Lloyds in pole position to eat up D&D London December 9, 2012 TAXPAYER-backed Lloyds Banking Group has emerged as favourite in the race to take over the high end restaurant group D&D London, the firm behind City dining venues like Coq d’Argent, Le Pont de la Tour and The Grand Café at the Royal Exchange. The bank, through its private equity vehicle LDC, is understood to be [...]
Bargains bring home the bacon but bite into profits December 9, 2012 AS DECENT numbers for Nando’s reveal the chain moved into profit last year after three in the red, the cheaper end of the restaurant sector may be turning a corner. The latest figures from BDO indicate that operators including the Restaurant Group and JD Wetherspoon have seen an upturn in trade in September and October. [...]
Nando’s buying spree pays off as the chain returns to profit December 9, 2012 NANDO’S swung back into profit last year after the restaurant chain, famous for its flame-grilled peri-peri spiced chicken, lured more customers through its doors. The company posted £14.7m in profits before tax in the year to 26 February compared with a £7.1m loss the previous year, accounts filed at Companies House show. Nando’s acquired Clapham [...]
Burgers to fuel appetite for M&A activity December 9, 2012 A RESURGENCE in posh burger joints and quality fast food is set to fuel M&A activity in the restaurant sector this year, according to new research published today by accountants BDO. The firm’s annual restaurant and bars report says that while deal volumes remain low compared with the halcyon days of the early 2000s, it [...]
Threadneedle Street tenders £1bn note deal December 9, 2012 THE Bank of England is asking companies to compete for a licence to print money after re-tendering its £1bn bank note production contract for the first time in a decade. The Bank, located on Threadneedle Street in the City, has placed an advert in the Official Journal of the European Union asking bank note printing [...]
Loose monetary policies drive more investors into risky assets December 9, 2012 THE PRICE of risky assets jumped in the last three months as loose monetary policies encouraged pushed investors to take more risks, according to a Bank of International Settlements (BIS) report published last night. Economic growth forecasts around the world have been slashed, which would usually make investors cautious – but BIS found central banks’ [...]
Microsoft dragged into row over corporation tax payments in UK December 9, 2012 MICROSOFT is the latest global firm to be dragged into a row over UK corporation tax payments, after it emerged the US technology group legally channels certain online payments through Luxembourg and Ireland. Payments for the firm’s new Windows 8 operating system are being handled through an office in Luxembourg – where corporation tax is [...]
Fears that new rules may push banks out of US December 9, 2012 EUROPEAN banks fear incoming US capital requirements could drive their costs up to unsustainable levels and force them to leave the country, industry sources said yesterday. New proposals on capital and leverage limits for foreign banks are likely to be unveiled at the end of this week. Federal Reserve governor Daniel Tarullo last month warned [...]
Germany ready to compromise over Eurozone banking union December 9, 2012 GERMAN finance minister Wolfgang Schaeuble has signalled a readiness to compromise on the European Union’s planned banking union, German media reported yesterday. “We are working intensely to get the legal framework for a banking supervisor settled before Christmas,” Schaeuble told German newspaper Bild am Sonntag, in an interview published yesterday. Spiegel magazine reported that Schaeuble [...]
HSH Nordbank owners look to more state aid December 9, 2012 THE public-sector owners of Germany’s HSH Nordbank said this weekend they were examining the possibility of increasing state aid to prop up the bank in face of higher potential losses from shipping loans. HSH, one of the world’s biggest shipping financiers, is suffering from a four-year slump in the industry. “All those involved are aware [...]
