Govia wins rail franchise contract June 9, 2009 Govia has won a six year extension of its South Central rail franchise, which provides services going out of London, by promising longer commuter trains and more frequent services. The Department for Transport said the new franchise agreement, which runs from September until July 2015, could be extended by a further two years at its [...]
Crossrail causes Oxford St closure June 9, 2009 Retailers are up in arms after Transport for London (TfL) confirmed yesterday that a large stretch of Oxford Street is to be closed for work on the £16bn Crossrail project. The street will be closed to east-bound traffic between Newham Street and Tottenham Court Road, while construction workers replace and repair the ancient water and [...]
WHAT THE OTHER PAPERS SAY THIS MORNING June 9, 2009 FINANCIAL TIMES MALAYSIA’S GENTING BUYS 3.2 PER CENT STAKE IN MGM UNITGenting, the Malaysian gaming group, has paid $100m for a 3.2 per cent stake in MGM Mirage, firming a relationship that could help pave the way for future deals in Macao and the US. Genting matched the $100m that Kirk Kerkorian, MGM Mirage’s largest [...]
Brown to unveil voting reform June 9, 2009 Prime Minister Gordon Brown will today propose a dramatic reform of the voting system as he seeks to cling on to power. The first-past-the-post voting system could be replaced with a so-called alternative vote or AV system in which voters list their preferences rather than simply voting for one candidate. Brown will also tell MPs [...]
Dan Marks quits BT Vision June 9, 2009 Dan Marks, the chief executive of BT Vision, has walked out on the company after becoming too “frustrated” with rival BSkyB’s dominance of Premiership football, after five years at the helm.
Opposition for Rio deal picks up June 9, 2009 Japanese, Chinese and European steelmakers joined forces yesterday to fight a plan by Rio Tinto and BHP Billiton to link up iron ore operations, while China called for “a fully open international market”. Steelmakers believe a tie-up between the two companies would further concentrate the industry.
Founders of Setanta plan last ditch bid June 9, 2009 SETANTA founders Leonard Ryan and Michael O’Rourke are understood to be locked in talks to table a last-ditch bid that could see them buy out the ailing firm’s other investors, which include Doughty Hanson, Balderton Capital and Goldman Sachs. It is also thought that Setanta has recently offered stakes of up to 30 per cent [...]
Charterhouse’s 550m bid for Wood MacKenzie is boost for private equity June 9, 2009 CHARTERHOUSE Capital is in exclusive talks to acquire energy research and consultancy group Wood Mackenzie in what would be the UK’s biggest leveraged buyout this year. The £550m offer from Charterhouse would provide a welcome cash boost for Wood Mackenzie’s parent company Candover, which is itself looking for potential buyers or stakeholders. It is also [...]
MAN SLASHES BONUSES June 9, 2009 PETER Clarke, chief executive of UK hedge fund giant Man Group, saw his pay fall by 52 per cent last year as profits tumbled. Clarke’s bonus was cut to $6m (£3.7m) from $10m, taking his total pay down to $6.9m (£4.2m). Across the firm bonuses fell by almost half to £436m. Its profits in the [...]
ABI: there is still faith in City bosses June 8, 2009 PUBLIC fury over the financial crisis and “fat cat” bonuses has failed to derail confidence in bosses at the City’s major companies, the Association of British Insurers (ABI) will claim today at its biennial conference. The ABI will unveil the results of a major national survey on economic sentiment suggesting that the majority of people [...]
