tables of valuable brands, overtaking western titans according to a study out today from Brand Finance and The Banker magazine. ICBC’s valuation rose by 20 per cent on the year, climbing from sixth place to second, overtaking HSBC and threatening number one brand Wells Fargo. Agricultural Bank of [...]
FinnCap top of the Aim listings again for 2014 February 1, 2015 FINNCAP topped London’s Alternative Investment Market (Aim) rankings for another year, it was revealed yesterday, as the most in-demand stockbroker and nominated adviser on the market. With 104 broking clients and 93 clients for which it acts as nominated adviser, FinnCap remained at the top of the annual Aim league compiled by Adviser Rankings. But [...]
Jamie Ritblat’s Delancey in talks to sell the City’s Walbrook building for £600m February 1, 2015 THE OWNERS of the Walbrook in the City are understood to be in talks to sell the trophy office building for as much as £600m. Jamie Ritblat’s property company Delancey has owned the Walbrook building since 2011, when it acquired its owner Minerva for £200m. Although now almost fully let, the Foster and Partners-designed building [...]
TM Lewin shapes up and returns to profit February 1, 2015 SHIRT-MAKER TM Lewin returned to profit last year, thanks in part to a revamp of its website and the launch of new clothing ranges. The retailer reported a pre-tax profit of £636,000 in the year to 1 March 2014, up from a loss of £1.4m the previous year. Sales edged up slightly to £106.8m compared [...]
UK energy firms face calls to add female leaders February 1, 2015 JUST nine per cent of seats on the boards of the UK’s top 100 energy firms are held by women, according to research from PwC and industry body Powerful Women (PfW). A new report from the financial services firm and PfW also reveals just five per cent of executive board seats are held by women [...]
Economists hit out at industry calls to limit cheap steel imports February 1, 2015 UK STEELMAKERS are demanding government action to defend the industry’s nascent recovery. The output of steel in the UK last year was 11.9m tonnes – 19 per cent below pre-recession levels, figures from industry body EEF reveal today. UK Steel, a division of EEF, blames the industry’s struggle on slow growth in China – a [...]
