Lloyds in pole position to eat up D&D London December 9, 2012 TAXPAYER-backed Lloyds Banking Group has emerged as favourite in the race to take over the high end restaurant group D&D London, the firm behind City dining venues like Coq d’Argent, Le Pont de la Tour and The Grand Café at the Royal Exchange. The bank, through its private equity vehicle LDC, is understood to be [...]
London firms say output is growing again December 9, 2012 LONDON firms boosted their activity and output in November, after a gloomy October. London’s composite purchasing managers’ index (PMI) rose from 49.1 in October to 51.9 in November, Lloyds said this morning, through the crucial 50 level that indicates no change, and from decline to expansion. This London return to growth came with a less [...]
City Moves | Who’s switching jobs December 9, 2012 Old Burlington Investments Noreen Kelly has been appointed business development manager at the investment business. She was previously a relationship manager at Octopus Investment Management. In her new role, Kelly will market Old Burlington’s funds to financial advisers. Sainsbury’s Angie Risley has been appointed group human resources director at the supermarket. She was most recently [...]
Who’s switching jobs December 5, 2012 Royal London Kerr Luscombe has been appointed group finance and strategy director at the financial services provider. He joined in 2011 as group strategy director, and has previously worked as finance director at Scottish Widows and Clerical Medical. Westhouse Holdings Simon Pettitt has been appointed head of the stockbroker’s fixed income business. He joins from Eurodekania. [...]
Valere Capital backs our appeal November 28, 2012 THE CAPITALIST asks Mark Preston, principal of Valere Capital, why the firm is supporting the City A.M. Christmas Appeal this year. Why are Valere Capital supporting Opportunity International? The relationship between us came about due to my involvement with Opportunity when I was co-head of Corporate Markets at Lloyds TSB. With the support of my [...]
There are rays of hope in a sluggish City jobs market November 28, 2012 CONSIDERING the current employment climate in the City, and the ruthless job cuts hitting the headlines, you would be forgiven for considering packing your bags and taking an early retirement in the country. A report released by Roland Berger Strategy Consultants last week showed that investment banks are set to lose another 40,000 jobs in [...]
Emerging economies face catastrophe threat November 26, 2012 COUNTRIES with high-growth economies could see their progress derailed by natural disasters, according to research released today. It finds that emerging nations such as Vietnam, China and India do not have enough insurance to cover the effect a major natural catastrophe, leaving the countries at risk of long-term economic damage if they are severely affected [...]
Savoy close to £290m debt pile refinancing November 25, 2012 THE owners of London’s lavish Savoy Hotel are understood to be closing in on a deal to roll over almost £290m of debt after tapping up two European banks to take on the borrowings. The iconic hotel, which was snapped up in a joint venture by Lloyds Banking Group’s Bank of Scotland unit and Saudi [...]
What the other papers say this morning November 22, 2012 FINANCIAL TIMES State Street in pension fee probe UK regulators are investigating allegations that State Street overcharged Ireland’s state pension fund and several big UK corporate pension funds, including those of the Royal Mail and J Sainsbury, billing them for fees not included in their contracts, according to people familiar with the matter. Ireland’s national [...]
Fifty Shades of Lloyd’s – Former insurance broker’s debut novel November 21, 2012 AN interesting piece of literature arrived on The Capitalist’s desk yesterday morning. A self-published novel from former Lloyd’s broker Victoria Neville. Thursday Nights, Monday Mornings promises tales from the “shambolic playground of the London insurance market”. Delving into the pages to see protagonists with names such as Sarah “Shagger” Smith it appears to be an [...]