£50m payday for Paulson Europe team January 7, 2010 PAULSON Europe, the UK arm of the hedge fund that made £400m betting against British banks during the financial crisis, boosted its revenues by 42 per cent last year. Four directors shared more than £50m for the 12 months to March as profits soared, according to the latest accounts. The highest-paid director, thought to be [...]
Miners push FTSE higher but M&S weighs on retail shares January 7, 2010 BRITAIN’S top shares added 0.1 percent yesterday as a rally by heavyweight miners, in tandem with stronger metal prices, offset weakness in energy issues, with retailers upset by a disappointing update from M&S. At the close, the FTSE 100 index was 7.54 points higher at 5,530.04, another 16-month closing high. “It looks like the big [...]
CARE HOME MOGUL GETS BOOST FROM REALITY TV January 6, 2010 A REALITY television appearance is usually more of a kiss of death than a gateway of opportunity, but the case of Balhousie Care Group chairman Tony Banks has proved an exception to the rule. Banks became a household name last year when he travelled to Liverpool on Channel 4’s Secret Millionaire programme and subsequently had [...]
Barclay brothers buy DHL parcels unit January 6, 2010 SIR David and Sir Frederick Barclay started the year with a major acquisition for their home delivery business. They snapped up DHL’s parcels business for an undisclosed sum to merge with their Home Delivery Network (HDN). The deal will vastly increase the scale of HDN, doubling its turnover from £300m to £600m. Briant Gaunt, chief [...]
CITY MOVES | WHO’S SWITCHING JOBS January 6, 2010 Evolution Securities Garry Levin is to leave his role as managing director in corporate finance at KBC Peel Hunt to join rival Evolution Securities as head of its equity corporate finance division. Levin, 46, will take up his role formally in April 2010. Prior to his position at KBC Peel Hunt, he was joint chief [...]
How the Queen of support services wants to turn UK companies green January 6, 2010 GOING GREEN may not be the most original of strategies but that doesn’t make it any less lucrative. So Mitie Ruby McGregor-Smith’s decision to bet the future of her support services giant on cashing in on the trend for all things environmental has gone down well with investors. The FTSE 250 company is still busy [...]
Shop Direct sales surge on internet January 5, 2010 LITTLEWOODS owner Shop Direct enjoyed a 6.3 per cent sales rise in the run-up to Christmas as shoppers flocked to buy over the internet. The home shopping group, which also operates the Woolworths.co.uk, Kays and Very.co.uk brands, said online sales were up 19 per cent on the previous year in the six weeks to 1 [...]
Banks push FTSE higher but vaccine worries hit pharma January 5, 2010 THE leading share index ended 0.4 per cent higher on yesterday, hitting a fresh 16-month closing high, as banks and commodity stocks rose, but gains were capped by a fall in drugmakers on concerns over vaccine sales. The blue chip FTSE 100 closed 22.16 points higher at 5,522.50, its highest close since 2 September 2008 [...]
Sloane Robinson Partners share £61m in profits January 4, 2010 SLOANE Robinson, the City partnership famed for its high levels of compensation, saw profits tumble last year – but its managers still shared some £61m in profits between them. The amount shared between 14 senior managers fell more than 80 per cent from a record peak of £341m in 2007/8 to £61m in 2008/9, accounts [...]
CITY VIEWS: WHAT WILL HAPPEN NEXT IN THE CADBURY BID BATTLE? January 4, 2010 JEREMY BATSTONE-CARR | CHARLES STANLEY “Our “Reduce” recommendation is predicated on the view Cadbury will do enough to ensure sufficient shareholder support to see off its rivals. We think it unlikely that [the next trading] update will have disappointed, judging by the strong anecdotal evidence to suggest robust Christmas-related sales activity.” HENK POTTS | BARCLAYS [...]