Swiss currency crisis: FXCM share price plummets 87 per cent January 20, 2015 NYSE-listed foreign exchange broker FXCM's share price fell as much as 87 per cent today, after it disclosed the terms of a bailout by Leucadia National. The terms allow Leucadia – parent of investment bank Jefferies – to force the sale of FXCM after three years, and receive half the proceeds beyond repayment of the $300m (£197m) [...]
Piescraper: London skyscraper Can of Ham gets boost as building deal signed after six year hiatus January 20, 2015 We've got the Gherkin; we've got the Cheesegrater; we've got the Kettle. Now London's skyline could be about to add another delicious-sounding skyscraper to its line up. The Can of Ham building, designed by architects Foggo Associates, looks to be back on track after a six-year hiatus. Trade journal Construction News reports that [...]
City Moves for 20 January 2015 | Who’s switching jobs January 19, 2015 HSBC David Phythian has been appointed head of corporate real estate for the bank in the UK. He joined HSBC in 2006 and was head of its London corporate real estate office. Phythian has also held roles at UCB Bank, the United Bank of Kuwait, and a number of private property companies. Square Mile Investment [...]
Market lifted by upbeat view of Christmas retail – London Report January 19, 2015 BRITAIN’S main share index rose yesterday, extending a strong run, with retailers such as Tesco among the biggest gainers from a more upbeat view of the sector after a better-than-expected Christmas period. Electronics retailer Dixons Carphone rose 4.4 per cent, the top riser on the FTSE 100 index, with traders citing optimism ahead of the [...]
Canary Wharf Group expands Level39 tech startup space for fintech, retail and smart city entrepreneurs January 19, 2015 Canary Wharf’s tech startup space, Level 39, is taking on additional space at One Canada Square to house entrepreneurs focused on developing technology in the fintech, retail and smart city sector. Accenture’s 2015 Fintech Innovation Lab is the first to be housed in the new space and will be joined by another 36 companies taking [...]
LiteBulb Group’s Simon McGivern and James Phillips talk Mary Berry, cashpoint encounters and woodwork January 18, 2015 It's not every day that you bump into an old friend at a cash machine in Fulham and end up hatching a business – but then Simon McGivern and James Phillips, the founders of LiteBulb Group, are not your average pair. They went to school together (although they didn’t know each other very well) and [...]
Burns Night 2015: Head to Scotland for a luxury getaway January 18, 2015 Travel northwards this weekend to help our Caledonian brothers and sisters celebrate their very own Bard. Here’s our top five luxury Burns getaways… FAIRMONT ST ANDREWS Luxury hotelier Fairmont offers a number of holiday packages so you get what you want out of a trip north of the border, encompassing Hogmanay, Valentines, “Babymoons”, and even [...]
Which London business pays the highest business rates? Harrods, Citigroup and HSBC- but it’s not as much as the government’s Home Office bill January 16, 2015 Harrods is paying the biggest business rates bill of any business in London while five banks are in the list of top 10 highest payers thanks to their Canary Wharf based UK headquarters. The Knightsbridge retailer is paying £12.04m for it's in-demand and high-end location while fellow luxury store Selfridges is also paying the seventh largest [...]
Barclays picks Jonathan Moulds to ring fence the bank January 14, 2015 Barclays hired former Bank of America Merrill Lynch executive Jonathan Moulds yesterday to split the bank up to fit incoming ring fence law. Implementing the rules which split the investment banking arm from the retail banking and payments systems represents a major challenge for the new chief operating officer. Domestic rivals such as Lloyds [...]
Bumper Christmas for shopping centre January 14, 2015 OVER half a million shoppers visited Quintain’s London Designer Outlet, home to retailers such as H&M and Gap, during the 2014 festive season. The Wembley-based outlet centre, which opened in October 2013, hosted 18,000 last minute bargain-hunters on Christmas Eve alone.