Chris Hohn and Jamie Cooper divorce: The £337m cost of marital breakup November 27, 2014 It was the stunning High Court divorce trial that grabbed the attention of London’s financial high-flyers. When it was announced yesterday that Mrs Justice Roberts had awarded £337m to the estranged American wife of financier Sir Chris Hohn the gasps were audible from the Strand to the City. The estranged wife, Jamie Cooper-Hohn, had fought [...]
Jaeger storms back into fashion as a five-year revamp looks good November 27, 2014 FASHION retailer Jaeger yesterday reported that its five-year revival plan was beginning to bear fruit as it announced massively improved annual sales and reduced losses. Owned by John Moulton’s Better Capital, Jaeger generated a 12 per cent rise in sales to £79.4m in the year to 1 March. Like-for-likes grew 10 per cent, while pre-tax [...]
Scottish devolution: Holyrood to get control over income tax and retain right to vote on rest of UK rates November 26, 2014 A cross-party committee of MPs will today propose that the Scottish parliament be handed direct control over billions of pounds of income tax and welfare benefits. Lord Smith of Kelvin will unveil the plans after 11 weeks of secret negotiations culminated last night as representatives from five different political parties put the finishing touches to [...]
Vince Cable calls Royal Mail boss Moya Greene’s stance over universal service scaremongering November 26, 2014 Business Secretary Vince Cable yesterday accused Royal Mail chief executive Moya Greene of scaremongering after she told MPs that there was a threat to the universal service. The universal service means Royal Mail has to deliver across the UK, six days a week, and for the same price. Appearing before the Business, Innovation and Skills Committee, [...]
LondonMetric sees profits rise on £21.8m sale November 26, 2014 LONDONMETRIC Property yesterday reported strong first-half earnings growth, driven by a move away from offices and homes and into retail distribution properties. The company also continued its portfolio shuffle, selling the Cairngorm Retail Park in Milton Keynes to Royal London Asset Management for £21.8m, reflecting a net initial yield of 6.10 per cent, and exchanging [...]
Telford commits to £1.1bn London building plans as profits improve November 26, 2014 LONDON housebuilder Telford Homes yesterday announced it was pushing forward its construction plans, committing to build £1.1bn of new housing in the capital, a 25 per cent increase year-on-year. Telford sold 600 homes in the six months to 30 September, more than its entire total in the previous financial year. The company improved its first-half [...]
Over 1m gas customers have been overcharged due to faulty meters November 26, 2014 More than one million pre-payment gas customers have been overcharged because their meters are faulty, the industry has admitted. About 1.5m meters have not been working properly since they were installed, some as long ago as 2007. The industry body Energy UK said customers may have been overcharged by as much as 25p for each [...]
Flybe signs up to new deal with Scandinavia’s largest airline SAS November 26, 2014 Budget airline Flybe yesterday announced that it had signed an agreement to fly services for Scandinavian carrier SAS. Flybe will operate four ATR72-600 aircraft on behalf of SAS with initial operations due to start next October. The aircraft, which will operate under Flybe’s Airline Operating Certificate, will be used on short-haul SAS services in Europe [...]
Twitter’s Noto has a #DMfail moment November 25, 2014 IT’S WHAT every senior company official dreads doing – pressing the send button on a tweet that should have been a direct message. Twitter finance chief Anthony Noto had his awkward oops moment when he accidentally tweeted a message that he intended to send privately. The presumed subject of the tweet? A potential acquisition by [...]
Quintain ups pace of 5,000-home Wembley Park development November 25, 2014 Quintain has accelerated the pace of development at its 5,000-home Wembley Park scheme in north west London. The developer’s half-year results for the six months ending September showed that its development pipeline had grown to 1,700 homes. The group reported a profit after tax of £11.1m over the six months to September, up from £7.1m [...]
