AA puts former deal king Martin Clarke in the finance hot seat November 13, 2014 Roadside recovery giant AA yesterday appointed an ex-senior private equity dealmaker to take the reins as chief financial officer of the 110-year-old business. Martin Clarke, a former executive at private equity firm Permira, will replace Andy Boland, who stepped down earlier this year as the finance chief of the firm. Clarke was part [...]
Great Portland to start £500m building spree November 13, 2014 WEST End developer Great Portland Estates (GPE) said yesterday it would splurge £500m on its development pipeline as it looked to take advantage of London’s booming office market. The FTSE 250 property firm beat analyst expectations as it posted an 11.8 per cent rise in net asset value per share to 636p in the six [...]
City Moves for 13 November 2014 | Who’s switching jobs November 12, 2014 Pinsent Masons The law firm has announced the appointment of Meriam Alrashid as an international arbitration partner in its global construction practice in London. A fluent Arabic speaker, she joins from Crowell & Moring and has particular experience in the Middle East and North Africa. Hermes Investment Management Vincent Nobel has been appointed head of [...]
Here are six things that the £1.1bn forex fine could be spent on “for the wider public good” November 12, 2014 Good news! Thanks to the forex fine announced today the Treasury is getting a £1.1bn boost to its coffers (minus whatever the FCA's enforcement costs come to). And even better news! Chancellor George Osborne has said he will use the money “for the wider public good”. Last time around, the government department used [...]
Land Securities buoyed by rush for office space November 11, 2014 LAND Securities posted a better-than-expected leap in the value of its portfolio in the first half of the year, thanks to strong demand from companies keen to take up space in its buildings. The FTSE 100 landlord behind the Walkie Talkie skyscraper in the City said like-for-like rents jumped 2.2 per cent in the six [...]
Christmas countdown: The best shopping destinations in London, from Tiffany’s on Old Bond St to the Hyper Japan market at Olympia November 11, 2014 London is renowned as one of the great shopping centres of the world, a constantly evolving playground for anyone with money to spend and time to spend it. Whether you’re looking for hip new openings – like those from Bally, Richard James and Hackett – or stalwarts that are guaranteed to come up with [...]
Is Ed Miliband a rational economic person? Or is it all about narrative? November 11, 2014 THE LEADER of the Labour party has provided us with a very effective piece of forward guidance. Ed Miliband’s statement that he would bring in a mansion tax on properties worth more than £2m has already had a dramatic impact. The market for expensive properties in London has more or less ground to a halt, [...]
Soaring Tesco helps FTSE but Serco plummets – London Report November 10, 2014 BRITAIN’S top share index yesterday advanced to a five-week high as investors bought into the consumer staples and retail sectors, with ailing supermarket group Tesco leading the gainers. The stand-out mover of the day, however, was mid-cap services outsourcer Serco, whose shares fell 32.2 per cent to 215p after saying it planned a rights issue [...]
London’s billboards are about to get much more high tech with Clear Channel’s “London Wrap” November 10, 2014 London commuters will soon start noticing a change to the billboard adverts greeting them on their journey into the city. The huge posters at stations and at key commuter points across the capital are about to get a major makeover to bring them into the digital age. Usually plastered with an old-school poster ad made of [...]
From overtime holiday pay and immigration to the EU bill and John Lewis’ Christmas advert: 10 things we learned this week November 8, 2014 1. Businesses are going to have to start giving workers holiday pay for overtime. But it's quite complicated and likely to be subject to a few appeals so it's still a bit up in the air. 2. John Lewis is the king of Christmas adverts. That's not just our view, but the view of [...]