Battle for £120m Bluewater stake November 7, 2010 A BATTLE for a £120m stake in the Bluewater shopping centre is in the offing, with some of the world’s largest pensions and sovereign wealth funds competing to invest. The Government of Singapore Investment Corporation (GIC), the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board (CPP), and Oxford Properties, property arm of the Ontario Municipal Employees Retirement System [...]
Connaught debt to reach £100m after bills found November 7, 2010 Collapsed property services firm Connaught’s debts could pass £100m after the administrator KPMG discovered 50,000 additional invoices. Bills for everything from Dairy Crest milk to RBS bank loans have been left unpaid, according to a report by KPMG following Connaught’s collapse in September. Unsecured lenders exposed to the firm’s social maintenance arm will recover at [...]
Bill of the week November 7, 2010 OFF to chef Michel Roux Jr’s new joint at Parliament Square last week for a seven course feast, enjoyed by two lobbyists entertaining their clients. Our diners tucked into the new head chef Toby Stuart’s tasting menu, ending with a pungent array of cheeses, and conducted their political business over a number of bottles of [...]
Sir Philip will shut up to 300 retail stores November 7, 2010 GOVERNMENT adviser Sir Philip Green will close up to 300 of his retail stores within the next three years. Smaller stores in his empire, most likely from brands including Burtons and Dorothy Perkins, are expected to close. Some of these may be consolidated as Green focuses on growing Topshop, his core brand. It is speculated [...]
Slow trading to hit Barclays November 7, 2010 BARCLAYS is tomorrow expected to reveal that investment banking income plunged in the third quarter as trading activity declined, though impairments may fall due to an improved outlook in Spain. Barclays Capital, the investment banking arm led by Bob Diamond, who is due to take over from John Varley as chief executive next year, is [...]
E.ON may sell UK electricity distributor November 7, 2010 GERMAN energy giant E.ON is understood to be in advanced talks to sell Britain’s second-largest electricity distribution network to a group of foreign investors for up to £3.5bn. A consortium comprising the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, Canada Pension Plan and Australian bank Macquarie is thought to have approached E.ON about the business, made up of the [...]
WARNER?BROS FALLS?FOR?POTTER?MAGIC November 7, 2010 Warner Bros is set to cast a £100m spell on the Leavesdon Studios near Watford, when it buys and redevelops the home of the Harry Potter film franchise. The Hollywood giant is this week set to unveil plans for adding two new sound stages to house a Harry Potter set tour, plus a revamp of [...]
Royal Mail to cut supplier costs by 20pc November 7, 2010 ROYAL MAIL has told its suppliers to strike new deals as it looks to cut 20 per cent costs from each contract. The top 150 suppliers to the company were told in a meeting in London ten days ago the operator was looking to “radically reduce costs” ahead of plans to privatise the service, according [...]
A tip for regulators: no risk means no gain November 7, 2010 This time last year, in my first column for City A.M., I cautioned that efforts to restore public confidence in parts of the financial services industry would be a marathon, not a sprint. Now that I approach the finish line marking the end of my tenure as Lord Mayor, I am glad to see the [...]
Turbans and tiaras: inside India’s luxury rolling palace November 7, 2010 HOW do you look in a bindi and turban, with a garland of flowers round your neck? I didn’t know either, until I found myself in some gardens outside Jaipur, the third stop on our week-long but epic journey through Rajasthan on India’s most luxurious train. The answer, for me, was really quite good (see [...]
