Lion Capital set to buy French glasses retailer Alain Afflelou April 30, 2012 PRIVATE EQUITY firm Lion Capital said yesterday it is close to clinching a deal to buy rival Bridgepoint’s majority stake in Alain Afflelou, the French eyewear retailer. The UK-based buyout group has entered exclusive talks with Bridgepoint and minority shareholders Apax Partners and Altamir Amboise and expects to finalise the deal in June, it said. [...]
Barclays won’t let pay row deflect it from broader goal April 30, 2012 BARCLAYS Bank’s objective to have an investment banking operation as successful in equities and advisory as Deutsche Bank or any of the other bulge bracket firms is constantly being questioned, both by rivals and by analysts and shareholders. Some say the bank will bottle it as costs get out of control; others say that franchises [...]
FTSE lifted by Shell and Barclays boost April 26, 2012 The FTSE 100 opened on the front foot today with gains fuelled by the energy sector after Shell reported encouraging fourth quarter profits. In banking Barclays announced a 22 per cent rise in first quarter earnings, which also helped to inject some momentum into the market. Investors shrugged off yesterday’s bleak news that the UK [...]
WHAT THE OTHER PAPERS SAY THIS MORNING April 25, 2012 FINANCIAL TIMES FLOWERS LEAVES US FOR LONDON BERTH Christopher Flowers, the veteran private equity investor, has moved to London from the US, seeing a shift in the balance of investment opportunities to Europe. BANKS TAKE PPI PROVISIONS PAST £6BN Three of the UK’s biggest banks are braced to increase their provisions for mis-sold loan insurance [...]
HSBC to slash 2,000 UK jobs in global cost-cutting spree April 25, 2012 HSBC will announce that it is culling 2,000 jobs in the UK this morning as part of its programme to cut 30,000 roles by the end of next year. The cuts will include some London-based jobs in wealth management, which it is understood the bank is shrinking in response to the retail distribution review (RDR), [...]
Sports Direct raises Ashley’s payout plans April 25, 2012 MIKE Ashley, the billionaire founder of Sports Direct, could net a one-off shares bonus worth about £24m at current prices after Britain’s biggest sporting goods retailer raised a proposed payout. Sports Direct said yesterday it would ask shareholders at its annual meeting in September to back the granting of 8m shares to Ashley, up from [...]
CITY MOVES WHO’S SWITCHING JOBS April 24, 2012 DC Advisory Partners The corporate finance advisory firm has announced the appointment of Terry Huffine as executive director in its European consumer, leisure and retail team. Huffine joins after eight years with ABN AMRO and, following its acquisition, at the Royal Bank of Scotland, where he was a director on the consumer team. He also [...]
AB Foods buoyed by Primark April 24, 2012 Associated British Foods forecast a “substantial” rise in full-year earnings as under-pressure British shoppers turned to its Primark discount fashion stores and it benefited from high sugar prices in the first half of its financial year. The London-based food and retailing group said earnings per share rose five per cent to 34.4 pence in the [...]
WHAT THE OTHER PAPERS SAY THIS MORNING April 19, 2012 FINANCIAL TIMES Qatari wealth fund adds Tiffany stake Qatar’s sovereign wealth fund has made its first big investment in a US public company by acquiring a 5.2 per cent stake in Tiffany, the jewellery retailer known for its diamond rings and blue, ribboned boxes. Cameron faces mutiny over Lords David Cameron is facing the biggest [...]
Fresh life in the Cornish market April 19, 2012 With weather like this week’s, one might be tempted to quit the UK entirely. But when the sun shines, and even when it doesn’t, there’s no lovelier part of the country than Cornwall – and the market knows it. Cornwall is not cheap – you can easily spend a few million on a seaside sprawl. [...]