Investec tells investors Playtech has “firepower” for “significant” additions to warchest after company confirms discussions March 2, 2016 NULL
ITV shares dip despite broadcaster reporting rising revenue, profit growth, special dividend ahead of expected Euro football ad boost March 2, 2016 ITV’s shares dipped this morning after reporting a worse-than-expected outlook for the first quarter of 2016, despite a strong set of full year results. Total revenue across the company was £2.97bn, up from £2.59bn in 2014. The company reported a six per cent growth in net advertising revenue to £1.72bn. Online, pay and interactive revenue, meanwhile, was up [...]
New Barclays chief executive Jes Staley gets a frosty reception in the City as investors reject his case for slashing dividends, sending share price down more than 10 per cent March 2, 2016 New Barclays boss Jes Staley received a frosty reception in the City yesterday, as investors rejected his case for slashing dividends, sending the bank’s share price down by more than 10 per cent and wiping £2.3bn off its market value. Investors recoiled when Barclays said it planned on paying a dividend of 3p for this year [...]
Why good culture is so important in business February 29, 2016 What is business culture? In the simplest terms, it is the culmination of behaviours and attitudes of individual people within a company that gives the firm its distinctive identity. The late London Business School professor Sumantra Ghoshal called it “the smell of the place”. A healthy culture can be a core driver of positive business [...]
Financial sector leads professional job creation – Apsco February 29, 2016 Landing a role in finance got easier in January as the number of vacancies soared 12 per cent on the same month last year. Stronger demand was reflected in pay growth. Average salaries in banking jobs have gone up 4.9 per cent, according to the data released by the Association of Professional Staffing Companies (Apsco) [...]
Barclays results: British bank expected to sell off African operations and pay former chief executive Antony Jenkins a £500k performance bonus as it announces full-year results this week February 28, 2016 Barclays' new chief executive Jes Staley is expected to announce plans to sell off the lender's African business when the British bank reports full-year results for 2015 on Tuesday. It was widely reported over the weekend that Barclays' board decided last week that it made sense strategically for the British bank to exit the continent and refocus [...]
Challenger banks: Moody’s says smaller lenders are poised to compete with Britain’s big banks for a share of the UK mortgage market February 25, 2016 British challenger banks are poised to compete with larger lenders for a share of the mortgage market, Moody’s Investors Service has said. In a new report out today, Moody’s said challengers are likely to use securitisation to compete for a bigger share of the UK mortgage market. “Increasing competition in the mortgage market driven by [...]
Former Sainsbury’s boss Justin King is confirmed to headline Norwood Investec Annual Private Equity charity dinner February 22, 2016 Investment barons across the City are already looking forward to Jewish charity Norwood’s annual private equity dinner in June, as ex-Sainsbury’s boss Justin King has just been named the headline act. King, who left his chief exec position at the supermarket in 2014, will be the guest speaker at the dinner, this year sponsored by [...]
Lloyds Banking Group could pay out more than £2bn in dividends to shareholders despite fears of higher costs related to PPI claims February 21, 2016 Lloyds Banking Group is reportedly getting ready to pay out more than £2bn in dividends to shareholders, despite fears of further costs related to the mis-selling of loan insurance. The Sunday Times reported today that Lloyds chief executive Antonio Horta-Osorio is attempting to convince regulators that the bailed-out bank has enough capital to afford the [...]
City Moves for 17 February 2016 | Who’s switching jobs February 17, 2016 Investec Investec Securities has announced the appointment of Andrew Whitney to its research team to cover the pharmaceuticals sector. Andrew joins from EY, where he was a senior manager in the corporate finance strategy team, conducting strategy projects and deal diligence in the life sciences and healthcare sectors. He has extensive experience in pharmaceuticals research, [...]