Bond bad-boy Mads Mikkelsen boozes with brokers at XTB, but are execs worried the loose-tongued actor will give away trade secrets? May 2, 2016 It's well known that London's finance workers have a thing for James Bond. And so it was for fintech trader XTB, which celebrated signing Le Chiffre actor Mads Mikkelsen as its brand ambassador with a star-studded party in the West End last week. Is the fintech firm worried that their new signing will give away trade secrets? Before [...]
Time Out magazine plots flotation to value company at £200m April 30, 2016 Magazine publisher Time Out is planning a flotation on the London Stock Exchange. The listing, planned for June on the alternative investment market, would value the company at more than £200m. Oakley Capital, Time Out's controlling shareholder since 2011, has confirmed “it has commenced a process of review of the investment in Time Out”. Read more: Saudi [...]
Property of the Week: The three-bed Chelsea penthouse of the Sex Pistols’ visual designer April 29, 2016 Most property developers start out with a humble investment and move on to create homes that superstars want to live in. But Margaret and Michael Stanford began with icons, largely thanks to their job as visual designers – of album covers, videos and stage sets – for some of Britain’s most revered artists, including Queen, [...]
BT has hiked prices for thousands of TV, phone and broadband customers April 29, 2016 If you're a BT customer, get ready to sweat a bit as you open that bill. The company has hiked prices for thousands of customers – while promising its users that service is about to improve. The telecoms giant said line rental and the cost of its BT Sport package will both rise by £1, while the [...]
Passenger numbers and profits fly higher at IAG, but shares drop on Brussels fears April 29, 2016 Profits soared at British Airways owner International Airlines Group (IAG) in the first three months of the year, but it wasn't enough to offset warnings of a slowdown over the next few months, which sent shares down four per cent The FTSE 100 airline giant, which was formed by the merger of British Airways with Spanish [...]
Spin-off deals appetite remains strong across Europe despite general M&A slowdown and looming EU referendum April 29, 2016 The looming EU referendum is not expected to slow spin-off mergers and acquisitions (M&A) activity in Europe. Following a record 2015 for M&A as a whole, with more than $5 trillion of deals announced, there has been a slowdown in global activity so far this year. But Aurelius Group, which surveyed 200 respondents from its network [...]
Leicester Tigers bid for the play-offs, James DeGale defends his title and other big scores to be settled in sport this weekend April 28, 2016 Premiership Rugby The play-off picture in Premiership Rugby could be completed this weekend should Leicester recover from their European Champions Cup semi-final disappointment to beat Worcester at home on Saturday. It would mark a 12th straight year of play-off qualification for the Tigers, who have beaten Worcester in their last 11 meetings. However, even if [...]
The death of Aim: Can equity crowdfunding eclipse the LSE’s junior market? April 28, 2016 The alternative finance market enjoyed near triple-digit growth last year, with the value of its loans, investments and donations hitting £3.2bn. Within this, the main sub-sectors of peer-to-peer lending and equity crowdfunding significantly increased awareness of the concept of lending directly to individuals – excluding those entities like the banks which have for too long dominated markets [...]
Majority of UK dealmakers say Brexit would be bad for business and study finds EU referendum uncertainty is already taking its toll on M&A April 28, 2016 The majority of UK dealmakers believe a so-called Brexit would have a negative impact of mergers and acquisitions (M&A) activity at home and in Europe. A new survey also suggested uncertainty around the referendum is having a negative impact on early-stage M&A activity in the UK, with growth slowing in the first quarter. Read more: Dealmakers [...]
Blame game kicks off following BHS failure April 27, 2016 The heat was turned up on the two most recent owners of BHS yesterday, as insiders and politicians sought to place the blame for the retailer's collapse. Dominic Chappell, a former racing driver, bought BHS from previous owner Sir Philip Green last year for just £1. On Monday, the 88-year-old retailer was placed in administration, [...]