Law firms post strong growth amid turmoil December 8, 2011 THE UK’s top 100 law firms have managed to post strong growth in the second quarter, despite an uncertain backdrop that’s likely to make conditions tough going into 2012. Fee incomes at the biggest 100 firms rose by an average of 9.8 per cent in the three months to 31 October compared to the same [...]
LAW FIRMS MAY BE REGROUPING, BUT THEY’RE ALSO GROWING December 8, 2011 LAW firms are maintaining a bullish stance on the outside, with yesterday’s quarterly Deloitte survey (see right) seeing firms forecast an average increase in fee income of 6.2 per cent for the 2011-12 financial year. But behind the scenes caution reigns. Equity locksteps are being reviewed, the intermittent trickle of redundancies is threatening to turn [...]
Price slashes couldn’t save sales at Tesco December 8, 2011 TESCO sales fell for the fourth quarter in a row yesterday, hitting the bottom end of analyst forecasts. Like-for-like UK sales, excluding VAT and petrol, dropped 0.9 per cent, equalling last quarter’s decline. This comes despite Tesco’s attempt to revive sales with its £500m Big Price Drop campaign. The marketing drive enticed an extra 346,000 [...]
Woes in the UK could last for a while December 8, 2011 THERE is a sense of fin de siècle surrounding Tesco these days. Sir Terry Leahy, who first joined the supermarket giant in 1979, has left the building, with a clutch of his key lieutenants in tow. Sales at existing stores, which have risen inexorably in recent years, are flagging. Its market share, once a source [...]
Peacocks looks to close shops December 8, 2011 LOW-COST fashion retailer Peacocks is said to be mulling a cost-cutting plan to close up to 200 of its shops. The retailer is looking at restructuring its £240m debt pile and operations, according to Sky News. Peacocks currently has more than 500 stores worldwide, having started life as a bazaar in 1884. It delisted from [...]
Barratts enters administration December 8, 2011 SHOE retailer Barratts has fallen into administration, the latest victim of a downturn in consumer spending, putting 3,840 jobs under threat. Business advisory firm Deloitte said yesterday it had been appointed joint administrator over the Barratts Priceless Group, and that it would continue to keep the stores trading as it seeks a buyer for the [...]
The rugby international who turned business star December 8, 2011 MULTI-TALENTED Sir Bill Gammell played international rugby for Scotland before employing his competitive skills in the business world. The well-connected entrepreneur attended Fettes College in Edinburgh with former Prime Minister Tony Blair before moving on to the University of Stirling, where he obtained a BA in Economics and Accountancy. Gammell’s talents also stretched to the [...]
Gammell gets £5m windfall in Cairn sale December 8, 2011 VEDANTA Resources yesterday completed its $8.7bn (£5.5bn) purchase of a majority stake in Cairn Energy that will see Cairn chairman Sir Bill Gammell receiving a windfall of at least £5m. London-listed Vedanta now holds 58.5 per cent of Cairn India, of which 20 per cent is held through its Sesa Goa unit. Cairn Energy, which [...]
ADVISERS: ROTHSCHILD December 8, 2011 HEAD OF UK FINANCIAL ADVISORY ROBERT Leitão, Rothschild’s head of UK global financial advisory, has led the team advising Cairn during its tortuous deal with Vedanta. He joined the company in 1998 after nine years at Morgan Grenfell & Co, where he was appointed a director in 1995. Leitão has been involved in over 150 [...]
Community service vow cuts Rooney’s Euro 2012 ban December 8, 2011 ENGLAND striker Wayne Rooney succeeded in persuading European chiefs to cut his Euro 2012 ban to two matches yesterday after agreeing to undertake a stint of community service. Governing body Uefa reduced Rooney’s original three-match ban, handed out for his red card in October’s qualifier in Montenegro, freeing him to face Ukraine in England’s final [...]
