Provident Financial banks on credit card as its sales increase January 15, 2013 CUSTOMERS who are turned down by traditional lenders have flocked to Provident Financial’s credit cards, offsetting a subdued appetite for doorstep borrowing, the firm said in a trading update yesterday. The firm, which provides credit to borrowers who are rejected by high street banks, said its push to recruit more customers in the last quarter [...]
Spread-betting firm IG Group is hit by low market volatility January 15, 2013 SPREAD-BETTING firm IG Group believes sustained tough market conditions rather than a European financial transaction tax represent the greatest challenge to its prospects in the medium term. British firm IG, which runs spread-betting brand IG Index, said yesterday low volatility linked to difficult market trends lay behind a 14 per cent drop in half-year revenue [...]
ICG fundraising going to plan January 15, 2013 Intermediate Capital Group yesterday reported a seven per cent rise in assets under management to €12.9bn (£10.7bn) in the final quarter of 2012, as it raised cash for its mezzanine funds. The firm said it has a “solid pipeline of investment opportunities” in spite of a gloomy economic backdrop. ICG also said it has raised [...]
Liontrust attracts more cash January 15, 2013 Fund manager Liontrust yesterday posted net inflows of £64m for the final quarter of 2012, more than four times the money it attracted a year ago and the tenth successive quarter of money coming into the firm. Liontrust closed the year with £2.53bn of assets under management, it said yesterday, with over £2bn of this [...]
Oakley Capital ups its value January 15, 2013 Oakley Capital Investments has increased its net asset value per share to between £1.78 and £1.80, up from £1.71 a year ago, it said yesterday. Oakley, which has indirect investments in private equity firm Oakley Capital’s portfolio, said it had made solid progress in 2012. Aim-listed Oakley’s shares closed up two per cent yesterday.
Deutsche man flown in to add profit to charity January 15, 2013 EX-DEUTSCHE chief Graham Hodgkin has taken a more literal than usual route to cementing his reputation as a City high-flyer – by becoming the new CEO of the London Air Ambulance. Hodgkin, formerly a managing director at Deutsche Bank, reckons he is well qualified for the newly-created role, having worked in investment banking for over [...]
Guildhall thesp goes from the City to the big screen in Les Mis January 15, 2013 A FORMER City worker has travelled back in time – from 21st century London to 18th century revolutionary France – to appear in Tom Hooper’s Les Misérables. Sheryl Miles, a former employee of the City of London’s Guildhall, successfully auditioned for a role as one of the factory workers in the film which opened last [...]
CSC tries to tap Intu web retail with new name January 15, 2013 MALL developer Capital Shopping Centres is changing its name to Intu Properties as it seeks to create a single brand for the company and branch out into online retail. The company, which owns more than 16m square feet of shopping space valued at £7bn in some of the UK’s biggest retail destinations such as the [...]
Smiths News rejuvenation plan bears fruit as turnover jumps January 15, 2013 SALES at newspaper and magazine distributor Smiths News have risen two per cent in the period since August, mainly due to the firm’s growing education division, the company said yesterday. Last year’s £44m acquisition of stationery supplier The Consortium, described by Smiths News chief executive Mark Cashmore as “transformational”, was a significant driver of revenue [...]
PPR snaps up Kane January 15, 2013 FRENCH luxury group PPR has bought a 51 per cent stake in British designer label Christopher Kane for an undisclosed sum. Christopher Kane (pictured right with model Alexa Chung) is a Scottish-born designer known for his modern designs and digital prints. He set up his label in 2004. PPR, which owns stakes in brands including [...]
