Countrywide shares tumble as investors cash in £200m shares August 14, 2013 COUNTRYWIDE’S private equity backers Oaktree and Apollo sold £200m worth of shares in the estate agents yesterday, cashing in on the revival in the UK housing sector. The group saw shares fall 4.5 per cent last night following the share placing, which saw Oaktree and Apollo whittle down their shareholding in the company by [...]
John Lewis is set to create a new restaurant August 14, 2013 JOHN Lewis is poised to launch a new restaurant concept in a move to diversify its catering range and attract more customers into its department stores. Chief executive Andy Street said while John Lewis’ restaurants and cafeterias were profitable and provided good quality, “middle of the road” food, they were not “cutting edge” brands. “There [...]
What the other papers say this morning – 14 August 2013 August 13, 2013 FINANCIAL TIMES EU pushes single market in telecoms Brussels’ top competition authority has called for 28 national telecoms regulators to be replaced by a single pan-European watchdog. The report from commissioner Joaquin Almunia criticises EU telecoms chief Neelie Kroes for lacking ambition in her plan to create a single telecoms market. Kroes hopes her proposals [...]
Sales blooming at Cath Kidston August 12, 2013 CATH KIDSTON, the quirky British retailer known for its brightly coloured floral prints, said yesterday sales topped £100m for the first time last year thanks to strong demand in the UK and overseas. The homewares and accessories chain, founded by the eponymous designer 20 years ago, said it now has more stores overseas than in [...]
Any Other Business – 12/08 August 11, 2013 ■ If you’ve ever fancied your own private jet, now would be the perfect time to buy. According to business aircraft manufacturer Beechcraft, 20.8 per cent of the light and midsized private jet market in the UK is currently up for sale, with 19 per cent on the market across Europe. Anything over 10 per [...]
John Lewis is set to create a new restaurant August 11, 2013 JOHN Lewis is poised to launch a new restaurant concept in a move to diversify its catering range and attract more customers into its department stores. Chief executive Andy Street said while John Lewis’ restaurants and cafeterias were profitable and provided good quality, “middle of the road” food, they were not “cutting edge” brands. [...]
City Moves for 9 August 2013 | Who’s switching jobs August 8, 2013 Clayton Euro Risk The risk management company has announced the appointment of Konstantine Pastras as client development and strategy director. Pastras specialises in residential mortgage-backed securities. He has previously held various roles at DBRS Ratings, Fitch Ratings and Investec. Financial Conduct Authority The regulator has appointed four directors in its supervision division. William Amos was previously [...]
What the other papers say this morning – 7 August 2013 August 6, 2013 FINANCIAL TIMES TPG looks for time to spend key fund TPG, one of the world’s largest private equity companies, has taken the unusual step of asking investors in its $19bn flagship fund if it can have an extra year to spend $3bn of undeployed capital, underscoring the difficulty finding good deals in the aftermath of [...]
Mazars faces accounting tribunal over First Quench pension advice August 5, 2013 THE ACCOUNTANCY watchdog is investigating Mazars and the managing partner of its London office over pension advice given to the now-defunct drinks firm First Quench Retailing. The Financial Reporting Council has made a formal complaint about Mazars and partner Richard Karmel, claiming their conduct “fell significantly short of the standards reasonably to be expected”. The [...]
National Minimum Wage turns 15 – but it still fails to help those most in need August 1, 2013 YESTERDAY, the National Minimum Wage (NMW) celebrated its fifteenth birthday. It has not been the disaster some feared – largely because the Low Pay Commission set rates conservatively, taking ability to pay into account – but nor has it entirely helped those it was designed to. Today, there is pressure to push the minimum upwards. [...]