Keep burglars at bay with this home security tech August 13, 2014 Thousands of us are preparing to head for the hills for the last few weeks of summer, squeezing in a few precious days of R&R before the long slog towards Christmas. But leaving a home full of laptops and expensive jewellery can be a persistant niggle – and replacing them in the event of a [...]
BT’s student ad series shows broadband rivals Virgin and EE how to switch on – Brand Index August 12, 2014 The battle to dominate the home broadband market continues unabated, with the main industry players going to ever increasing lengths to ensure that they win the hearts and minds of consumers. Here, I assess three of the main protagonists in the sector: EE, Virgin Media, and BT. The market is changing rapidly due to technological [...]
Saxo boss Lars Seier Christensen opens Pandora’s box with jewellery startup investment August 12, 2014 Saxo Bank’s chief exec Lars Seier Christensen has got chins wagging in the Danish press. The banking boss has made a personal investment into jewellery startup Endless Jewelry – a company run by well-known Danish entrepreneur Jesper Nielsen. Nielsen made his name as a reseller of jewellery brand Pandora. He sold his Pandora distributorship for [...]
Online retailers to reap £740m as superfast fibre broadband rolls out across UK August 10, 2014 Superfast broadband is set to support Britain’s online retailers by boosting sales by as much as £740m a year, according to research carried out by the Centre for Economics and Business Research (CEBR). British shoppers already on superfast internet spend an average of 3.1 per cent, or £23 per year, more than shoppers on slower [...]
Philip Hampton is being lined up to replace Sir Christopher Gent as GSK’s next chairman August 7, 2014 Sir Philip Hampton is being lined up to take the role of chairman at Britain’s biggest drug company Glaxosmithkline after exiting Royal Bank of Scotland, Sky News reports. It’s said that Hampton will join GSK as early as next month as a non-executive director or deputy chairman, moving into the chairman’s seat by 2015. GSK’s [...]
BT misses out on £500m deal August 5, 2014 BRITISH Telecom (BT) has been passed over for a lucrative government communications contract, worth up to £500m, to upgrade the network used by the emergency services. BT was bidding to supply police, fire and ambulance workers with telecoms services for the next seven years, and building and maintaining the network’s sites for 15 years. Incumbent [...]
Sir Mike Rake in overdrive to chair roadside recovery firm RAC August 4, 2014 CBI president Sir Mike Rake is the frontrunner to become chairman of the RAC breakdown recovery service. The deputy chairman of Barclays is in talks for the role, ahead of the RAC’s potential £2bn stock market listing, according to Sky News. The breakdown service, owned by private equity group Carlyle, is expected to announce its [...]
BT share price creeps up as demand for fibre drives growth July 31, 2014 BT posted better-than-expected first quarter results yesterday on the back of growing demand for fibre. However, it received a tepid 0.15 per cent share price rise as investors waited to see how the Bo bets on sport and mobile play out. Revenue at the group rose just 0.5 per cent on a like-for-like basis to [...]
Sky Europe fails to find support for takeover bid July 29, 2014 BSkyB could find itself struggling to persuade Sky Deutschland’s investors to tender their shares as part of its £4.9bn Sky Europe takeover deal, according to the German broadcaster’s largest independent shareholder. Crispin Odey, who controls an eight per cent stake in Sky Deutschland through his hedge fund Odey Asset Management, said he would not accept [...]
City Moves for 29 July 2014 | Who’s switching jobs July 28, 2014 Lowendalmasaï Francis Mainoo has been appointed UK head of corporate development at the enterprise cost consultancy. He was previously head of London business development at Grant Thornton, and Mainoo has also held positions at Merrill Lynch and EY. Results International The M&A adviser to the marketing services, technology, and healthcare sectors has announced the promotion [...]