Sales from the riverbank February 27, 2014 The future landmarks set to transform London’s river and make living Thameside even cooler LONDON is finally starting to follow the example of its European neighbours by making the most of its meandering river. Luxury developments are beginning to pop up all along the riverbank, proving that the place to be seen in the next [...]
Freezer King bags £542m as AO.com soars February 26, 2014 AO WORLD founder John Roberts is sitting on cash and shares worth around £542m after the online white goods empire he founded 14 years ago made a grand entrance onto the London Stock Exchange yesterday, with shares leaping 32 per cent. Roberts has reduced his 40 per cent stake to 28.6 per cent, the company [...]
Inside Track: Essar deal could hurt JP Morgan February 26, 2014 IN the ultra-polite language of the City, even the biggest failures among departing bosses often leave with good wishes and gratitude for their contribution ringing in their ears. So when blue-chip fund managers dispense with pleasantries and bandy words such as “cynical” around, it’s clear that somebody is seriously unhappy. Having bought Essar Energy shares [...]
Westfield eyes London listing for overseas empire as earnings rise February 26, 2014 AUSTRALIAN shopping centre giant Westfield said yesterday it is eyeing a listing in London after a full break-up of its Australian and international retail businesses. Westfield announced plans in December to sell its 50 per cent stake in its mature Australian and New Zealand assets to focus on the fast-growing part of the business – [...]
Hiscox shores up flood reserves as earnings rise February 24, 2014 SPECIALIST insurer Hiscox yesterday revealed a 12.4 per cent jump in annual pre-tax profit to £244.5m, as the glut of hurricane and catastrophe claims seen in 2012 did not repeat itself. Chief executive Bronek Masojada said it had been “a very good year” for the London-listed group. “We are excited about the opportunities we see [...]
Venture capitalists pour £25m into big data firm eCommera February 24, 2014 FAST growing retail technology company eCommera, which works with huge retailers like Asda and House of Fraser, has secured a further $41m (£25m) in funding from investors, it said yesterday. The company, based in London, said investors like Sir Martin Sorrell’s WPP had put more cash into the company alongside backers such as West Coast [...]
Steady start for CVC Credit as it eyes further growth in lending February 24, 2014 CVC CREDIT Partners, the credit firm linked to CVC Capital, yesterday reported inaugural results for its listed European fund showing a rise in net asset value (Nav) of investments for last year. The company, which floated on London’s stock market in June, said it made an absolute return on funds invested of 3.31 per cent for [...]
Visa swipes top spot for business brands from Apple February 24, 2014 BRITISH firms have chosen Visa as the best brand for business services, knocking tech firm Apple off the top spot, a poll out today reveals. Visa topped a survey of 2,000 companies and was joined by several other payment companies in the higher reaches of the Superbrands UK league table. Superbrands said the shift in [...]
Metro Bank: First London – next, the rest of the UK February 23, 2014 Metro Bank’s chairman and founder tells Tim Wallace he wants to take the Southern-focused lender out to a national audience IT HAS shaken up London’s retail banking scene, with bright new branches on busy high streets, and a bold American-style service ethos. But although Metro Bank startled the market as Britain’s first lender in more [...]
Shell offloads Italian retail unit to Kuwait February 20, 2014 FTSE 100 oil major Dutch Shell yesterday said it will sell its Italian retail, logistics and aviation businesses to Kuwait Petroleum International. Under the agreement, Shell’s retail network of over 830 service stations in the country will be rebranded to Q8. No value was disclosed for the deal, which is subject to regulatory approval and [...]