WHAT THE OTHER PAPERS SAY THIS MORNING October 3, 2011 FINANCIAL TIMES M&S ASKS SUPPLIERS TO AID STORE REVAMPS Marks and Spencer has asked its top clothing suppliers for a multimillion-pound contribution to its store revamp plans and a step-up in advertising. At a gathering on Friday of M&S’s top 60 clothing and homewares suppliers, Marc Bolland, chief executive, asked them for a one-off contribution [...]
Carlyle in $3.9bn joint buyout October 3, 2011 Carlyle Group and Hellman & Friedman have agreed to buy contract research company Pharmaceutical Product Development for $3.9bn (£2.5bn) in cash, in one of the largest leveraged buyouts of the year. The purchase, announced yesterday, is a rare win for private equity firms at a time when the European debt crisis and worries about the [...]
RBS property sale may fail October 3, 2011 A £1.4bn deal between Royal Bank of Scotland and Blackstone to rid the bank of some of its troubled property loans may fail, robbing the industry of a template for similar transactions, three sources said. The deal required debt funding from third parties of about 60 per cent and was part of a move by [...]
London 2012 cleaners told to help shop drug cheats October 3, 2011 Games support staff to be mined for intelligence in unprecedented Olympics anti-doping crackdown CLEANERS and security staff will be asked to keep tabs on athletes at London 2012 in what organisers are confident will be the biggest crackdown on drug cheats in Olympic history. Games chiefs plan to carry out a record 5,000 tests at [...]
Chelsea would struggle to fill a bigger stadium October 3, 2011 CHELSEA’S decision to buy out the fans’ co-operative that owns the freehold to its Stamford Bridge stadium, the turnstiles and the pitch, must mean only one thing: the club is serious about moving from the home it has occupied for more than 100 years. The club has toyed with the idea of moving for years. [...]
Olympic spotlight won’t daunt me, insists sprint hope Williams October 3, 2011 TEENAGE sprint sensation Jodie Williams insists she’s not in the least bit daunted at being billed as the next golden girl of British track and field. The 17-year-old, privately funded by millionaire Barrie Wells and his Sports Foundation which has also aided the career of former world champion Jessica Ennis, already has a clutch of [...]
Vaughan: Three-Test series for South Africa just isn’t enough October 3, 2011 FORMER England captain Michael Vaughan fears the future of Test cricket has been jeopardised by limiting South Africa to just three five-day matches against Andrew Strauss’s all conquering side next summer. Under the astute leadership of Strauss and head coach Andy Flower, England have risen to No1 in the Test rankings following a prolonged period [...]
Cook rubbishes ball-tampering claims October 3, 2011 ENGLAND one-day skipper Alastair Cook has denied his pacemen James Anderson and Stuart Broad have ever indulged in the dark arts of ball-tampering following accusations from Pakistan’s Umar Gul. Swing specialist Gul, a mainstay of his country’s one-day side, was quoted as saying Anderson altered the ball during Pakistan’s 2010 tour of England and that [...]
Track stays no matter what, says Robertson October 3, 2011 SPORTS Minister Hugh Robertson has confirmed the government has made a “cast-iron guarantee” that the Olympic Stadium’s running track will remain in place regardless of ongoing legal wrangling. The pledge was made to an International Athletics Federation (IAAF) delegation which yesterday completed a short visit to evaluate London’s bid to host the 2017 World Championship. [...]
THE BREAKDOWN | WORLD CUP BRIEFS October 3, 2011 GUSCOTT SLAMS ENGLAND FORMER England centre Jeremy Guscott has accused members of Martin Johnson’s squad of showing a lack of respect following accusations relating to their off-field antics. “Martin Johnson’s got a few kids that aren’t acting as though they’re playing for England, or at a World Cup,” said Guscott, who played alongside Johnson at [...]
