What the other papers say this morning – 29 January 2014 January 28, 2014 FINANCIAL TIMES AO.com aims for £1bn valuation AO.com, the online electricals retailer, is aiming for a £1bn valuation when it floats on the London Stock Exchange later this year – more than treble the market capitalisation it was hoping to achieve just four months ago. Several investors have told the Financial Times that the retailer, [...]
F&C snapped up by Canadians in £700m deal January 28, 2014 ONE of the City’s oldest fund managers was acquired by Canadian financial giant Bank of Montreal yesterday, despite a top F&C shareholder delaying its backing for the deal. F&C Fund Management, which traces its roots back to 1868, said it had agreed to the 120p a share offer from Bank of Montreal’s Canadian backer BMO [...]
City Moves for 29 January 2014 | Who’s switching jobs January 28, 2014 KPMG The professional services firm has announced the appointment of Mike Walters as a partner and head of its financial risk management group. He was most recently at Barclays, where he was global head of compliance. Nikko Asset Management The asset management firm has made two senior appointments. Takuya Koyama has been appointed global head [...]
How to profit from the fund price war January 28, 2014 Increased competition between platforms is welcome – but the overhaul of charges won’t be a game-changer @AnnabelPalmer1 IN WHAT some are calling a price war, yet another investment platform (Barclays Stockbrokers) has unveiled sweeping changes to its pricing structures. It all began on 15 January, when Hargreaves Lansdown announced that it would overhaul its charges. [...]
Barclays plays down price war as it reveals similar fund charges January 27, 2014 BARCLAYS Stockbrokers yesterday said customers will not pick fund supermarkets based solely on price, as it revealed slightly higher tariffs for its new pricing model. The business, which has 300,000 customers, unveiled a 0.35 per cent tariff charge for customers yesterday, matching rival Fidelity. The two have both undercut market leader Hargreaves Lansdown, which will [...]
Albemarle & Bond still on the hunt for a debt rescue deal January 27, 2014 PAWNBROKER Albemarle & Bond is scrambling to find a buyer of its £50m debts after it said talks for a traditional takeover had fallen through. The firm, which has seen profits and its share price tumble after a collapse in the gold price last year, had been in discussions with several suitors to sell the [...]
Over half of UK businesses to raise pay this year January 27, 2014 Over half of UK firms are planning to raise wages over the coming year, according to a study by Barclays. 57 per cent of the 684 businesses surveyed say they’ll up wages, with 39 per cent planning increases across the board. Kevin Wall, co-head of corporate banking origination at Barclays, said: After an extended [...]
Sponsors line up to steal Barclays’ Premier crown January 27, 2014 THE PREMIER League is bracing itself for a sponsorship bidding war if Barclays decides to pull out of the deal next year, it emerged yesterday. The high street lender, which has sponsored the league since 2001, is mulling plans to end the £40m a year deal when the rights come up for renewal in 2015. [...]
Innovation Diary: Perfect storm of factors is set to make education technology the UK’s next growth sector January 26, 2014 FOR THOSE seeking a model of the classroom of the future, Estonia is often high up the list. Speaking at Davos last week, Barclays’s Antony Jenkins contrasted the Baltic state’s “technologically-oriented” economy, where every child is taught coding at school, with the UK’s structural youth unemployment. Estonia’s tech transformation is indeed impressive. It has some [...]
Barclays’ boss says kids need coding skills for future jobs January 23, 2014 BRITAIN’S young people need different skills if they are to find work in the modern economy, Barclays’ chief said yesterday. Antony Jenkins said other countries teach computer coding from an early age to prepare them for high tech work, unlike Britain. “In the UK we have 1m young people not in employment, education, or training. [...]