KPMG called in as Coffee Republic fails July 7, 2009 COFFEE Republic, the high street coffee shop chain, yesterday said its three main subsidiaries had fallen into administration after months of teetering on the brink due to the slump in consumer spending. KPMG’s David Crawshaw and Richard Hill – who have been appointed joint administrators to Coffee Republic UK, Coffee Republic Franchising and Goodbean – warned [...]
Omega joins the big boys on the main London Stock Exchange market space July 7, 2009 OMEGA Insurance, the Lloyd’s of London underwriter, has ascended to the main market of the London Stock Exchange, after it last week boosted its control of Lloyds’ successful Syndicate 958. The insurer yesterday left the smaller Aim space to join bigger rivals on the main market, and is now one of seven non-life insurers on [...]
Nomura’s exit triggers AIG Wharf payout July 6, 2009 JAPANESE bank Nomura’s decision to ditch the former Lehman Brothers office and house its 3,600 employees in the City will trigger a rental insurance payout of up to £224m for Canary Wharf. As City A.M. revealed yesterday, Nomura has signed a deal to move into the riverside complex Watermark Place in 2010, meaning it will [...]
GIRL POWER IN THE CITY June 28, 2009 Never one to pass up the chance to dwell upon the successes of the ladies in the business world, The Capitalist has been perusing this year’s list of the top 35 women under 35 with interest. The list is compiled by Management Today, and the world of the City, as ever, features heavily. Nestled alongside [...]
CITY MOVES WHO’S SWITCHING JOBS June 28, 2009 Securities and Investment InstituteAlan Fleming, an associate at investment management firm JM Finn, has been elected president of the Yorkshire branch of the Securities and Investment Institute (SII). Fleming, 53, joined JM Finn in 2003 and continues to be involved with the management of client portfolios after 25 years in the investment management industry. He [...]
ALL HAIL THE CITY’S HUNKIEST GENTS June 22, 2009 1. JOSHUA RAYMOND CITY INDEXIt was a tough job, picking just one of the City’s most strapping gentlemen to grace the top spot, but someone had to do it – and City A.M.’s discerning judging panel were unanimous in their vote for the lovely Joshua Raymond, market strategist at spreadbetter City Index. Joshua started breaking [...]
Over three quarters of investors trust politicians more than financial advisers June 22, 2009 OVER three quarters of investors believe financial intermediaries, such as client-facing advisers, are less trustworthy than politicians, according to a survey. Intermediaries are perceived as being untrustworthy and lacking knowledge, perhaps as a result of poor education by investment managers on complex products and risk management practices, according to the KPMG/Datamonitor study. “It is little [...]
How the Baker Street brigade are taking on the Big Four accountants June 22, 2009 YOU get the impression when you meet him that Simon Michaels, the managing partner of BDO Stoy Hayward, wants a lot of things – and one of the first is a larger slice of the UK accounting pie. Michaels, at 42 the youngest person to lead the UK’s sixth-largest professional services business, was elected to [...]
Brit launches bid for Chaucer June 22, 2009 LLOYD’S of London insurer Brit Insurance made a £226m all-share offer for smaller rival Chaucer yesterday, forcing private equity group Pamplona to reveal it has built a 7.34 per cent stake in the company. Brit is offering the Chaucer board 0.23 new Brit shares for every Chaucer share. This is a nil-premium offer, meaning it [...]
WHAT THE OTHER PAPERS SAY THIS MORNING June 17, 2009 FINANCIAL TIMES FEDEX SWINGS TO FOURTH-QUARTER LOSSFedEx executives told investors they believed the worst of the economic downturn was behind them. The note of optimism came during an otherwise sobering review of the package-delivery company’s fiscal fourth quarter, during which its net loss widened from a year earlier on goodwill writedowns, and the company warned [...]