Luminar has queue to buy clubs November 6, 2011 Collapsed nightclub operator Luminar has received a dozen expressions of interest for parts of the group. Oakley Capital, Sun European Partners, R Capital, Hugh Osmond and Luminar founder Stephen Thomas are said to be among those considering an offer. Last week the firm closed 11 venues, with the loss of around 300 jobs. The remaining [...]
Leahy outfit considers bid for Greencore November 6, 2011 THE mystery investor considering a bid for Irish food company Greencore is understood to be private equity firm Clayton Dubilier & Rice (CD&R), the new employer of former Tesco chief executive Sir Terry Leahy. Greencore confirmed on 25 October that an unidentified party had made an approach that could lead to an offer. The company, [...]
Police probe fireworks role in M5 carnage November 6, 2011 POLICE were last night investigating whether smoke from a local firework display could have caused the crash on the M5 motorway on Friday night that left seven people dead and injured more than 50. Several eyewitnesses have reported seeing fog or black smoke on the stretch of road in Somerset where the accident happened, and [...]
Crown Estate unveils its £300m redevelopment November 6, 2011 The Crown Estate today unveiled its £300m redevelopment of Regent Palace Hotel, just behind Piccadilly Circus in London’s West End, into luxury offices and shops. The Queen’s property company said it has signed its first office tenant, the fund manager Generation, co-founded by former US Vice President Al Gore, to its 200,000 square feet of [...]
Olympic Media Buzz LONDON 2012 PARTNERS November 6, 2011 IN ASSOCIATION with Repskan.com, the media monitoring and analytics platform, City A.M. is measuring the relative Olympic media buzz around the partners for the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games, week by week. The leaderboard, right, reflects their ranking over the past week, in this case from Wednesday 26 October to Wednesday 2 November. Continued [...]
Buffett says Berkshire hit by derivatives November 6, 2011 WARREN Buffett’s conglomerate Berkshire Hathaway reported a smaller third-quarter profit over the weekend, after losing more than $2bn (£1.24bn) on derivatives related to stock market performance. That was nearly three times what Berkshire lost on the same instruments a year ago. Buffett has criticised derivatives in general, but said these particular contracts were safe and [...]
Apple hands out millions to key executives November 6, 2011 APPLE has dished out hundreds of millions to its senior executives in a bid to keep hold of its top staff in the wake of Steve Jobs’ death. Key men including marketing boss Phil Schiller, chief financial officer Peter Oppenheimer and operations director Jeff Williams will each receive packages worth $60m (£37.4m). The packages are [...]
LLOYD BLANKFEIN GETS HIS JUST DESSERTS FROM BUSINESS ELITE November 6, 2011 THERE WAS only one sour note at the Goldman Sachs and Financial Times Business Book of the Year awards – the Roquefort-flavoured ice-cream, which went down about as well as sovereign debt exposure at MF Global. “I’m not sure about this,” said Jonathan Taylor from HM Treasury as he laid down his spoon with a [...]
BILL OF THE WEEK November 6, 2011 AS THE nights draw in, four private investors were drawn to Boisdale of Belgravia for what the Scottish institution does best: some reassuringly autumnal haggis, grouse, Scotch rarebit, wild salmon and, of course, whisky. Make that three measures of Royal Salute and one of Glenlivet, thought the financiers as they digested their long Hibernian lunch [...]
Reform urged to avoid new UK recession November 6, 2011 THE UK could already be suffering from the start of a double dip recession, according to new data from accountancy group BDO. Revealing the latest bearish news from its business trends report, BDO partner Peter Hemington has called on the government to confront the downturn with radical reforms to taxation and infrastructure. “We urge chancellor [...]
