At auction, there are bargains for cash-rich buyers September 10, 2009 PROPERTY prices might well be looking up at the moment, but the market is still gridlocked. Buyers struggling to get mortgages and others worried that they might lose their jobs. It’s no fun being in a chain right now. Which is why auctions are becoming more popular. Gary Murphy, partner and auctioneer at Allsop, which [...]
NOW SHOWING FIVE OF THE BEST September 10, 2009 THEATRE: Arcadia A sell-out production of TomStoppard’s (right) classic drama stars Dan Stevens as the tutor Septimus and Neil Pearson as pushy modern don Bernard Nightingale. Until 12 Sep, Duke of York’s Theatre, WC2N 4BG. Box office: 020 7432 4220. ART: FuturismThis elegant show celebrates a century since the founding of Futurism, with work by [...]
Taking the gay out of Dorian Gray September 10, 2009 FilmDORIAN GRAYCert: 12 THE Portrait of Dorian Gray is a story about a man with a terrible secret about the state of his soul, something that Oscar Wilde was no doubt very familiar with. While Dorian has his painting in his attic, Oscar was firmly in his closet. Like Jekyll and Hyde, Dorian Gray is [...]
Lloyds recruits new top banker September 9, 2009 LLOYDS Banking Group named former Goldman Sachs banker James Garvey as head of capital markets yesterday, one of the bank’s highest profile appointments since it was rescued with state cash. Garvey will head the capital markets and advisory business. He retired from Goldman Sachs as a partner earlier this year after spending 10 years at [...]
August sales up at McDonald’s September 9, 2009 McDONALD’S August sales at existing restaurants rose 2.2 per cent globally, the group said yesterday, as strength in Europe partly offset weakness in the US and its outlets in other parts of the world. Closely watched same-store sales rose 3.5 per cent in Europe, helped by the UK and France. They were up 1.7 per [...]
Standard Life seals Bank of China deal September 9, 2009 INSURER Standard Life is in the final stages of selling a majority stake of its Chinese joint venture Heng An Standard Life to Bank of China. The group announced yesterday thatChinese regulators are set to approve the transaction, which would leave Standard Life with a smaller stake in an enlarged business. If approved, the deal [...]
Property pair worth 750m despite slump September 9, 2009 CANDY Brothers Nick and Christian, who build ultra-luxury apartments for the elite, are still worth a combined £750m despite the ailing property market, the head of their corporate finance group said yesterday. It had been thought that the pair’s wealth would have taken a hit in the recession as the kind of ultra-high specification properties [...]
McLaren unveils new road car as it seeks to diversify its business September 9, 2009 MCLAREN, the Formula One racing group, yesterday unveiled its new road car, creating a UK-based carmaker. The cars, which are intended to rival high-end vehicles Ferrari and Aston Martin, will be built in a factory neighbouring the group’s headquarters in Woking. The move comes as part of a plan to refocus its business outside of [...]
Wanted: real-life, good news hedge fund stories September 9, 2009 ONE consequence of Britain’s membership of the EU is that Brussels gets to govern the way business is done in London. Hedge funds, private equity and venture capital are the main targets of the European Commission’s proposals for an Alternative Investment Fund Managers Directive (AIFMD). The Directive has the backing of a coalition of Christian [...]
Julius Baer to list Artio September 9, 2009 JULIUS BAER, the Swiss bank for wealthy investors, has started the ball rolling on a market listing of its US-based asset management arm Artio, in a move that could raise it as much as $570m (£344m). The firm is set to cash in on higher equity markets by selling 23.4m shares in an initial public [...]
