Standard Life closes fund September 21, 2010 STANDARD Life’s private equity arm has closed its latest fund of funds on €700m (£594m), around €200m below its previous investment vehicle. SL Capital Partners’ European Strategic Partners 2008 fund, which will invest in western European buy-outs, received €200m more than its original target. SL Capital chief executive David Currie said: “That we have successfully [...]
Games crisis after British stars pull out September 21, 2010 BRITISH track stars Phillips Idowu and Christine Ohuruogu pulled out of the Commonwealth Games last night amid growing fears the event in Delhi will have to be cancelled. In a disastrous 24 hours for organisers, already fraught preparations were plunged into crisis when a bridge outside the stadium collapsed, injuring 23, and a row erupted [...]
DSG revertsto Dixons in name swap September 8, 2010 DSG International will revert to being called Dixons Retail after shareholders yesterday approved the plans at the electrical group’s AGM. The rebranding to DSG was aimed at being more appealing to an international market but the move has fallen flat. The company, which owns Curry’s and PC World, has been forced to restructure its overseas [...]
DSG nets a World Cup boost September 2, 2010 DSG International said yesterday its total group sales were up three per cent after a boost from World Cup TV purchases and the success of the iPad. In an update on trading for the 12 weeks to 24 July the company, which owns Currys and PC World, said its online sales had surged by 12 [...]
DSG on track after iPad and world cup sales boost September 2, 2010 Electricals retailer DSG International said its total group sales were up three per cent after a boost from Word Cup TV sales and the success of the iPad. In an update on trading for the 12 weeks ended 24 July the company, which owns Currys and PC World in the UK, said its online sales [...]
City veteran to help troubled Gartmore September 1, 2010 EMBATTLED fund manager Gartmore hired industry veteran Robert Kyprianou as a non-executive director yesterday as rumours swirled of a sell-off by its largest shareholder. Kyprianou, whose CV includes stints at ABN Amro’s investment arm and Axa Framlington, will add weight to Gartmore’s board at a time of intense difficulty for the company. Gartmore has seen [...]
Indian elephant offers the investor steady success August 31, 2010 ANALYSTS comparing the prospects for the world’s two most populous countries often evoke an Asian version of Aesop’s famous fable of the tortoise and the hare – the elephant and the tiger. The elephant makes slow and steady progress to reach its goal while the tiger bounds forward more quickly and more powerfully, but risks [...]
Swannell plans to juggle HMV and Marks & Spencer roles August 23, 2010 FORMER dealmaker Robert Swannell will remain on the board of HMV after taking the chair of Marks & Spencer in January, it is understood. Swannell, whose appointment as Sir Stuart Rose’s replacement was confirmed yesterday, will divide his time between the structurally challenged music chain and the all-purpose retailer. He will step down from the [...]
FOOD & BOOZE NEWS August 18, 2010 PATISSERIE POP-UP AT HARVEY NICKS Get the cakes in – in spectacular style – at Harvey Nichols this autumn where American super-patissiere Claire Clark will be opening a pop-up for two months. Goodies lurking within her groovy Perspex cases will include bubblegum marshmallow pavlovas, Jaffa Cake macaroons and peanut butter S’Mores. The Claire Clark Patisserie [...]
GOODHART: IF I WERE ON TODAY’S MPC, I’D WANT TO BE PUT TO SLEEP August 3, 2010 ATTENDEES at the London School of Economics’ (LSE) monetary policy conference yesterday morning were treated to an A-list talking heads line-up, with former members of the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) Sir John Gieve and Charles Goodhart joining Fitch Ratings’ Brian Coulton to discuss interest rates. Unfortunately, the audience was not about to flatter its illustrious [...]