Sport Comment: ATP Finals was a damp squib but London needs it November 20, 2014 AS CHATTY Man Alan Carr himself is wont to say: “What a week it’s been!” Well, what a week it has been for Andy Murray and everyone connected to the Barclays ATP Tour Finals at the O2. A week to forget. Murray’s year had been an unspectacular slog after last winter’s back surgery but qualification [...]
Analyst Views: What did you think about Royal Mail’s results? November 19, 2014 RISHIKA SAVJANI | BARCLAYS Competitive pressures in parcels and the potential impact from Whistl’s expansion into direct delivery remains, but strong cost discipline has supported, and is likely to continue supporting, margin expansion. While there are no changes to guidance, the company has reaffirmed its commitment to cost discipline. ROBIN SPEAKMAN | SHORE CAPITAL UK [...]
Fans get partial refunds for O2 Federer no show November 19, 2014 LONDON tennis fans left disappointed by the cancellation of the final of the ATP World Tour Finals at the O2 on Sunday are set to receive a 60 per cent refund on their tickets. World No2 Roger Federer stunned spectators just minutes before his showdown with defending champion Novak Djokovic by announcing he was forfeiting [...]
Informa sells shares to fund £237m Hanley Wood purchase November 18, 2014 MULTINATIONAL publishing and events company Informa yesterday announced a share sale to fund the £237m acquisition of American trade show firm Hanley Wood Exhibitions. The London-based Informa said it was to place 60.4m new shares – accounting for 10 per cent of its capital – with both existing and new institutional investors. It said the [...]
City Moves for 18 November 2014 | Who’s switching jobs November 17, 2014 Barclays Andrea Delay has been appointed head of professional services at the bank. She has held several senior positions at Barclays, including head of industry for the facilities management sector. Delay has also held corporate banking roles at Wachovia Bank and Commerzbank. Deutsche Asset & Wealth Management Munish Varma has been appointed head of structured [...]
Mapped: Where are the UK’s most entrepreneurial regions? November 17, 2014 Entrepreneurial activity continues to thrive across the UK, according to research from Barclays and the Business Growth Fund (BGF). The number of active companies — 'live' businesses or those that are not in the process of liquidation or being dissolved — rose by 3.9 per cent in the six months up to June 2014. Additionally, the [...]
Qatar to raise bid for Canary Wharf owner Songbird Estates after £2.2bn offer rejected November 16, 2014 Qatar Investment Authority (QIA) and Brookfield Property Partners are close to tabling a higher takeover bid for Canary Wharf Group’s parent company, Songbird Estates, after their earlier £2.2bn offer was rejected. Songbird’s chairman David Pritchard rejected an initial approach 10 days ago, saying the 295-pence-a-share offer significantly undervalued the group. QIA, the sovereign wealth fund [...]
The number of UK businesses breaks 3m mark November 16, 2014 The number of active firms in the UK has broken through the 3m level for the first time, as a surge in entrepreneurship takes hold, according to Barclays and the Business Growth Fund (BGF). School leavers setting up firms have been joined by a growing number of older workers who find themselves out of a [...]
City Moves for 14 November 2014 | Who’s switching jobs November 13, 2014 Spencer Ogden Lord Smith of Finsbury has been appointed non-executive director at the energy recruitment consultancy. He is a former secretary of state for culture, and shadow secretary of state for the environment, and was chairman of the Environment Agency. Simmons & Simmons The law firm has announced the appointment of Paul Bugingo as a partner [...]
Forex rigging scandal: RBS, UBS, HSBC, JP Morgan and Citi set for lawsuit storm after £2bn FCA fine November 12, 2014 Funds, companies and other traders hurt by banks manipulating the foreign exchange markets could make claims totalling many billions of pounds, lawyers said yesterday. Five banks were fined a total of £2bn by the UK’s Financial Conduct Authority and the US Commodity Futures Trading Commission authorities because their traders fiddled key currency benchmarks. But the [...]