Macquarie beats BlackRock to Drapers Gardens offices October 22, 2009 AUSTRALIAN bank Macquarie has won the battle to occupy one of the City’s most sought-after office developments, Drapers Gardens. Macquarie was locked in a battle with fund manager BlackRock who was also eyeing the space, as City A.M. revealed exclusively last month. The Drapers Garden scheme – Canary Wharf’s only development outside the Docklands – [...]
Bankers grab luxury homes October 22, 2009 IN a fresh sign that bankers are feeling comfortable enough to splash the cash, enquiries for prime properties in Kensington and Chelsea have jumped in recent weeks, according to estate agents Knight Frank. Goldman Sachs was recently under the spotlight for awarding its 30,000 staff £500,000 each in bonuses, with some top traders set to [...]
Land Registry to cut 1,500 jobs October 22, 2009 The Land Registry yesterday unveiled plans to shed 1,500 jobs as part of plans to cut about £500m in costs over 10 years in an effort to safeguard its future after the housing market slump. The agency, which made a £130m loss last year, said it planned to cut around 1,500 of its 6,500 staff [...]
Seatwave and HMV team up October 22, 2009 Fan-to-fan ticket exchange Seatwave yesterday announced a partnership with high street retailer HMV, which will see it open in-store ticket exchanges. The ticket collection service will operate independently of hmvtickets. The partnership will also see Seatwave power a separate online ticket exchange for HMV where fans will be able to buy and sell tickets from [...]
Zurich loses 51,000 clients’ data October 22, 2009 Swiss insurer Zurich Financial Services said it had called in auditors KPMG to investigate after details of 51,000 UK customers were lost at a data storage centre in South Africa. There is no sign so far the information has been misused by fraudsters, Zurich’s UK subsidiary said. KPMG will investigate the incident and will also [...]
CITY VIEWS: IS BAA’S SALE OF GATWICK TO GIP A POSITIVE DEVELOPMENT? October 22, 2009 MARC SCHMANDIN BERWIN LEIGHTON PAISNER“I am a frequent flier, but I don’t believe the sale will make any difference to consumers, who will still have to go through Gatwick airport one way or another. GIP will in all probability be keen to cut costs and improve efficiency, but whether or not that has a positive [...]
NatEx warns on profits as bidder circles October 22, 2009 National Express warned yesterday that profits would miss forecasts, leading some in the City to speculate that suitor Stagecoach may lower its offer price. Analysts took a knife to their forecasts after the troubled bus and rail operator admitted annual profits before tax would be “slightly below” its previous expectations. It blamed rising debt interest [...]
TORIES TO PRIVATISE THE POSTAL SERVICE October 22, 2009 SHADOW business secretary Ken Clarke yesterday said that a Tory government would privatise the Royal Mail if it wins the next election, as the Communication Workers Union (CWU) announced a second three-day walk out next week. Clarke said that only private capital and management could give Royal Mail a new lease of life and end [...]
FSA to banks: boost capital October 22, 2009 BANKS considered “too big to fail” should be forced to hold additional capital and possibly more low risk assets, under new rules proposed by Britain’s financial watchdog. In a discussion paper, the FSA also outlined plans to make banks write living wills to plan an orderly wind-down in case of trouble. The British Bankers’ Association [...]
Living wills are the best idea for banks October 22, 2009 Here are a few of the facts that show why the City is worth defending. Financial services alone account for seven per cent of UK GDP, with half of this made up of banking. In 2008, which of course was a much better year for the industry than this year, the financial sector’s net exports [...]
