Asia slump hits Robert Walters profit growth July 5, 2012 RECRUITMENT group Robert Walters saw its shares drop 6.9 per cent yesterday after it cautioned that the slump in Asia’s banking sector was damaging its growth. The group’s gross profit fell three per cent to £47.6m in the second quarter of the year, dragged down by a five per cent dip in Asia Pacific, where [...]
GKN in £633m deal for Volvo aero business July 5, 2012 ENGINEERING group GKN yesterday agreed the £633m purchase of Volvo aerospace division, expanding its presence in the fast-growing civil aircraft sector. The FTSE 100 company said that it has been eyeing growth in a sector that is forecast to almost double in size over the next 20 years. The company also issued a trading update [...]
ADVISERS GKN’S PURCHASE OF VOLVO AERO July 5, 2012 TIMOTHY Shacklock is leading the team at Gleacher Shacklock that advised GKN, alongside joint adviser and joint bookrunner UBS. Shacklock, the former deputy chairman of Dresdner Kleinwort Wasserstein, founded Gleacher Shacklock in 2003. He has advised on a number of Europe’s most prominent corporate finance transactions, including the reorganisation of British Aerospace in the 1990s, [...]
Pinsent Masons grows turnover July 5, 2012 Revenues at law firm Pinsent Masons rose by four per cent to £221m in the year to 30 April, it said yesterday. Including turnover from Scottish firm McGrigors, which merged with Pinsents on 1 May, that figure increases to £295m, a rise of almost 39 per cent on the previous year’s revenues of £212m. Managing [...]
Begbies falls to a full-year loss July 5, 2012 Business rescue group Begbies Traynor swung to a loss in the year to April as its own restructuring expenses ate into its earnings. Revenues at the firm fell just under five per cent to £57.7m and a £5.5m pre-tax profit was more than wiped out by costs from the disposal of its overseas and tax [...]
Xstrata delays merger meeting July 5, 2012 Mining group Xstrata yesterday called off a shareholder meeting on 12 July intended to approve its £56.5bn merger with Glencore, in order to give the firms more time to smooth relations with irate shareholders. Qatar, which holds an 11 per cent stake in Xstrata, has in recent weeks been pushing management for 3.25 new shares [...]
Paul Tucker says no to christian names July 5, 2012 LEAVING aside the intricacies of who knew what when in the Libor interest rate rigging scandal, almost everybody has agreed that former Barclays chief executive Bob Diamond made a crucial error when addressing members of the Treasury Select Committee. Diamond came over all familiar. First it was with Jesse Norman as he used his christian [...]
The party goes on for Pelham Bell Pottinger July 5, 2012 300 guests, including many of the City’s key players, enjoyed the annual party of public relations group Pelham Bell Pottinger despite the rain the other evening. Guests included one-time Vodafone chief executive Chris Gent (now chairman of GlaxoSmithKline), Centrica’s Sam Laidlaw, Paul Baker of Morgan Stanley, Andrew Osborne, formerly of Bank of America Merrill Lynch [...]
SPOOF AD MAKES ITS WAY ROUND THE CITY July 5, 2012 THE above picture, described as “quite obviously a spoof” by Barclays – was the subject of much mirth yesterday as it made its way by email and Twitter around the City.
Heart of Glass July 5, 2012 AFTER A 12-YEAR WAIT, Londoners were finally given a preview of the 360-degree panorama from the 72nd floor of the Shard yesterday, at a formal ceremony marking its external completion. The 95-storey tower designed by Italian architect Renzo Piano has had to overcome major planning battles, fierce criticism and a fractious ownership since it was [...]
