G4S wins £100m contract to provide security for Olympicsa March 21, 2011 SECURITY services firm G4S said it had signed a contract, estimated to be worth £100m, to be the official security services provider for the London 2012 Olympic Games. G4S, which provides services ranging from cash transportation and facilities management to security and protection, said it will recruit, train and manage the 10,000 guards needed for [...]
Nuclear risk threatens supply chain March 20, 2011 With nuclear uncertainty hanging over Japan, supply chains reliant upon technological components made there have been severely disrupted. Japanese exporters have suffered, while companies reliant upon the country are weighing up their exposure and searching out alternative suppliers. These are uncertain times for technology companies across the world. Sony, Hitachi, Fujitsu, and many other Japanese [...]
A moratorium on building is certain to choke growth March 16, 2011 IF you are ever tempted to complain that London is too crowded, just reflect that it would be much worse if it were the opposite – deserted. One of the best indicators of how well a city is doing is its population. People move to thriving cities, and leave struggling ones. So many people have [...]
First could axe Western route March 13, 2011 Transport operator FirstGroup could hand back its First Great Western rail contract three years early in a bid to save £800m. The company, whose rail unit operates the £1.1bn franchise which runs into central London from Wales and the west of England, is looking at activating a break clause in the contract allowing it to [...]
City property vital to London’s world standing March 13, 2011 LAST week I joined 15,000 leading practitioners from across the property industry at MIPIM, the international property conference hosted in Cannes every year. Contrary to what you may have read, I can assure you it is not all sun, champagne and parties on yachts. Throughout the week, I spoke publicly about the challenges facing the [...]
FirstGroup on track for full year earnings March 11, 2011 Transport operator FirstGroup said it was on course to achieve overall earnings and cash targets for the year, as strength at its UK rail division offset continued margin weakness at its student business. “We are encouraged by improving trends in UK rail and Greyhound and a continued steady performance in our UK bus and transit [...]
Vive la difference March 8, 2011 DRIVING the Peugeot iOn is certainly unusual. Until now the only electric cars I have driven have been the excellent Tesla sports car that looks like a Lotus Elise, and the considerably less good G-Wiz which looks like Noddy built it on his weekends from a kit. These cars exist at opposite ends of the [...]
Activist investors eye bumper 2011 as market improves March 6, 2011 THIS year has started well for activist investors, those outspoken stake-builders that push boards to buck up their strategy. 2011 has kicked off with a spate of high profile public exchanges between funds and their targets. Activists claimed their first major scalp last month when Sherborne Investors ousted City veteran Nick MacAndrew from the chair [...]
THE WEEK AHEAD March 6, 2011 COMPANY NEWS ● Ireland’s biggest bookmaker Paddy Power will announce its end of year results on Monday. ● So will the financial spread betting and CFD provider IG Group. Both will be betting on good results. ● On Tuesday, Weir Group, founded in 1981 by descendants of Robert Burns, will hope to have engineered strong [...]
Green light given to Hitachi for £4.5bn train fleet order March 2, 2011 THE GREEN light has been given for a fleet of new high-speed trains to be built to serve routes to London. The government yesterday said it would press ahead with plans to replace Britain’s ageing InterCity fleet with trains built by Japanese conglomerate Hitachi. It has placed a £4.5bn order for 500 carriages with the [...]