Ex bank lobby chief: Link pay to performance September 30, 2012 BANKERS’ high pay was not always earned, former industry spokesperson Angela Knight claimed yesterday in her first big interview since leaving the British Bankers’ Association (BBA). She defended the industry through the financial crisis, but has now believe “tough questions need to be asked” about remuneration packages. “I have always favoured big pay for big [...]
Private buyout deals reach a four-year high September 30, 2012 PRIVATE equity buyouts in the UK are returning to pre-financial crisis levels, with buyout leverages and deals worth over £1bn at their highest point since 2008, data released today reveals. Figures from the Centre for Management Buyout Research shows that three buyout deals have surpassed the £1bn mark this year, the first time this has [...]
Castle Trust launches products with heavyweight board lineup September 30, 2012 FORMER Financial Services Authority chairman Sir Callum McCarthy will today help launch a new investment venture hoping to unlock the £4 tillion residential housing market for homeowners and investors. Castle Trust, which counts former government minister Lord Deben and non-executive director of HM Treasury Dame Deirdre Hutton on its board, will offer a shared mortgage [...]
UK’s fraud squad reviews its guidance on new bribery rules September 30, 2012 COMPLIANCE staff have been left scratching their heads after the Serious Fraud Office (SFO) quietly withdrew guidance on commercial bribery laws. The SFO website no longer gives firms advice on facilitation payments, gifts and hospitality, telling visitors instead that the guidance is “currently under revision”. A spokesperson for the office yesterday confirmed that the guidance [...]
Herbert Smith Freehills launch forms top 10 firm by headcount September 30, 2012 A MERGER to create the world’s eighth-largest law firm will go live this morning, as the tie-up between Herbert Smith and Freehills is officially launched. Announced in June, the full equity merger between Herbies – which employs more than 700 lawyers in London – and Australia’s Freehills will result in a firm employing more than [...]
Winton Capital boss publishes personal taxes September 30, 2012 TOP HEDGE fund boss David Harding yesterday revealed his tax payments in an effort to show he is doing his bit to plug the vast government budget deficit. The founder of Winton Capital Management paid £34m in tax last year, on earnings of £87m – a rate of 39 per cent. That is below the [...]
Iberdrola mulls an exit from UK nuclear project September 30, 2012 IBERDROLA is said to be considering an exit from its UK nuclear plans as part of its debt-cutting strategy. The NuGen project, a joint venture between Spain’s Iberdrola and French group GDF, is set up to develop a 3.6 gigawatt nuclear power station at Moorside, near Sellafield in West Cumbria. But Iberdrola has been scaling [...]
Tesco set to post profit fall but recovery in UK trading September 30, 2012 TESCO is set to post its first profit fall in almost 20 years this week, despite seeing a recovery in recent trading, as the supermarket fights to turn itself around after a shock profit warning in January. Analysts at Jefferies expect an improvement in second quarter trading, with like-for-like sales down 0.2 per cent compared [...]
Waste firm Biffa prepares for lenders’ judgement on future September 30, 2012 CREDITORS of bin collector Biffa, which employs around 6,000 bin workers in the UK, could seize control of the firm as the company struggles to pay back £1.1bn of loans to mezzanine and senior debt lenders. A consortium of about 50 senior lenders, led by HSBC, are understood to be looking at taking control of [...]
Culture secretary to broker 4G accord with mobile operators September 30, 2012 BRITAIN’S mobile networks will meet tomorrow to negotiate a government-brokered ceasefire over Ofcom’s auction of 4G spectrum, as culture secretary Maria Miller draws a line under litigation that has delayed a rollout of high speed mobile internet. The auction of 4G-approved bands of mobile airwaves is due to take place at the end of the [...]
