TNT Express share price rises on FedEx’s €4.4bn bid April 7, 2015 Shares in Dutch firm TNT Express leapt by a third yesterday after FedEx announced a €4.4bn (£3.2bn) all-cash offer to acquire the beleaguered delivery giant. TNT has struggled since European regulators prevented it from merging with UPS in 2013, with its market share declining by five per cent leading to a €137m loss in the [...]
Why hiring chief executives externally is better for struggling businesses April 2, 2015 It's an age-old argument: when a leader steps down, do you promote from within or bring in fresh blood? Each brings their own benefits – one has a fresh view on business and new ways of working, while the other already has a deep understanding of a company's strengths and weaknesses. Now we might have [...]
Philip Clarke just left Tesco – again March 25, 2015 Eh up. Anyone got a sense of deja vu? Tesco has announced chief executive Philip Clarke had decided to step down, retiring after 40 years in the job. The revelation left supermarket-watchers confused – surely Clarke has already departed, to be replaced by former Unilever man "call me Dave" Lewis? Clarke left the supermarket under a [...]
Women are on board in the FTSE 100, but job is not finished March 24, 2015 The number of women on FTSE 100 firms’ boards has almost doubled over the past four years, a government report released today will show. However, there is still scepticism over whether firms are boosting their numbers by bringing in female non-executive members, instead of promoting women into executive roles through their internal structures. The report, [...]
Silicon Roundabout costs are on the rise: East end property tech bubble pricing out small businesses March 4, 2015 The property tech bubble in London’s east end is pricing small businesses out of the market. Shoreditch, Clerkenwell, Aldgate and Whitechapel: over the last decade these places have become the breeding ground for media and tech start-ups, as well as larger blue-chip companies looking to grow their digital operations. However, East London’s success at [...]
Investors toast new pub boss sending Punch shares higher March 3, 2015 PUB OPERATOR Punch Taverns announced the appointment of its new chief executive yesterday, giving Duncan Garrood the top job. Investors seemingly approved the selection, with shares closing up 5.73 per cent to 92.25p. The news of the appointment comes as the indebted company has undergone two years of restructuring, which saw share prices fall 73 [...]
Deutsche Bank’s client growth helps firm leap up adviser table March 2, 2015 DEUTSCHE Bank was the big winner in the first-quarter adviser rankings making gains in both the stockbroker and financial adviser categories in terms of client market capitalisation, according to figures from Adviser Rankings. The Frankfurt-based investment bank, which boasts clients such as British American Tobacco, Unilever and Greene King, stood out as the biggest climber [...]
Unilever buying Ren Skincare to boost its personal care business March 2, 2015 UNILEVER said yesterday it has agreed to buy UK cosmetics brand Ren Skincare for an undisclosed price as part of its strategy to bolster its personal care business. Ren, launched 15 years ago by advertising executives Antony Buck and Robert Calcraft, sells high-end skincare products that use only natural ingredients in over 50 countries including [...]
Last year Switzerland filed more patent applications than the UK February 26, 2015 More indication of the UK's woeful attitude to intellectual property: data by the European Patents Office has shown that in 2014, more companies in Switzerland (population: eight million) filed for patents than ones in the UK (population: 64.1m). In fact, Germany, France and the Netherlands all filed more applications. Although to be fair, even Germany's [...]
Nestle growth slows in 2014 but dividend gets a hike February 19, 2015 The figures Profits were up by 4.4bn Swiss francs (£3bn) to 14.5bn Swiss francs (£10bn), but sales growth slipped. Organic sales growth for 2014 came in at 4.5 per cent, just below targets of five to six per cent for the second year running, however, it's still targeting five per cent growth for 2015. Sales fell 0.6 [...]