John Laing-backed green fund raises £160m in London float March 26, 2014 A JOHN Laing-backed infrastructure fund yesterday said it has raised £160m in an initial public offering and will invest the proceeds in a portfolio of renewable energy, waste and waste water assets in the UK. John Laing Environmental Assets Group (JLEN) will acquire the portfolio of assets from infrastructure group John Laing and a fund [...]
Are you a secret sexist? Take this test and find out March 26, 2014 At this morning’s launch of the latest Cranfield FTSE Women report, unconscious bias was a hot topic. Put very simply unconscious bias controls that bit of our brain that – like it or not – sorts people into categories. Man = manager. Women = secretary. And so on. Neurologists claims that not only are our [...]
Any Other Business – 26/03 March 26, 2014 Aldeburgh, in Suffolk, played host to an event called Names not Numbers this week, mixing novelists with journos, academics, actors and er, a paucity of bankers. The trip, which ended yesterday, involving Brompton bike rides and fish and chips on the beach, couldn’t be further away from flashy boardrooms and Sushi Samba. But Jenny Grey [...]
Pawnbroker Albemarle & Bond appoints PwC as administrator March 25, 2014 ALBEMARLE & Bond called in administrators yesterday, just a day after the struggling pawnbroker said that its lenders no longer supported the management’s turnaround plan. Albemarle’s board said that the decision had been made due to Albemarle’s inability to regain the support of its lenders on Monday – including Lloyds Banking Group and Barclays to [...]
French bounce keeps Eurozone growth on track March 24, 2014 FRENCH firms have reported an unexpected burst of growth this month, while German companies suggested a slowdown in Europe’s powerhouse economy’s expansion. Purchasing managers’ indexes (PMI) from data firm Markit indicate that growth in the Eurozone is broadly unchanged from February: the headline PMI figure was down 0.1 points to 53.2 in March, marginally above [...]
Albemarle stock is suspended as lenders pull out March 24, 2014 TROUBLED pawnbroker Albemarle & Bond yesterday suspended its shares from trading on London’s Alternative Investment Market after lenders said they would no longer support the firm’s turnaround plan. Albemarle shareholders could face losing their money while the firm’s 1,000 staff could lose their jobs. “These remaining options open to the company, which could include the [...]
City Moves for 25 March 2014 | Who’s switching jobs March 24, 2014 Barclays Business UK The bank has appointed Judith Gage as head of real estate for its business division. She joined the retail team in 1986, and was appointed manager in the business team in 1996. Charles Stanley The investment management firm has hired Simon Davis as a director of wealth management in its financial services [...]
Academies are transforming education: Here’s how March 24, 2014 AS SOON as you walk into a great school, you can feel the buzz. Children are confident, staff are passionate, and high academic achievement and exciting extra-curricular activities sit side by side. As an academy sponsor, and chair of the Department for Education’s Academies Board, I’ve visited many schools like this. Schools like Great Yarmouth [...]
Why Barclays thinks European investors are missing out to US peers March 24, 2014 At the moment, European equities are, as a whole, pretty cheap. And what’s more, those with higher leverage are even cheaper. That’s according to Barclays, whose note today, “Learning to live with leverage”, details why it thinks European equity investors are still underestimating the impact of improved fixed income markets. The bank thinks there’s a [...]
Why this pawnbroker’s shares are now worth nothing March 24, 2014 Troubled pawnbroker Albemarle & Bond requested its shares be suspended from trading on London's Alternative Investment Market (AIM). The company made the announcement after its lenders said they would not be able to support the management turnaround plan for the business. However, Albemarle & Bond insisted that the company's options remained open, including the sale [...]