BSkyB CEO Jeremy Darroch is set on change July 7, 2014 Chief executive Jeremy Darroch tells David Hellier how he is bent on encouraging even more people to fall in love with Sky Talking about the way BSkyB has changed over the years, its chief executive Jeremy Darroch says: “You don’t keep being successful by doing things in the same way.” As he speaks, [...]
Woodford backs British pharma sector with fund July 6, 2014 NEIL Woodford, one of the best-known fund managers in the City, has backed the under-siege UK pharmaceutical sector with his new fund. Woodford’s £1.6bn equity income fund, launched last week, has ploughed 8.3 per cent of the fund into Astrazeneca and 7.1 per cent into Glaxosmithkline, the UK’s biggest drug maker, making the companies the [...]
Lloyds private equity arm sells Metronet to Isis in £45m buyout June 30, 2014 The private equity arm of Lloyds Banking Group has sold its stake in Manchester-based tech group Metronet (UK) to Isis Equity Partners for £45m. Lloyds Development Capital, which ploughed £11m into Metronet in 2012, had made a four times return on its equity investment after selling the stake, it said. Metronet [...]
Charlie Bracken: The man behind Liberty Global’s deal spree now has his eyes on Europe June 30, 2014 Finance boss Charlie Bracken tells Oliver Smith why content is king With a cable network connecting over 24m households across Europe, a figure that will jump to 28m when its €10bn (£8bn) takeover of Netherlands cable operator Ziggo closes later this year, finance chief Charlie Bracken believes that content is fast becoming the new [...]
BT facing fines over Openreach repair targets June 26, 2014 British telecoms giant BT could face fines if it does not meet new targets to repair its extensive UK telephone and broadband network, Ofcom said yesterday. New rules that come into force on Monday require BT’s Openreach infrastructure division to fix 70 per cent of faults – in the network used by BT’s own customers, [...]
London’s Salesforce Tower gets new name but Heron tenants not sold June 23, 2014 The renaming process of Heron Tow… we mean Salesforce Tower, reached an important milestone last night, with the renaming ceremony taking place on its 26th floor. “This is the first time a building in the City of London has been named after a tech company; we’re literally cementing our presence here,” said Miguel Milano, Salesforce’s [...]
BT jumps after Ofcom quashes fibre complaint June 19, 2014 OFCOM yesterday cleared BT over claims it had priced its flagship superfast broadband too high, boosting BT’s shares by almost two per cent. TalkTalk had complained that BT was abusing its dominant position in the way it priced its wholesale offering. BT offers its own broadband service to consumers, as well as charging rival operators [...]
London Report: Rolls rally lifts market closer to record high June 19, 2014 Arally by aircraft engine-maker Rolls-Royce and the US Federal Reserve’s reassurance over monetary policy yesterday pushed the FTSE 100 up to trade just below a record high. The London market ended the day 0.4 per cent higher at 6,808.11 points, not far from a record 6,950.60 set in 1999. Rolls-Royce surged 8.1 per cent to [...]
BT leads the FTSE 100 fallers on pension and regulation fears June 16, 2014 TELECOMS group BT dragged the FTSE 100 index down yesterday on concerns that it will be hit by an increase in its pension deficit and that Ofcom is preparing to crackdown on its wholesale pricing of superfast broadband. BT’s shares dropped 2.4 per cent, the biggest individual faller on the FTSE 100, with traders citing [...]
London Report: FTSE falls on BT pension fears and builders June 16, 2014 BRITAIN’S top share index slipped yesterday as concerns about a large increase in its pension deficit hit BT Group, while housebuilders extended their recent sell-off on prospects of a UK rate hike. BT fell 2.4 per cent, one of the biggest drags on the FTSE 100. Traders cited a Sunday Times report which said that [...]