THE SHARD CLOSE TO SIGNING ITS FIRST TWO TENANTS May 28, 2012 The Shard, Europe’s tallest building, is said to be close to clinching its first two office tenants, in deals likely to involve two whole floors of the 1,017 ft tower. US management consultant AT Kearney and an unnamed Middle Eastern bank have been linked to Irvine Sellar’s iconic tower in London Bridge.
New Prudential chair led search for his own job May 28, 2012 PRUDENTIAL yesterday announced Paul Manduca as its new chairman – even though he initially led the committee tasked with finding a replacement for outgoing Harvey McGrath. Manduca founded British fund manager Threadneedle in 1994 and has been Prudential’s senior independent director since January 2011, as well as being current chairman of insurance broker Aon UK. [...]
Resource deals make up record slice of investment bank income May 28, 2012 INVESTMENT banks are increasingly reliant on income from energy and natural resources deals, according to new data that shows the sector has provided 21 per cent of global investment banking (IB) revenue so far in 2012. Research by data provider Dealogic shows how energy and natural resources deals are responsible for a record percentage of IB revenue [...]
Fund managers head for the courts to cash in on divorces May 28, 2012 INVESTORS looking for the next big opportunity beyond the Brics have been offered a new place to put their money – Britain’s £100m a year divorce industry. Novitas has launched a divorce litigation fund to create an alternative lending source for people who need help to pay for divorce costs. It plans to raise £5m [...]
Car insurers in black for first time since 1994 May 28, 2012 HEFTY increases in premiums could cause the UK car insurance business to record an underwriting profit for the first time since 1994, according to a new report by Deloitte. Last year the sector had a combined ratio of 106 per cent – meaning it paid out £106 for every £100 it earned in premiums, equivalent to an [...]
Woodford’s $60m job tribunal put on hold May 28, 2012 THE $60m (£38.3m) tribunal case brought by former Olympus boss Michael Woodford was adjourned yesterday, prompting speculation he could reach an out-of-court settlement with the disgraced firm. Woodford, who was ousted as chief executive and president in October, declined to comment last night after the hearing was cut short. The case is due to resume [...]
Gambling firm 888 pays €9m in back-taxes May 28, 2012 CASINO firm 888 Holdings yesterday became the latest online gaming firm to pay back-taxes to the Spanish government, part of a cash raid by the country’s government. Spain is in the process of issuing new e-gaming licences for all online bookmakers and is using the leverage to extract retrospective payments from internet gambling companies that [...]
Irish broker Bloxham told to halt trading May 28, 2012 IRELAND’S oldest stockbroking firm Bloxham has ceased trading, on the orders of the central bank, after the discovery of “financial irregularities”. Bloxham said yesterday that its income had been overstated over a number of years. The firm’s financial partner was immediately suspended and management has hired a firm of forensic accountants to study its accounts. [...]
Barclays sells German property May 28, 2012 GERMAN real estate group Deutsche Wohnen said yesterday it has agreed to buy a real estate portfolio valued at about €1.24bn (£992m) from Barclays. The deal comprises about 23,500 apartments with a low average vacancy rate of 2.7 per cent, most of which are located in or near cities including Hanover, Berlin and Magdeburg, Deutsche [...]
BAA wins permission to appeal ruling on Stansted Airport sale May 28, 2012 AIRPORT owner BAA has been given permission to appeal against a competition ruling that forces it to sell off Stansted Airport. BAA said it “look[s] forward to presenting our arguments before the Court of Appeal” after it was allowed to fight against the Competition Appeal Tribunal’s February ruling. The tribunal had upheld an earlier case [...]
