Bonuses down despite strong year for Britain’s biggest banks February 19, 2015 Payouts for top bankers have taken a tumble so far this year, according to industry data seen by City A.M., as the bonus cap combined with investor and political pressure takes its toll. Preliminary data from pay benchmarking site Emolument.com shows bonuses for front office staff falling precipitously this year compared with last year’s pay [...]
Rexam and Ball to form drinks can monolith February 19, 2015 AMERICAN drinks can manufacturer Ball Corporation yesterday agreed a deal to buy UK rival Rexam in a £4.43bn deal that would create an industry giant. The deal would see Rexam shareholders get 407p in cash and 0.04568 new Ball shares for each Rexam share held, amounting to 628p per share. The UK firm has negotiated [...]
New challenger bank OakNorth set to open its doors in summer 2015 February 19, 2015 Challenger bank OakNorth expects to secure a license shortly, meaning it could open as soon as this summer, with a strategy that aims to attract fast growth small businesses by mixing digital services with traditional lending. The new bank would be joining other challenger banks such as Aldermore, Virgin Money and Metro Bank, as they battle [...]
Shop Direct goes upmarket with luxury site February 18, 2015 ONLINE retailer Shop Direct has taken on its upmarket rivals after launching a new luxury goods website today led by My Wardrobe founder Sarah Curran. Very Exclusive is targeted at aspirational shoppers who can’t afford high-end luxury by selling “accessible” brands such as Marc by Marc Jacobs, Whistles and Barbour. The company, owned billionaire brothers [...]
Center Parcs‘ owner chooses banks to lead upcoming London listing February 17, 2015 BLACKSTONE, the owner of Center Parcs since 2006, has hired Bank of America Merrill Lynch and Morgan Stanley to head up its listing on the London Stock Exchange. Barclays and Deutsche Bank were also chosen to work on the listing, which would value the company at £2.5bn.
AstraZeneca loses its US patent rights for asthma drug Pulmicort Respules February 16, 2015 AstraZeneca is considering an appeal against a US court ruling that found its patent for asthma treatment Pulmicort Respules is invalid in America. The British pharmaceutical giant said it “strongly disagrees” with the decision and is considering its options. In a statement yesterday, Paul Hudson, president of AstraZeneca US, said: “AstraZeneca has full confidence [...]
Greece banks on 11th hour Eurozone deal February 16, 2015 Greece’s maverick finance minister Yanis Varoufakis remains adamant a deal with creditors will be struck on the country’s finances today despite farcical negotiations last week ending without even an agreement on a joint statement. “Our resolute stance on totally logical matters will, in the final analysis, lead to a mutually beneficial convergence, even at the [...]
Apax holds a beauty parade for Sophos IPO February 15, 2015 LONDON-based private equity firm Apax has stepped up plans for the mooted £1bn stock market flotation of cyber security business Sophos later this year, it emerged yesterday. Apax is closing in on appointing a team of investment banks to work on the London listing for the Oxford-based tech firm, planned to go ahead after the [...]
Big banks spend £1bn per year and give 1m hours to community causes February 12, 2015 BANKERS at the biggest six institutions in the UK gave a total of more than 1.1m hours of their time to community and charity projects in 2013, according to figures published today by the British Bankers’ Association. In a study revealing the scale of resources given to corporate social responsibility programmes the BBA also found [...]
Energy, oil and Sky’s football bill hurt FTSE – London Report February 11, 2015 THE UK and Gas index fell 0.6 per cent after crude dropped 2.3 per cent on expectations of persistent oversupply, a stronger dollar and a report showing US crude stockpiles at a record high yesterday. Meanwhile the main index was dragged lower by energy company movements as well as the fallout from Sky bidding for [...]