Aviva nears RAC disposal June 21, 2011 INSURANCE giant Aviva is close to selling the RAC, the roadside rescue business it owns. Two private equity firms are in the final stages of bidding for the company, Sky News reported last night. Three buyout firms had put up final offers several days ago, including BC Partners, Carlyle Group and Clayton Dubilier & Rice. [...]
BORIS BROTHER PLOTS HIS PASSAGE TO INDIA June 21, 2011 FOR ONCE, Boris Johnson wasn’t the centre of attention. Instead, his brother Jo Johnson MP took the spotlight at the Number 11 Downing Street reception to launch Reconnecting Britain and India, the book of essays Johnson co-edited with the Indian Chambers of Commerce secretary general Dr Rajiv Kumar. Rachel Johnson, editor of The Lady, was [...]
Dotcom loses top billing in web shake-up June 20, 2011 THE .com web address suffix that has become synonymous with online activity could lose its prominence after regulators waved through proposals to allow companies to use their own branding instead. The looser regulation will allow firms to use addresses such as www.news.cityam or www.ipad.apple. The changes have been brought in as it becomes increasingly difficult [...]
MAHIKI COCONUT LIQUEUR June 20, 2011 GOODBYE London, Hello Tiki paradise! Mahiki Coconut – the latest new liqueur from London’s hottest nightclub Mahiki – lands exclusively at Selfridges this week and already we’re getting into the holiday spirit. Mahiki Coconut is a delicious coconut liqueur made with a blend of Caribbean Rum, fine spirits and real coconut. (In other words, just [...]
Telemetry to sell stake June 19, 2011 THE founders of online advertising analysis firm Telemetry are set for a £35m windfall as they prepare to sell just over a fifth of the firm. Russell Irwin, Anthony Rushton and Beau Chesluk will each rake in around £11.6m from the sale, with Goldman Sachs and Credit Suisse understood to be in talks with the [...]
Bewitched and Dalghar to fight out the big one June 16, 2011 TOMORROW’S Golden Jubilee Stakes (3.45pm) is the final Group One contest of Royal Ascot week and the rain is causing havoc to a number of the key contenders. Delegator has been the ante-post favourite since his hugely impressive seasonal reappearance at York, but the softening conditions are firmly against him. There is a chance he [...]
HMV set to reveal deal with banks June 6, 2011 SHARES of HMV, the embattled music retail chain, shot up yesterday on speculation that it was on the verge of a restructuring deal with its creditors. Led by Lloyds Banking Group and Royal Bank of Scotland, the state-owned lenders, are expected to have agreed to provide the retailer with a two-year refinancing of between £210m [...]
News Corp closes on deal June 2, 2011 RUPERT Murdoch’s News Corp has agreed a deal with regulators to buy the remaining shares it does not own of British Sky Broadcasting. Culture secretary Jeremy Hunt, the minister with responsibility for the merger decision, will call a second, one-week consultation process. He will then decide whether to refer the deal to the Competition Commission [...]
WHISKY AT MIDDAY FOR ABERDEEN’S POLAR FEAT June 2, 2011 THE WHISKY came out at noon at Aberdeen Asset Management yesterday to christen the boat the fund managers are sponsoring on its voyage into the Arctic unknown. The Old Pulteney has been designed to withstand some of the harshest conditions on earth, and her six-man crew – led by Scottish explorer Jock Wishart – will [...]
Beware weight of expectation June 2, 2011 BEWARE the weight of great expectations. It is hard to quibble with the performance of Asos, which grew annual profits by 41 per cent in the year to 31 March; few other consumer-facing businesses can match that in these tough times. Strategically, the firm is making great strides. It has grown the number of its [...]