Fund manager Pimco close to £5bn deal for Bradford & Bingley mortgage book April 24, 2018 The UK government is close to selling a £5bn Bradford & Bingley mortgage book to a major bond fund manager, it has been reported. Bradford & Bingley’s loan book was nationalised in 2008 at the height of the financial crisis. UK Asset Resolution (UKAR), the government body set up to manage nationalised banking assets, could [...]
Hot stuff: How to trade on good weather without getting burnt April 24, 2018 Using data on 13.82m cab rides from January to October 2009 in New York City, combined with statistics on hourly levels of solar radiation, a recent study entitled “Taxicab tipping and sunlight” found a significant positive relationship between sunlight and tipping. The study, by Srikant Devaraj and Pankaj Patel from the Miller College of Business [...]
Sky sells remaining stake in SkyBet to Canadian owner of Pokerstars for £3.6bn April 21, 2018 Sky has sold its remaining 20 per cent stake in betting and gaming arm SkyBet to the Canadian owners of Pokerstars Stars Group for $4.7bn (£3.6bn) in a deal that will create the world’s largest publicly listed online gaming company. Sky will receive £425m cash as well as shares worth around £145m in exchange for [...]
House of Fraser brings in advisers to consider store closures April 19, 2018 House of Fraser has become the latest retailer to look into store closures and rent reductions. The department store chain has brought in advisers from KPMG, Sky News reported, putting a company voluntary arrangement (CVA) on the table. This could involve closing some of the company’s 59 stores, as well as reducing rents at other [...]
Outdated recruitment attitudes are blocking the best young digital talent from getting jobs April 19, 2018 The digital skills gap in the UK is well documented, with employers struggling to fill 43 per cent of STEM vacancies, according to the UK Commission for Employment and Skills, and the Federation of Small Businesses reporting that 22 per cent of business owners think a lack of digital skills is holding them back. But [...]
WPP appoints firm to find Martin Sorrell’s successor April 17, 2018 WPP has hired executive search firm Russell Reynolds Associates to find a permanent replacement for Martin Sorrell. Sorrell dramatically resigned as chief executive of the company that he had led for 32 years on Saturday night following WPP announcing that it was investigating him over allegations of “personal misconduct.” After his departure, WPP confirmed that [...]
Aston Martin lines up seven top banks to manage £4bn float April 17, 2018 Aston Martin has appointed seven banks to act as bookrunners on its £4bn stock market flotation, according to reports today. Rumours of the luxury car brand floating in London surfaced in February, though any final decision would come down to the company’s Italian private equity owner Investindustrial. Today, Sky News reported that shareholders had lined [...]
Former Kingfisher CEO Gerry Murphy to replace Sir John Peace as next Burberry chairman April 13, 2018 Former Kingfisher boss Gerry Murphy will be the next chairman of Burberry. Shares in the FTSE 100 fashion label were up 1.3 per cent just after lunchtime after Burberry confirmed a Sky News report revealing the appointment. Murphy will replace Sir John Peace, who took Burberry onto the stock market as chairman in 2002. He [...]
Disney forced to bid for Sky: How Britain’s takeover umpire has just thickened the plot April 13, 2018 As corporate stories go, this one has more plot twists than Game of Thrones. Sky investors were buoyed at the end of February as Comcast attempted to hijack Rupert Murdoch’s painfully slow takeover of the chunk of Sky he doesn’t already own. Shares hit levels last witnessed during the dotcom bubble – climbing above the [...]
Trinity Mirror’s Express takeover slowed down as competition regulators lift up the bonnet April 11, 2018 Britain’s competition regulator today launched an investigation into the sale of Richard Desmond’s Express newspaper stable to the owner of the Daily Mirror. Media giants Trinity Mirror and Northern & Shell agreed a £127m deal in February, ending Desmond’s 18-year association with some of Britain’s most popular newspaper and magazine titles. Just £48m will be [...]