Freshfields is City’s top legal firm July 2, 2009 FRESHFIELDS Bruckhaus Deringer has overtaken rival Clifford Chance to clinch the top spot among the UK’s highest-grossing law firms. Profit per equity partner – considered the best measure of a law firm’s profitability – remained broadly constant for the 2008/09 financial year at £1.44m, outperforming rivals who saw profits slump. Revenue hit £1.29bn, an increase [...]
Britain’s transport policy in deep crisis July 1, 2009 BRITAIN’S transport policy is in chaos. This is hardly news, you might say, but the issue is once again at the fore. It is clear that there is a big problem with the way the rail franchises have been allocated. Firms have an incentive to bid too much for a franchise because they know that [...]
Rock cleared to write loans July 1, 2009 NORTHERN Rock has been cleared by the Financial Services Authority (FSA) to keep lending, despite breaching its minimum capital requirements. The FSA had already granted the nationalised mortgage lender a waiver to write new mortgages despite its low levels of capital, permitting the bank to include tier two capital – a riskier type of cash [...]
Tesco Finance linked to bid for Northern Rock June 30, 2009 TESCO has emerged as a potential bidder for nationalised bank Northern Rock. Britain’s biggest retailer has shown provisional interest alongside private equity funds and Richard Branson’s Virgin Group. Tesco is eager to cash in on growing disillusionment with traditional banks and in March announced plans to open bank branches in 30 of its stores. Buying [...]
Energy groups must modernise June 28, 2009 Executives from top UK companies including Tesco, Rolls Royce and BT have warned the big six energy groups that their draconian contract terms will lead to more job losses unless they are massively overhauled. The Major Energy Users’ Council will hold a crisis meeting tomorrow.
McBride beats City forecasts June 24, 2009 McBride, Europe’s biggest maker of retailer own-brand household products, said yesterday full-year underlying profit would beat analysts’ forecasts following a pickup in growth in the fourth quarter. The firm, which supplies supermarkets like Tesco with own-label goods, said operating profit before one-off items and goodwill would be at least £35m for the year ended 30 [...]
Bad shops are to blame for our withering High St June 24, 2009 THIS week a rare opportunity to watch television saw me glued to a programme presented by the self-styled “Queen of Shops” Mary Portas. Focusing on the death of that great British institution the High Street, Portas probed the decline of traditional retailers and voiced her fears for the future of our nation of shopkeepers and [...]
WHAT THE OTHER PAPERS SAY THIS MORNING June 24, 2009 FINANCIAL TIMES CHIP MAKER MOVES TO QUASH BID SPECULATIONImagination Technologies has reiterated that it expects to remain independent, despite market speculation to the contrary and heavy share buying in the chip designer. Intense buying on the London Stock Exchange saw more than 12m shares change hands and 9.7m sold at 150p a share, amid speculation [...]
THE LONDON REPORT June 24, 2009 MINERS and banks were buoyed by better US durable goods data yesterday, offsetting weaker food retailers and producers and driving the FTSE 100 up by 1.2 per cent, or 49.96 points, to close at 4,279.98. The index has gained more than 23 per cent since hitting a six-year low in March, but is still down [...]
Aldi and Lidl’s growth rate falling behind June 23, 2009 DISCOUNTERS like Aldi and Lidl are now growing less quickly than British stalwarts such as J Sainsbury and Morrisons in a sign that the traditional supermarkets’ fight-back is succeeding, a survey showed yesterday. Britain’s grocery market grew by a recession-beating 6.5 per cent in the 12 weeks to 14 June compared to the same period [...]