City Link administration: Most jobs to go on New Year’s Day December 29, 2014 Most workers at City Link are expected to be made redundant on New Year's Day, they have been told. An internal document seen by Sky said it is unlikely to be able to make termination payments – "however, you may be entitled to make claims to the Redundancy Payment Service". The news came on the [...]
Private equity floats at highest since 1998 December 21, 2014 NEW STOCK market listings of private equity backed firms like SSP, led by chief executive Kate Swann, rose to their highest level since 1998 this year, according to figures from the centre for management buy-out research, at EY and Equistone. There were 43 PE-backed floats across Europe in 2014, worth €44bn, according to the stats.
City Moves for 22 December 2014 | Who’s switching jobs December 21, 2014 LEBC Simon Turner has been appointed director of business planning at the IFA, pensions and employee benefits consultancy. He was previously regional head of financial planning for the northern region at Grant Thornton. Turner has 25 years’ experience in financial services. Jones Day The law firm has announced the appointment of 42 partners, with three [...]
Reach for the Isle of Skye for a bracing winter weekend away December 21, 2014 The island off the west coast of Scotland has a rugged charm during the colder months – and the food is first class. My heart is yearning to thee, O Skye! Dearest of Islands! There first the sunshine gladdened my eye, On the sea sparkling”. So wrote Scottish poet Alexander Nicolson about the largest [...]
A bad year for predictions: Number of UK company profit warnings reaches highest point since middle of financial crisis December 21, 2014 It has been a bad year for UK companies trying to accurately predict their profits. According to a report by financial services firm EY, the number of profit warnings issued by the UK's largest listed companies in 2014 was higher than in any year since the height of the financial crisis. During the [...]
City Moves for 19 December 2014 | Who’s switching jobs December 18, 2014 FTI Consulting Clare Hartnell has been appointed senior managing director in the business advisory firm’s European tax advisory practice, focusing on real estate tax. She was most recently global leader of Grant Thornton’s real estate and construction practice, and has also worked at BDO. EY Monica Dimitracopoulos has been appointed principal and global knowledge transformation [...]
In pictures: Geminid meteor shower sends shooting stars over London, Macedonia and the US December 15, 2014 This weekend the night sky was lit up by a meteor show of up to 100 shooting stars an hour. The Geminid meteor shower was seen in both hemispheres, with both professional and amateur astronomers braving freezing temperatures to capture the phenomenon. The best time to see the meteors in London was around midnight, but [...]
PetSmart sold to BC Partners in $8.7bn deal December 14, 2014 UK investor BC Partners last night beat larger US rivals to clinch the world’s biggest private equity takeover this year, striking a $8.7bn (£5.5bn) deal to land pet retailer PetSmart. BC, the former owner of big brand UK firms such as Foxtons and the defunct Phones4U, will pay $83 per share alongside a team of [...]
British dealmakers considerably increase their activity overseas December 14, 2014 WHILE deal making in Britain has seen a small increase in activity this year, domestic dealmakers acquiring assets overseas have increased considerably, according to data analysis by EY released today. The acquisitions have been driven by corporates across a few sectors keen to reposition their business models in a low-growth world. The volume [...]
City firms dominate Stonewall’s Star Performers list December 11, 2014 City firms including Barclays and Goldman Sachs have dominated the "Star Performers" list published by Stonewall today. The group said the eight companies on the list have been "consistently ranked as top 10 gay-friendly workplaces" in its annual Workplace Equality Index. Other star performers included consultant Accenture, law firm Simmons & Simmons, tech giant IBM, [...]