The Restaurant Group boosted as sales surge November 1, 2012 RESTAURANT Group, the owner of the Garfunkel’s and Frankie & Benny’s chains, yesterday said sales bounced back in the third quarter after a quiet summer, driven by an uptick in consumer spending. Reporting a 3.9 per cent rise in like-for-like sales in the first nine months of the year, chief executive Andrew Page said growth [...]
Who’s switching jobs November 1, 2012 Baird Jim Conniff has been appointed managing director in the investment bank’s industrial team. He joins from Goldman Sachs, where he was a senior member of its industrial banking team. Conniff was previously a director at Baird. Baker Tilly David Whitlock has been appointed business development director at the accountancy and advisory firm. He was [...]
Businesses question Heseltine growth report October 31, 2012 BUSINESS leaders yesterday continued to digest Lord Heseltine’s government-commissioned report on economic growth, amid concerns that it advocates a return to the state picking winners. Although the former Deputy Prime Minister’s calls for a coherent economic growth policy were broadly welcomed, there were concerns about some details such as a desire to put more restrictions [...]
Private houses stem landslide in troubled construction sector October 31, 2012 PRIVATE house building gave a vital boost to the construction sector in October, a survey showed today, balancing out flagging demand from other sources. Construction activity declined one per cent over the month, according to Glenigan’s index, but it would have declined much more, it says, if not for the 58 per cent boost to [...]
Coalition must not become complacent on economic growth October 25, 2012 UNLIKE some commentators, I don’t think David Cameron did anything especially wrong yesterday. He hinted at Prime Minister’s Question Time that the economy was improving; he didn’t leak the GDP figures. The statistics will be published this morning; so there is little point speculating about them. But it is worth noting that when the Prime [...]
Coalition must not become complacent on economic growth October 24, 2012 UNLIKE some commentators, I don’t think David Cameron did anything especially wrong yesterday. He hinted at Prime Minister’s Question Time that the economy was improving; he didn’t leak the GDP figures. The statistics will be published this morning; so there is little point speculating about them. But it is worth noting that when the Prime [...]
Olympic boom fuels sales lift at Sports Direct October 24, 2012 BRITAIN’S biggest sporting goods retailer Sports Direct yesterday reported an 18 per cent rise in recent sales as customers caught London Olympics fever and kitted out children for a return to school. The group, which owns Sports Direct.com and Lillywhites stores as well as brands such as Slazenger, Lonsdale and Dunlop, said yesterday group total [...]
Advisers Goldman Sachs October 23, 2012 ANTHONY GUTMAN | GOLDMAN SACHS Experian, which yesterday snapped up Serasa on the back of a put and call option agreed between the firm and minority bank stakeholders in 2007, was advised on the complex deal by investment banks Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley. The deal makers worked out of both banks’ offices in London. [...]
Property firms turn to insurers for financing October 23, 2012 PROPERTY developers are turning to insurers for finance as banks become reluctant to lend, according to a report released yesterday. According to research by law firm DLA Piper, the amount of money lent by insurers in the form of UK commercial real estate (CRE) loans will almost double to £52bn over the next five years. [...]
MegaFon holds back its London market listing October 22, 2012 RUSSIAN telecoms firm MegaFon yesterday postponed its London-Moscow listing, striking another blow to hopes that a flood of firms from the country could kick-start the sluggish initial public offering market in the City. The group hopes to raise $2bn (£1.25bn) from the sale of up to 20 per cent of its stock, listing global depository [...]