CITY MOVES Who’s switching jobs June 22, 2009 AvivaThe insurance group has appointed Jon Bunn as its new corporate affairs and communications director in Europe. Bunn will report to Andy Moffat, Aviva’s director of human resources in Europe. He was previously group public relations director at Prudential, and before that was director of media relations at accountancy firm PricewaterhouseCoopers. He began his career [...]
London still number one for retail June 18, 2009 London continues to dominate the European retail landscape, rated number one in a new poll out today by Experian and Jones Lang LaSalle in terms of consumer spending and prime retail rents. But outside London, other UK retail rents are now falling below European competitors due to currency exchange rates.
WHAT THE OTHER PAPERS SAY THIS MORNING June 18, 2009 FINANCIAL TIMES GLENCORE WEIGHS UP FLOATATIONGlencore, one of the world’s largest private companies had held preliminary talks with bankers about an initial public offering as it reviews its partnership structure, to a person familiar with the company. While an IPO is not is not considered imminent, a move into the public spotlight would mark a [...]
King crushes Darling at Mansion House June 17, 2009 ON the face of it, last night’s Mansion House dinner was a typical, formal City occasion, with the black tie-clad great and good of the business community turning up in their usual numbers. But there was little of the good-humour and wry amusement that usually accompanies such occasions; many of last year’s guests hadn’t been [...]
Ocado considers London flotation by early 2010 June 17, 2009 ONLINE grocery retailer Ocado is considering an IPO, City A.M. can confirm, in a drastic u-turn by its finance director Jason Gissing. Sources close to the firm said it would use the capital from a London IPO to fund international expansion, after several foreign retailers expressed interest. It is considering floating on the stock exchange [...]
SUSTAINABLE BANKING IS WAY FORWARD June 17, 2009 MOORAD CHOUDRYHEAD OF TREASURY, EUROPE ARAB BANK THE financial crash of 2007-2008 was caused by the interaction of several different factors, some of which had been building for years. Since then markets have entered a period of restructuring that reflects the realities of the crash: key to this is an awareness that much of the [...]
Recovery hopes are pushing smart traders towards metals contracts June 17, 2009 BELOW me, dozens of men in dark suits are standing in a ring, yelling at each other and making special hand signals. Around the ring clerks are sitting, often with a telephone held to each ear and giving a running commentary down the line on the events unfolding in front of them. In the cacophony [...]
Land Secs director walks out on firm June 16, 2009 BRITAIN’S largest property firm Land Securities yesterday said that its managing director Mike Hussey will leave the firm at the end of this month after rumours of boardroom tensions. The firm last year abandoned a plan to split into three companies, one specialising in London property, one in shops and the other in outsourcing. Hussey, who [...]
WHAT THE OTHER PAPERS SAY THIS MORNING June 16, 2009 FINANCIAL TIMES NATIONAL EXPRESS IN DEBT TALKSNational Express is in talks with bankers to renegotiate terms on part of its £1.2bn debt amid fears that the bus and rail operator will breach loan conditions in December. The group is expected to pass a key test of whether it is meeting the terms of its debt [...]
CITY MOVES WHO’S SWITCHING JOBS June 15, 2009 ETF SecuritiesThe exchange-traded commodities and funds provider has hired Mark Weeks as chief executive of the ETF Exchange, its third-generation exchange-traded fund platform. Weeks joins from UBS, where he ran the highly successful securities lending franchise in Zurich. Prior to that, he spent seven years at Goldman Sachs, where he was a managing director responsible [...]