Buy British Day: Here’s why you should think twice before splashing on ‘Made in Britain’ products October 3, 2014 Today marks the first 'Buy British Day' where shoppers are being urged to splash their cash on products with the 'Made in Britain' label. Anthony Wallis, an organiser of the campaign, told the Grocer: We want to get as much awareness as possible – if it means promising store, or sticky labels, or advertising, or [...]
Virgin Money confirms IPO plans and looks to raise £150m October 2, 2014 Virgin Money Holdings has confirmed its intention to float on the London Stock Exchange, as yet another “challenger” bank looks to go public. The retail bank expects to raise £150m from its initial public offering (IPO), and will use £50m of the proceeds to complete a payment owing to the UK government. Each [...]
Virgin Money advisers reject retail element in £2bn IPO October 1, 2014 Virgin Money, which is planning a London float that will value the challenger bank at between £1.5-2bn, has decided against offering the shares to the public despite some institutions and advisers pushing hard for this. Retail offers have been a rarity in the London market this year, despite the massive interest generated last year by [...]
Property trusts and merchants group clinch trio of acquisitions October 1, 2014 MCKAY Securities, LondonMetric Property and Grafton Group each added to their respective portfolios yesterday in a clutch of deals. McKay Securities, the only real estate investment trust specialising entirely in the south east and London office and industrial markets, announced the off-market freehold acquisition of The Planets in Woking for £8.75m. The property is adjacent [...]
City Moves for 2 October 2014 | Who’s switching jobs October 1, 2014 Gibson Dunn & Crutcher The law firm has announced two appointments to its London office. Charlie Geffen (pictured) joins as a partner and chair of its London corporate practice from Ashurst, where he was senior partner. Mark Sperotto also joins as a partner from Ashurst. EY Phil Dunne has been appointed partner to lead the [...]
Spie eyes float haul of €1.2bn September 29, 2014 FRENCH energy firm Spie yesterday said it aimed to raise as much as €1.2bn in its forthcoming stock market debut to value it at €2.75bn. Spie’s co-owner Clayton, Dubilier & Rice, which floated B&M Retail in London earlier this year, is hoping to sell €694m of existing stock alongside co-owner Ardian. A further €525m will [...]
Zalando shares priced at €21.50 valuing German online retailer at €4.9bn September 29, 2014 German online retailer Zalando has announced the pricing of its shares at the upper end of expectations- €21.50 (£16.79)- kicking off a bumper week for the German technology market. The six-year-old startup will make its market debut on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange on 1 October, floating 11.3 per cent of the business to raise €605m [...]
Young entrepreneurs are holding their nerve while their parents fear failure September 28, 2014 One piece of data that can strike fear into the minds of government officials is the level of company formations. It may not sound like a stomach-turner, but a surge of new businesses could offer reassurance when politicians are rightly keen to see unemployment continue to fall. Right now, there’s cause for jumpiness. While the [...]
RAC float skids off the road as GIC buys stake September 25, 2014 PLANS for a £2bn float of RAC skidded off the road yesterday after Singapore’s sovereign wealth fund GIC agreed to buy a major stake in the firm from private equity owner Carlyle Group. The sudden turnaround will see GIC become joint majority shareholder of RAC together with Carlyle, and also means city heavyweight and CBI [...]
Business hub London creates property boom September 25, 2014 PROPERTY FIRM of the year As London prices continue to rise, defying fears that the bubble is about to burst, property companies have seen a period of huge growth. Our shortlist, which was very tough to choose, includes companies such as the Berkeley Group and Workspace, which have seen their profits soar in the past [...]