Morrisons is leading race for Iceland May 22, 2011 SUPERMARKET chain Morrisons is being touted as the frontrunner in the race to buy into rival Iceland, after majority owner Landsbanki officially launched a sales process for its holding in the company. The Resolution Committee for Landsbanki said last week that according to advisers UBS and Bank of America Merrill Lynch, “market conditions are currently [...]
Deal would shake up the supermarkets May 22, 2011 COMPETITION objections notwithstanding, Iceland’s 780 stores would be a huge boost to Morrison’s forecast earnings, giving it the foothold in the convenience store industry that chief executive Dalton Philips made central to its growth plans last year. They would also cement Morrison’s presence in the south of the country. Though the Bradford-based company has made [...]
London’s new fund queens May 22, 2011 THE TOTAL value of assets under management run by female hedge fund managers has more than doubled to over $200bn (£122.8bn) in the space of a year, according to the latest Hedge Fund Journal and Ernst & Young study. Women managed just $4.5bn in hedge fund assets last year, accounting for just three per cent [...]
Snooping scandal hits hedge fund superstar May 22, 2011 OF THE 50 leading women in hedge funds, one name stands out above the rest. Elena Ambrosiadou, who runs the £1.8bn Ikos hedge fund, is well-known as a powerful hedge fund boss and as one of the wealthiest women in the world. But she is currently in the news for more controversial reasons. The Greece-born [...]
Labelux ties up Jimmy Choo shoe deal for £500m May 22, 2011 LABELUX luxury goods group yesterday announced the acquisition of Jimmy Choo, the upmarket shoe brand. Labelux was founded by Austria’s Benckiser family in 2007 with the aim of creating a significant new global player in the expanding luxury goods sector. Its existing portfolio includes Swiss luxury shoe brand Bally, acquired in 2008, and Italian accessories [...]
Betfred scrambles to woo racing execs May 22, 2011 HIGH street bookmaker Betfred has launched a last-minute scramble to win racing industry support for its bid to buy the Tote, the state-backed bookmaker. The gaming firm has stepped up its bid by offering to create an advisory board for the Tote, with seats for racing industry executives. Betfred is seen as the straggler in [...]
Banks miss small firms loan target of Project Merlin May 22, 2011 THE UK’s five largest banks have failed to meet a Project Merlin target for making £76bn of credit available to small and medium size businesses (SMEs) this year, the Bank of England is set to reveal today. Preliminary figures showed that in the first three months of the year, the banks – RBS, Lloyds, Barclay, [...]
Nestle chair to stay on board for six years May 22, 2011 NESTLE’S chairman hopes to stay on the board until 2017 and reiterated that the food producer has until 2014 to decide on its stake in French cosmetics company L’Oreal, a paper reported yesterday. Peter Brabeck said in a weekend newspaper interview he aimed to stay on the Nestle board until the statutory limit, which was [...]
City split on so-called Cadbury law while Obama support stays strong May 22, 2011 Almost as many City opinion formers would back a “Cadbury law” making it more difficult for foreign companies to take over UK ones as oppose it. According to the latest poll by PoliticsHome and City A.M., 44.6 per cent would back changes to current rules, with 47.9 per cent saying they would oppose them. A [...]
Osborne eyes strong deficit cuts in 2011-12 May 22, 2011 CHANCELLOR George Osborne’s deficit-curtailing efforts will come into focus tomorrow with the release of the government’s net borrowing requirement for April. The figures will shed light on the start of Osborne’s first full fiscal year of major cuts. The deficit could be slashed to £115.6bn by the end of 2011-12, the Institute for Fiscal Studies [...]
