Rapid responses December 16, 2012 Interest protection [Re: European banking union will be no friend of vibrant financial services, Thursday] A banking union in the Eurozone makes a lot of sense. The very basic monetary union Europe had before has shown its limits under pressure. As the crisis heated up, European banks were encouraged to restrict cross-border lending and become [...]
G4S snaps up South African cash solutions group December 14, 2012 Security firm G4S said this morning it would acquire South African company Deposita for £8.2m. The London-listed firm will acquire an 87 per cent stake in the retail cash solutions company for ZAR114m (£8.2m) post debt restructuring. The acquisition of Deposita, which was founded in 2004, will “significantly” strengthen G4S’s position in the South African [...]
Bashing City bankers has unintended consequences for middle England December 12, 2012 I HOPE, dear CityA.M. reader, that you occasionally manage to unchain yourself from your desk, rip yourself away from the trading floor, and escape from the shadows of the towers of Canary Wharf and the Square Mile. Because – and I hope this won’t come as a total shock to you – there is a [...]
Old age Britain: An opportunity for firms to profit from demographics December 11, 2012 LONDON is booming. Figures from the 2011 census show the city has witnessed unprecedented demographic change since 2001. Over the last 10 years, its population increased by 11.6 per cent – from 7.3m to 8.2m in 2011. A full 10 of the 20 fastest growing local authorities in England and Wales are located in the [...]
Buoyant central London is in an economic world of its own December 10, 2012 IF you work or live in central London, you could be forgiven for not believing that the UK remains stuck in a nasty stagnation, let alone at risk of a triple-dip recession, as Vince Cable intimated yesterday. The shops are full, the tubes jam-packed and new skyscrapers are being built; Fortnum and Mason, the department [...]
Advisers PWC December 10, 2012 Ian Green led the innovative deal for UK Coal. Green joined PwC 25 years ago, has been a partner for over ten years, and is now the regional chairman for PwC’s operations in Yorkshire and the North East. This includes overseeing more than 1,000 members of staff at key offices, including Leeds, Newcastle, Sheffield and [...]
Chinese firm to list in the UK December 9, 2012 CAMKIDS Group, a Chinese outdoor clothing retailer for kids, is set to list on London’s Alternative Investment Market with a market value of around £65m. The Jinjinag-based group, which makes everything from waterproof trousers to backpacks and hiking boots, announced today it has raised around £6m to invest in its expansion in its home market [...]
FTSE up despite regulatory probes December 6, 2012 The FTSE 100 was up in early trading, rising 0.4 per cent to break through the important 5,900 barrier, with some of the main share price moves driven by regulatory investigations. Rolls-Royce fell heavily after admitting that it was co-operating with the Serious Fraud Office on a probe into potential corruption and bribery at its [...]
Guy Grainger to head Jones Lang December 5, 2012 Guy Grainger was yesterday named as UK chief executive of real estate services firm Jones Lang LaSalle from next year. Grainger, currently retail lead director and a UK board member, will replace Andrew Gould, who has been promoted into a senior regional EMEA (Europe, Middle East & Africa) role. Gould will take up the new [...]
Autumn statement December 5, 2012 THE BUSINESS CONFEDERATION’S VIEW DIRECTOR GENERAL JOHN CRIDLAND The CBI is the UK’s top business lobbying organisation. It aims to influence government policy on a wide range of business matters. “£5bn on near-term infrastructure, like the tube to Battersea, half a billion a year tax relief for small firms, and £1.5bn extra export support should [...]