Is the rise in city living paying off for smart investors? August 22, 2018 City living is experiencing a renaissance and it’s the perfect time for savvy investors to take advantage. As more people choose to leave the capital for a better quality of life in regional city centres, Birmingham has quickly become the top destination for those leaving London. Investing in a regional city such as Birmingham represents [...]
Capita poaches Go-Ahead finance boss amid restructuring plan August 21, 2018 Outsourcing group Capita has snapped up the chief financial officer of transport group Go-Ahead to head up its own finance division. The company, which runs London's congestion charge scheme and collects the UK's TV licence fee, will announce the move of Patrick Butcher later this week according to reports from Sky News. Butcher will takeover [...]
Sky prepares for £97m advisory bill on Fox deal August 20, 2018 Telecoms giant Sky has revealed it is anticipating a bill for its advisory team of between £90m and £97m, if 21st Century Fox triumphs in its attempt to takeover the firm. A circular published by the broadcaster today said it will spend as much as £61.5m on financial and broking advice, with an additional £20m to [...]
Shareholder anger forces Countrywide to abandon pay plan August 20, 2018 Countrywide has rowed back on plans for an executive pay proposal in the wake of a potential shareholder rebellion. The UK’s largest independent estate agency drew anger from investors last week over a new incentive scheme which would mean cash payouts of over £20m for the beleaguered firm’s top bosses, including a £6m windfall for [...]
Former Staples chain Office Outlet to close stores in new CVA filing August 19, 2018 Stationery chain Office Outlet, formerly known as Staples, is set to launch a Company Voluntary Arrangement – an insolvency procedure to reduce stores and costs – tomorrow and close a selection of its 96 UK stores. Sources today told Sky News that the retailer, which was bought by restructuring fund Hilco in 2016, will request a [...]
Countrywide of the mark as pay rebellion looms August 16, 2018 Beleaguered estate agent Countrywide could be the victim of its second shareholder rebellion in two months amid a bitter row over executive pay. Under-fire chairman Peter Long is facing the wrath of City institutions who are understood to be planning a revolt over a new incentive scheme, according to reports in Sky News. In a [...]
Vitality Blast: Domestic Twenty20 tournament flourishing despite ECB direction August 16, 2018 The group stages of England’s domestic Twenty20 competition comes to a close tomorrow. But with England’s Test series against India taking much of the attention of late, the Vitality Blast has occupied its own space, largely away from television and the back pages. Meanwhile, the England and Wales Cricket Board has been busy blue-sky thinking, [...]
Eleven Sports: Live-streaming service grapple with the future of sports broadcasting August 15, 2018 It’s fair to say Eleven Sports’ first foray into the UK sports broadcasting market did not go to plan at the weekend. The new boys on the scene arrived with hopes high and viewers intrigued, offering two days of the US PGA Championship for free, with a seven-day trial making the entire tournament available on [...]
Serious Fraud Office suspends lawyer in charge of Unaoil criminal investigation | City A.M. August 12, 2018 The senior lawyer in charge of an ongoing criminal investigation into Monaco-based oil firm Unaoil has been suspended. Tom Martin, the lawyer managing the Serious Fraud Office’s (SFO) probe into the oil consultancy, has been suspended within the last few weeks for gross misconduct, according to Sky News. It comes just weeks before the agency’s [...]