THL buys big stake in Party City June 5, 2012 Thomas H Lee Partners has struck a deal to buy control of Party City in a deal that values North America’s largest retailer of party goods at $2.69bn (£1.75bn), the private equity firm said yesterday. The retailer’s current private equity owners – Advent International, Berkshire Partners and Weston Presidio – as well as Party City [...]
Former Generali chief dies at 87 June 5, 2012 French financier Antoine Bernheim, who two years ago stepped down from the helm of Italian insurer Generali, died yesterday aged 87, according to a statement from a former colleague. Bernheim had served as chairman of Generali, Europe’s third largest insurer, for many years but his term was not renewed at a shareholder meeting in April [...]
Sara Lee renamed Hillshire June 5, 2012 Sara Lee will change its name to Hillshire Brands later this month to reflect its focus as a North American meat company after it spins off its coffee and tea unit. Sara Lee revealed the company’s name and its financial and strategic goals in a meeting yesterday with investors in New York. The business being [...]
JK ROWLING BRINGS SPELLS TO LIFE WITH SONY June 5, 2012 JK ROWLING is penning the first release for Sony’s new Wonderbook, an augmented reality device that brings books to life. The Book of Spells, due for release in November, will immerse the player in the world of Harry Potter, using the PlayStation 3’s Move controller as a wand. “Book of Spells is the closest a [...]
Shoppers stay at home while prices creep up June 5, 2012 SHOP prices increased again in May while footfall kept dropping, industry data showed today. Overall shop price inflation hit 0.4 per cent in May, up from 0.2 per cent in April, according to British Retail Consortium figures, taking the annual price rise up to 1.5 per cent. Food price inflation jumped to 0.6 per cent [...]
Resurgent Eurozone crisis drags down UK business confidence June 5, 2012 BUSINESS confidence fell sharply in May as worries grew over the impact of the ongoing Greek and Eurozone sovereign debt crisis, survey data showed today. Firms’ confidence in the country’s economic prospects fell 47 points from a net balance of 26 per cent to minus 21 per cent, Lloyds’ business barometer showed. The share of [...]
London property surges as cash flows out of troubled nations June 5, 2012 INVESTORS fleeing the Eurozone crisis have helped push prime London property prices even higher, according to figures out today from Knight Frank, although the new higher rate of stamp duty on houses above £2m has slowed the pace. Prices rose 0.7 per cent in May, taking the annual rise to 10.7 per cent and leaving [...]
How an explosive setback put one legal firm on the path to international growth June 5, 2012 TWENTY years ago, you’d have been hard pressed to find anyone prepared to bet that Norton Rose – one of London’s oldest City law firm’s – would eventually rank in the top five largest international practices in the world. Unless perhaps you’d asked Peter Martyr, the firm’s group chief executive. Back in 1992, he was [...]
Britzerland: The UK’s relationship with the EU needs some Alpine air June 5, 2012 AS THE Eurozone staggers from crisis to crisis, it is time to take a longer-term view of the relationship Britain should be developing with the EU in the twenty-first century. Firstly, there is the idea that Britain should use its influence to “reform” the EU as a glorified trading relationship, along the lines of the [...]
A reminder of the ancient ties of the crown to the City June 5, 2012 IT WAS a magnificent spectacle on the river in 1662. On Saturday 23 August, Samuel Pepys records in his diary that King Charles II brought his new Queen, Catherine of Braganza, to London in a celebratory flotilla that almost paved the surface of the Thames: “Anon come the King and Queen in a barge under [...]
