Foreign tourists spending more on British trips April 10, 2014 ALMOST seven million people visited the UK from overseas this winter, generating a fifth more for the British economy than they did a year earlier. In the three months to the end of February, 6.95m international visitors splashed out £4.55bn while they were in the country, up 21 per cent on the same period last [...]
City Moves for 11 April 2014 | Who’s switching jobs April 10, 2014 Saffery Champness The accountancy firm has made two senior appointments. Jamie Cassell (right) joins its business advisory group as a partner. He specialises in advising entrepreneurs and owner-backed businesses. Cassell was previously a partner at Blick Rothenberg and a director at BDO. Niraj Patel has been promoted to partner. He joined in 2000, and was [...]
Cameron forced onto the defensive as Miller quits April 9, 2014 DAVID Cameron was struggling to restore his authority last night, after his attempt to keep Maria Miller as culture secretary despite overwhelming public anger ended in failure. Cameron acknowledged that public concern over MPs’ abuse of expenses was “still very raw” and that more had to be done to rebuild trust. Ed Miliband accused Cameron [...]
Inside Track: HSBC to get one over on Barclays with capture of Moreno April 9, 2014 LIKE hands-on managers who get rebranded as directors of football, senior advisers at investment banks often find their august titles are merely stepping-stones on the way to a graceful exit. HSBC’s latest recruit suggests that theory is unfounded at Europe’s largest bank. City sources say it has signed up Glen Moreno, the chairman of Pearson, [...]
Barclays still most complained about bank, yet gripes decrease April 9, 2014 BARCLAYS Bank saw the highest number of complaints to the Financial Conduct Authority between July and December 2013, figures showed yesterday. Overall, the bank notched up 309,494 complaints – which was down 17 per cent compared to last year, followed by Lloyds Bank with 256,656, which was a decline of one per cent. The FCA [...]
Blur’s Alex James plays King of the farmyard in Canary Wharf April 9, 2014 KING may be in its post-IPO quiet period but the games-maker made a pretty loud statement in Canary Wharf yesterday. In a bid to push its latest game, Farm Heroes Saga (think Candy Crush but um, on a farm) King’s marketing whizzes set up a farm pop-up outside the station. It came with all of [...]
Complaints against financial services companies drop by 15 per cent April 9, 2014 The Financial Conduct Authority has announced that 2,479,029 complaints were opened against financial service firms between July and December 2013. That's down 15 per cent from the 2,911,154 complaints reported in the previous six month period. PPI claims saw the greatest number of claims, with 1,390,756 opened during the period. That number is down 22 [...]
Any Other Business – 09/04 April 9, 2014 SO, DIAMOND Bob has snaffled one of his old colleagues from Barclays, John Vitalo, to head up his new African bank buying venture, Atlas Mara. What does it all mean? Well, it could mean we’ll see the eternally cleanly-shaved Diamond sporting a tash come November. As you can see from Vitalo’s Movember mug shot (pictured), the [...]
Barclays closes repayment gap April 8, 2014 BARCLAYS has accelerated its redress payments to small firms who were mis-sold interest rate swaps, official figures showed yesterday. The bank has now determined how it will repay 64 per cent of customers affected, the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) said. The March figure is up from 50 per cent in February and is firmly ahead of [...]
City Moves for 09 April 2014 | Who’s switching jobs April 8, 2014 InvestecInvestec Specialist Bank has expanded its growth and acquisition finance team with the appointment of Helen Lucas. She joins from Barclays, where she was a vice president in its debt finance origination team. Knight Frank Investment ManagementThe investment management business has made two appointments. Belinda Harris joins as an investment manager from Capita, where she [...]