Stobart pulls its retail bond November 26, 2012 STOBART Group has shelved plans to enter the retail bond market, though its board has not ruled out an offering in future. The company said it decided not to proceed following the entry of larger bond issuers at higher coupon pricing. Stobart chief financial officer Ben Whawell said: “We will keep under review the possibility [...]
Pinsent grows turnover 4pc November 26, 2012 LAW firm Pinsent Masons yesterday announced a half-year turnover figure of £146m, a four per cent increase on the same period last year. Pinsents, which earlier this year secured a tie-up with Scottish firm McGrigors, also said it had hired corporate finance specialist Jonathan Beastall from rival Clifford Chance. Stripping out revenues from McGrigors, the [...]
Boris says UK is losing foreign students due to tough visa rules November 26, 2012 BORIS Johnson yesterday urged the government to make it easier for foreign students to study in the UK. Despite the hurdles for students, he revealed that the number of Indian tourists visiting London hit 145,000 in the first half of 2012 – up from 113,000 in the same period last year. Speaking on a trade [...]
Identity screening company GB Group driven by online demand November 26, 2012 THE INCREASING need for security checks in online banking, gambling and shopping has driven identity screening firm GB Group to a 44 per cent rise in sales in the first half of its financial year. The Chester-based business, whose software checks online registrations and logins against databases of information in order to verify them, has [...]
Standard Life to open Dubai office November 26, 2012 Standard Life has unveiled plans to expand its presence overseas by opening its first office in the Middle East. The insurer revealed yesterday it has been granted a licence by the Dubai Financial Services Authority to open a branch of Standard Life International within the Dubai International Financial Centre. The move follows news last month [...]
German carmakers want loophole November 26, 2012 German car manufacturers are seeking to widen a loophole in EU regulations that would allow them to produce more cars with carbon emissions above a 2020 EU target. EU car makers are divided over how a 2020 EU target to cut emissions to an average of 95g per km should be shared across the industry. [...]
EasyJet rolls out allocated seats November 26, 2012 Budget airline EasyJet will from today allow passengers on all of its flights to choose a seat, for an additional cost. Following a trial in April, the carrier is rolling out allo-cated seating across all routes. Chief exec Carolyn McCall said last week the trial had originally targeted business travellers, but found that families and [...]
Tory MPs demand pay and benefits freeze November 26, 2012 CUTTING entire government departments, freezing public sector pay and benefits, and allowing some cuts to NHS spending are the only ways to put state spending on a more sustainable long-term footing, Conservative MPs warned yesterday. It came as Arbuthnot Bank’s economic adviser Ruth Lea warned the government will not balance its budget until 2017, and [...]
Highest number of first time buyers in London since 2009 November 26, 2012 TEN thousand first-time buyers took out a mortgage in London during the third quarter of the year, according to Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML) data out yesterday. The figure was the highest on the CML’s records since the fourth quarter of 2009, yet its research also revealed significant barriers to getting on the property ladder [...]
Banks warn tough new capital rules hit lending to small firms November 26, 2012 BRITISH banks are being hit hard by incoming regulations, hurting their ability to lend and so damaging the economy, TheCityUK warned yesterday. The lobby group particularly singled out the impact on small firms, who are more reliant on bank funding than bigger businesses, and called on the government to slow down the implementation of the [...]
