What the other papers say this morning February 6, 2013 FINANCIAL TIMES Buyout firms seek £10bn EE bid Buyout firms have accelerated talks with lenders to secure funding for possible £10bn bids for EE, the UK’s largest mobile phone operator, in what would be the biggest private equity-backed acquisition in Europe since the financial crisis. The efforts have picked up in intensity in the past [...]
Chablis is one of the toughest wines to get right – choose wisely February 5, 2013 Chablis is a pretty but inconsequential looking town just over 100km north of Burgundy. There are none of the great chateaux or domaines of Bordeaux or Burgundy here. Spend half an hour loitering in the town square and it is hard to believe this is the epicentre of one of the world’s most famous wine [...]
Fat Face hires Sir Stuart Rose February 3, 2013 SIR Stuart Rose, the former boss of Marks & Spencer, has been appointed as chairman of clothing brand Fat Face, less that two weeks after being named as the new chairman of online grocery firm Ocado. Sir Stuart will take the helm at the private equity-owned group in July, replacing Alan Giles, who will step [...]
Greggs appoints Punch Taverns head as new chief executive January 24, 2013 Bakery chain Greggs has appointed the chief executive of Punch Taverns as its new head, to take over from Ken McMeikan. Roger Whiteside, chief executive of the pub group, will take up the role with effect from 4 February. He has been a non-executive director of Greggs since 2008. Aside from Punch Taverns, Whiteside has [...]
Sir Stuart Rose takes the hot seat at Ocado January 22, 2013 SIR STUART Rose, the former boss of Marks & Spencer, is to become chairman of Ocado, in a major coup for the online retailer. The company said Sir Stuart is to replace Sir Michael Grade after its annual general meeting in May. Grade, best known for his roles at ITV and Channel Four, will be [...]
Sir Stuart’s in line for a shelf stacking role January 22, 2013 SIR STUART ROSE’S retail track record stretches as far back as the 1970s, when he was known to sweep the warehouse floors during his time as a management trainee at Marks & Spencer. Since then his career has taken in shelf stacking, pyjama folding and clothes hanging before he took the top job at Marks [...]
FTSE 100 dragged down by Pearson and Fresnillo January 22, 2013 The FTSE 100 was trading modestly down this morning, although it was still near its highest level in four and a half years. On the blue chip index, education giant Pearson continued its losses from yesterday and shed 2.33 per cent this morning. Yesterday it warned that annual profits would be lower than expected amid [...]
Sir Stuart Rose appointed new Ocado chairman January 22, 2013 Online grocer Ocado has appointed former Marks & Spencer chief executive Sir Stuart Rose as its new chairman. Sir Stuart will succeed Michael Grade as chairman following Ocado’s AGM in May. Rose, who has worked in the retail sector for 41 years, was chief executive of clothing and food retailer Marks & Spencer from 2004 [...]
City Moves for 22 January 2013 | Who’s switching jobs January 21, 2013 Mayer Brown The law firm has appointed Alistair Graham as a litigation partner in its London office. He joins from White & Case, where he was a partner in its London commercial litigation practice. Graham has previously worked as enforcement counsel to the FSA, where he assisted in the run up to the introduction of [...]
Primark helps boost AB Foods’ revenues January 17, 2013 PRIMARK, the budget clothing retailer, has outsmarted its rivals on the high street after reporting a 25 per cent increase in sales yesterday. Its parent company Associated British Foods (ABF) said the launch of 14 new stores in Spain, the UK, Austria, Germany and the Netherlands helped to lift sales in the 16 weeks to [...]