BAA offloads Edinburgh for shock £800m April 23, 2012 THE dismantling of BAA’s British interests moved forward yesterday when it agreed to sell Edinburgh airport to City airport owner Global Infrastructure Partners (GIP) for a surprise £807m. GIP, an investment fund founded by Credit Suisse and General Electric, beat a consortium led by JP Morgan Asset Management’s infrastructure fund. The price dwarfs the £500m [...]
FPC is set to hit lending, warns HSBC chairman April 22, 2012 HSBC chairman Douglas Flint has joined the chorus of criticism against the Bank of England’s new financial policy committee (FPC) and warned it could reduce the pool of capital, increase lending costs and hit borrowing. Flint used a major speech to warn of the “material impact” the committee could have on access to credit and [...]
Wolfson prize: Top euro exit plans chosen April 4, 2012 HUNDREDS of economists took up the challenge issued by Lord Wolfson last year – to come up with a practical plan for a country to leave the Eurozone, minimising the pain for it and the remaining members. Five of those entries have made the short-list, which was announced yesterday, and, following further revisions on the [...]
WOLFSON PRIZE: THE SHORTLIST April 4, 2012 JENS NORDVIG Nomura Securities Jens and his colleague Nick Firoozye argue the treatment of foreign law debt contracts is of crucial importance because there is around €10 trillion outstanding. Their essay says debt contracts falling under national or local law should be redenominated into a new currency, while debt contracts falling under foreign law should [...]
LSE’s Rolet passes key LCH takeover test April 4, 2012 LONDON Stock Exchange (LSE) boss Xavier Rolet passed a crucial test of his leadership yesterday when his shareholders backed the takeover of clearing house LCH.Clearnet, his first major deal. LSE and LCH.Clearnet shareholders voted overwhelmingly to ratify Rolet’s plan to take up to 60 per cent of the clearing operator with an offer of €20 [...]
Entwhistle looks to raise £75m to launch new UK bank Scoban April 2, 2012 British financier Ray Entwistle is hoping to raise £75m to get his new private bank, Scoban, up and running although he said the process was taking longer than planned. Entwistle, who spent much of his career at private bank Adam & Co and helped sell the firm to Royal Bank of Scotland in 1993, said [...]
The law firm boss who’s not moving anywhere but up April 1, 2012 LAST weekend, Bryan Hughes found himself hanging 50ft above the ground, attached to nothing but a rope. In an effort to face his son’s fear of heights he’d taken him on the high wires at Center Parcs, but when they reached the highest point Hughes found himself feeling a growing sense of panic. “I made [...]
Co-op granted licence to sell legal services March 28, 2012 CO-OPERATIVE Legal Services has become the first alternative business structure (ABS) to launch in the UK after being officially approved by regulators, along with a pair of regional solicitors’ firms. The Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) said yesterday it had licensed the Co-operative Group subsidiary, Oxford-based John Welch and Stammers, and Lawbridge Solicitors in Kent as [...]
ANALYST VIEWS CAN WOLSELEY WEATHER THE TOUGH EUROPEAN CONDITIONS? March 27, 2012 KEITH BOWMAN HARGREAVES LANSDOWNE Sales for the group’s biggest division have slowed, while comparatives are becoming more challenging. Furthermore, recent US housing data provides room for caution…On the upside, its finances have been well and truly stabilised, whilst the group continues to be re-positioned. HOWARD SEYMOUR NUMIS Good interim results prompt increased forecasts and target [...]
Future energy demand requires planning now March 25, 2012 AS THE financial year draws to a close, and with a degree of stability in financial markets, we can now think about the longer-term future of the City and London’s financial services. The findings of the City of London’s latest research report, published in partnership with London First and the City Property Association, highlight the [...]