London office market recovery lifts Morgan Sindall’s order book August 4, 2014 Construction group Morgan Sindall said yesterday a pick-up in the London office market has helped to boost the value of its order book, despite reported a decline in first-half profits. The company, which builds houses, refurbishes offices and carries out redevelopment projects, said its forward order book rose by 14 per cent to £2.7bn in [...]
City Moves for 01 August 2014 | Who’s switching jobs July 31, 2014 Deutsche Bank Tiina Lee has been appointed UK chief operating officer at Deutsche Bank. She will become vice-chair of the UK executive committee, and will continue to chair the UK regional governance board. Lee was most recently head of UK regional governance at the bank. Bovill Fiona Richardson has been appointed head of technical at [...]
City Moves for 29 July 2014 | Who’s switching jobs July 28, 2014 Lowendalmasaï Francis Mainoo has been appointed UK head of corporate development at the enterprise cost consultancy. He was previously head of London business development at Grant Thornton, and Mainoo has also held positions at Merrill Lynch and EY. Results International The M&A adviser to the marketing services, technology, and healthcare sectors has announced the promotion [...]
UK car production up 3.5 per cent so far this year July 24, 2014 Car manufacturing in the UK rose by 3.5 per cent in the first half of the year to hit nearly 800,000 units produced, helped by the launch of a range of new models, with more anticipated in the months ahead. The figures from the industry body the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT), showed [...]
Unipart Automotive collapses into administration as scale of rescue deemed “too risky” July 24, 2014 Car parts business Unipart Automotive has gone into administration with the loss of more than a 1,000 jobs as a rescue bid from turnaround specialists R Capital, said to be interested in the business earlier this week, failed to emerge. The accountants in charge, KPMG, managed to offload 33 of the 200 branches to the Parts [...]
International tensions heighten cyber security risks for business July 23, 2014 Heightened geopolitical tensions are increasing the risk of cyber attacks, an international cyber security expert has warned. As the the downing of MH17 and the ongoing hostilities in Gaza deepen global tensions, Malcolm Marshall, UK and global lead in KPMG’s cyber security practice, says that cyber attacks are rapidly becoming the new battleground of international [...]
R Capital bid to rescue Unipart Automotive from the scrap heap July 21, 2014 Unipart Automotive, the car parts supplier facing imminent bankruptcy, may hope for a late reprieve as investment firm R Capital is believed to be looking to buy the company. Sources say negotiations have been going on throughout the weekend with KPMG, the accountants appointed by Unipart Automotive, with a decision likely this week. Unipart Automotive, [...]
City Moves for 18 July 2014 | Who’s switching jobs July 17, 2014 Keystone Law International corporate lawyer Francesca Lee is joining the law firm. She has previously held senior legal roles with Shell Hong Kong and General Electric Capital Corporation. Lee is particularly experienced in cross-border and international mergers, sales, acquisitions and joint ventures. Latham & Watkins London partner Bill Voge has been elected global chair and [...]
World Cup to blame for drop in retail sales growth to three-year low July 14, 2014 Retail sales grew at their slowest pace for over three years in June, with a variety of factors including England’s early exit from the World Cup being blamed for shoppers keeping a tight grip on their purses. Total sales were up just 0.6 per cent compared to the same month last year, the British [...]
London Report: Unemployment figures set to show recovery July 14, 2014 UNEMPLOYMENT figures this week are expected to show that the number of people out of work has dropped again, as the UK recovery takes hold. Jobs data is likely to show an unemployment rate of 6.5 per cent in the three months to May, down from 6.9 per cent in the quarter to February. Despite [...]