Quinn has a second chance April 11, 2010 LIKE BT Group, the former state-owned telecoms firm, Qinetiq has struggled to shake off its public sector ethos since it was privatised in 2003. It has a remarkably impressive history; starting life as the Defence Evaluation and Research Agency (Dera), its scientists invented the liquid crystal display and carbon fibre. But a prohibitively expensive cost [...]
New British Airways fund chief April 11, 2010 British Airways has named Paul Spencer as the chairman of its pension trustees. Spencer, the former head of National Savings & Investments, is also a trustee of the Rolls-Royce, BT and BAT pension schemes. He is set to play a crucial role in BA’s planned merger with Spanish airline Iberia. Iberia has said it would [...]
Ofcom cuts Premier footy prices March 31, 2010 MEDIA regulator Ofcom has slashed the price BSkyB can charge its rivals to screen its sports packages. It cut the wholesale price for Sky Sports 1 by 24 per cent to £10.63 a month. It means rivals BT and Virgin will be able to undercut Sky and chip away at its vast 9.5m subscriber base. [...]
Ofcom feels the heat over sports ruling March 31, 2010 OFCOM faced a fierce backlash to its landmark ruling yesterday as broadcasters and sporting bodies rounded on the embattled regulator. BSkyB vowed to carry out its threat to fight the ruling through the courts, hiring high powered City law firm Herbert Smith. The decision means the wholesale prices Sky is allowed to charge rivals including [...]
TalkTalk walks the walk March 29, 2010 SOMETIMES the sum of the parts is worth more than the whole. The demerger of Carphone Warehouse and TalkTalk is the logical step for a company whose level of growth and evolution had started to trip itself up. TalkTalk fared well in trading today. The UK’s number one residential broadband provider, supplying over 4m homes, [...]
Talk Talk March 29, 2010 TalkTalk boasts being the UK’s biggest consumer broadband provider, supplying 4.2m homes. It also provides stand-alone fixed line services. It uses BT’s existing copper connections for its regular broadband. It also provides BT’s bundled superfast fibre connections on a wholesale basis, albeit with greatly reduced margins. It is looking at ways to roll out its [...]
Boots refuses to back Hewitt after lobbygate March 23, 2010 ALLIANCE Boots is refusing to back special consultant Patricia Hewitt, after she was sensationally suspended from the Labour Party over the cash for lobbying scandal. A spokesperson for the leading pharmacy chain said her contract was “still in place” and that it was being “reviewed regularly”, but she would not confirm that the former health [...]
Sky worried despite likely revenue boost March 23, 2010 BSkyB could generate additional revenue of more than £700m if it is allowed to sell Premier League football through Freeview. In a move described by Sky as a “sop”, Ofcom is likely to allow the broadcaster to go ahead with a project dreamed up in 2007 codenamed “Picnic”. This would involve setting up a subscription [...]
Ofcom allows competitors access to BT’s new internet fibre lines and ducts March 23, 2010 RIVAL Internet service providers will have access to BT’s new fibre lines via a so-called virtual network or they could lay their own fibre in the telecom firm’s ducts under new proposals from the regulator. Ofcom said yesterday it would propose allowing competitors to have access to new fibre lines laid by BT, at a [...]
CITY MOVES | WHO’S SWITCHING JOBS March 22, 2010 Mirae Asset Global Investments Elliot Berman has been promoted to the role of head of sales for the EMEA region at Asian asset management firm Mirae Asset. Berman originally joined the group’s UK team in August 2008 as a senior manager for European distribution. He previously worked at Morley Fund Management, latterly as sales manager [...]