Bilfinger to list fund in London December 7, 2011 Construction services group Bilfinger Berger plans to list an infrastructure fund in London later this month, raising £212m to invest in a portfolio of assets ranging from roads to prisons. The Luxembourg-incorporated Bilfinger Berger Global Infrastructure (BBGI) is offering 212m shares at a fixed price of £1 each, it said in a statement yesterday, and [...]
Don’t underestimate the blends December 7, 2011 SOMETIMES seen as the poor relation to single malt, interest in blended whisky has been re-ignited by the trend for classic whisky cocktails and some innovative international serving methods. Blended whisky accounts for 92 per cent of global whisky consumption. New territories like the Far East are discovering its promise, especially as part of a [...]
CITY MOVES | WHO’S SWITCHING JOBS December 6, 2011 Callatay & Wouters Callatay & Wouters, which provides IT solutions to retail, private and direct banks, has appointed Diederik Van Der Linden to the new position of sales and marketing director. Van Der Linden, who specialises in retail and private banking, joined the company in 2001 to lead the international business development team, before becoming [...]
Downgrade bombshell puts brakes on FTSE gains December 6, 2011 The brakes were slammed on the recovery in European markets this morning after ratings agency Standard and Poor’s warned 15 Eurozone countries – including Germany – that they were teetering on the edge of a downgrade. Asian stocks and the euro fell after S&P piled pressure on a plan to solve the region’s debt crisis [...]
WHAT THE OTHER PAPERS SAY THIS MORNING December 1, 2011 FINANCIAL TIMES STRIKE GETS RETAIL TILLS RINGING This week’s strike proved a boon for Britain’s battered high streets, with official figures recording a 38 per cent increase in shopper numbers on Wednesday as public sector employees and parents of school-age children hit the stores. The fillip to trade was welcomed as the equivalent of “an [...]
Commodities drag FTSE 100 down as euphoria wears off December 1, 2011 THE UK’s leading share index closed lower yesterday, led by weaker commodity prices, as earlier gains were reversed in tandem with a weaker showing on Wall Street as Wednesday’s boost from central bank intervention moves proved short-lived. At the close, the FTSE 100 index was down 16.08 points or 0.3 per cent at 5,489.34, just [...]
Banks, businesses and unions give their views on the Autumn Statement November 29, 2011 THE BRITISH BANKERS’ ASSOCIATION The BBA is the leading trade association for the UK banking and financial services sector, speaking for over 200 member banks DIRECTOR GENERAL ANGELA KNIGHT “This Autumn Statement makes a serious addition to the large sums already being lent to the business community by the banks. With the Eurozone crisis putting [...]
Gatwick Airport profits rise fuelled by passenger number lift November 29, 2011 London’s Gatwick Airport reported a 43 per cent rise in first-half profit, helped by strong growth in passenger traffic, which it expects to continue in final six months of the year. Gatwick airport, owned by US investment fund Global Infrastructure Partners (GIP), on Tuesday said its operating profit rose to £118.6m in the six months [...]
Sainsbury’s stays neutral in supermarket price war November 28, 2011 J SAINSBURY says it will not join the wave of discounting sweeping the retail sector, believing shoppers will splash out on Christmas despite a gloomy economic backdrop. Commercial director Mike Coupe made the vow as Britain’s third-biggest supermarket group unveiled its biggest ever Christmas range, including around 500 groceries and 700 non-food items. “The evidence [...]
Travelodge bets on convenience stores to spur £130m budget hotel expansion November 27, 2011 E-TILLS ARE RINGING FOR CYBER MONDAY TRAVELODGE has joined forces with Waitrose, the supermarket chain, to build three mixed use hotel and retail sites in a £27m scheme. The budget hotel chain said yesterday that it is also looking at 25 other sites next to big supermarkets in a £130m expansion that is expected to [...]