Bank sticks to Carney’s rules as interest rate is held again October 10, 2013 THE Bank of England held the benchmark interest rate at 0.5 per cent yesterday for the 55th consecutive month, with no changes to quantitative easing. With the Bank’s monetary policy committee seemingly sticking to the forward guidance policy laid out by new governor Mark Carney in August, there looks to be little scope for upset [...]
Inside Track: Independent analysts don’t always say what you want October 10, 2013 FOR several months now I have been arguing that an understanding of the new issues market would be enhanced by the presence of independent analysts, writing research about companies coming to market ahead of the first day’s trading. Most of the recent London flotations have gone ahead with no research from any bank that is [...]
City Moves for 11 October 2013 | Who’s switching jobs October 10, 2013 Smith & WilliamsonThe financial services company has announced the appointment of John Rugman as head of valuations. He was previously at PwC, where he was director of its UK regional valuation team. PwCRichard Horne has joined the professional services firm as a partner in its cyber security practice. Horne previously spent 12 years at Barclays, most recently [...]
Liberum wins another broking mandate after employee raid October 9, 2013 LIBERUM, the investment bank and research house, has won its second new broking client in the wake of its hiring of 14 people from Espirito Santo in July. Workspace, the office rental group focused on new and growing companies, said yesterday it had appointed Liberum as its broker alongside Investec, the South African bank. The [...]
Wenger and Ramsey bag awards to complete remarkable turn in fortune October 8, 2013 SIX wins from six matches have earned Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger and midfielder Aaron Ramsey the Barclays’ manager and player of the month awards for September respectively. The Gunners are top of the Premier League and enjoyed wins over north London rivals Tottenham, as well as Sunderland, Stoke and Swansea last month. Wenger’s team also [...]
Virgin Money is the fourth lender to join Help to Buy October 7, 2013 VIRGIN Money yesterday became the fourth bank to sign up for the Help to Buy Scheme, which from today will offer state guarantees to homebuyers. It joins RBS, Lloyds’ Halifax brand and challenger bank Aldermore in offering mortgages with deposits worth as little as five per cent of the home’s value. However, new figures on [...]
Jenkins puts £1m in bank October 7, 2013 BARCLAYS chief Antony Jenkins bought another £1.1m of shares in the bank’s rights issue, the lender announced yesterday. The bank raised £5.8bn in the capital-raising round, with each existing shareholder offered the right to buy one new share at 185p for each four shares they already owned. Jenkins took advantage with a purchase of 613,084 [...]
Go Outdoors secures £33m loan October 7, 2013 Outdoor retailer Go Outdoors has secured a £33m refinancing deal with Barclays to accelerate its growth plans. The group, which reported a 19 per cent jump in sales last year to £171m, said the investment will be used to open more stores, grow its online operations and revamp existing stores. It has signed a three-year [...]
The Ritz reveals five-star profit as hotel value is lifted to £735m October 6, 2013 THE VALUE of the iconic Ritz hotel in Piccadilly has been lifted to £735m after a record year where it earned the highest revenue in its 107-year history. The landmark building, owned by Sir David and Sir Frederick Barclay, upped the price of its fixed assets after receiving “several unsolicited approaches” to buy it, according [...]
Johnston Press is in talks over debt mountain October 6, 2013 STRUGGLING publisher Johnston Press has entered negotiations with its lenders over its £306.4m debt. Johnston Press has reportedly hired Rothschild, the investment bank, to coordinate discussions with creditors including Barclays and Royal Bank of Scotland. The conversations with lenders could include a refinancing package would see the banks taking warrants in the company, giving them [...]