BANKS’ LENDING AGREEMENTS May 23, 2011 Q. WHAT DID THE BANKS COMMIT TO? A. Under the terms of “project Merlin”, a deal with the Treasury aimed at reviving lenders’ image, five banks – RBS, Lloyds, HSBC, Barclays and Santander UK – agreed to make £190bn in credit available to businesses this year, versus £179bn in 2010. They earmarked £76bn of this [...]
Broughton bid of £230m puts him in the lead May 23, 2011 SIR Martin Broughton, the deputy chairman of airline IAG, yesterday pulled further ahead in the race to buy the Tote, after it emerged his bid values the state-owned betting pool at £230m. The development puts further distance between his offer and the £200m- valued bid being wagered by high street bookmaker Betfred. Sir Martin’s Sports [...]
The changing of the guard at Goldman Sachs May 23, 2011 A changing of the guard at Goldman’s UK investment banking division is always closely watched and so it is that there is much discussion about the two thirtysomethings that have been put in charge of UK investment banking. The recent departure of Julian Metherell, the former head, who is going to start an investment firm [...]
CITY MOVES | WHO’S SWITCHING JOBS May 23, 2011 Agent Provocateur Retail veteran Chris Woodhouse has been appointed as non-executive chairman of luxury retailer Agent Provocateur. Woodhouse, director of Debenhams and chairman of restaurant group Gondola, which owns Pizza Express and ASK, will take a small stake in the lingerie business, which he will oversee alongside his existing role. Agent Provocateur, owned by private [...]
FTSE hit by China growth fears and eurozone crisis May 23, 2011 Commodity stocks took a hammering in early trading today as miners and energy related groups suffered from uncertainty in the global economy. The eurozone debt crisis continued to cast a shadow after Italy’s credit rating was downgraded by Standard & Poor’s from stable to negative. Chinese manufacturing data from HSBC showing a ten-month low also [...]
Banks miss small firms loan target of Project Merlin May 22, 2011 THE UK’s five largest banks have failed to meet a Project Merlin target for making £76bn of credit available to small and medium size businesses (SMEs) this year, the Bank of England is set to reveal today. Preliminary figures showed that in the first three months of the year, the banks – RBS, Lloyds, Barclay, [...]
RAINMAKING WON’T STOP PLAY AT CITY’S CHELSEA POWER SHOW May 22, 2011 TONIGHT the worlds of high finance and horticulture will collide at the most popular fixture in the City year: the Chelsea Flower Show charity gala. BSkyB chief executive Jeremy Darroch was spotted eyeing up garden sheds at last year’s Chelsea preview, while Topshop boss Sir Philip Green – known in the City as “PG” – [...]
Phadia nets Cinven £2.5bn May 19, 2011 BUY-OUT group Cinven has sold Phadia, a maker of allergy and auto-immune tests, to Thermo Fisher Scientific for €2.47bn (£2.18bn), it announced yesterday. Cinven paid €1.29bn for Sweden-based Phadia in January 2007, and has expanded the firm’s US and Asian market shares. The deal, set to close in the fourth-quarter, is expected to increase Thermo’s [...]
Care home firm reveals profit slump May 19, 2011 EMBATTLED care homes operator Southern Cross yesterday said it hopes to turn its fortunes around, despite revealing a £311m half-year loss. The UK’s largest care homes provider has been squeezed by a fall in the number of patients placed by local authorities and a real terms cut in fees, due to public sector austerity. Revenues [...]
Goldman tops list for global M&A May 19, 2011 GOLDMAN Sachs is the top bank for global mergers and acquisitions (M&A), having advised on deals worth $297.5bn (£183.8bn) so far this year. The Wall Street giant pips rival JP Morgan to the top of a list of global banks, according to data provider Dealogic. JP Morgan has advised on deals worth $281bn so far [...]