City of London Festival: Bowler hats off in Paternoster Square June 23, 2014 Anyone walking through Paternoster Square this morning, be not afraid of the giant millinery planted in the middle. You haven’t woken up in a Lewis Carroll novel – the City of London Festival has started and that giant bowler hat is a venue. The festival has previously slipped under the radar slightly, but this [...]
Chemical firm Croda’s financial chief Sean Christie to step down June 18, 2014 FTSE 250-listed chemicals manufacturer Croda announced yesterday that its finance chief would be stepping down next year. Sean Christie, who has worked at the firm since 2006, will remain at Croda until April 2015 to facilitate the board’s search for his replacement. “I have thoroughly enjoyed the role and all its challenges, but have decided [...]
WPP snaps up Dutch outfit June 17, 2014 WPP yesterday said it was taking over Dutch marketing strategy consultant EffectiveBrands for an undisclosed sum. The deal, made through WPP’s media research arm Millward Brown, would see EffectiveBrands combine its client list of Pernod Ricard, Barclays, Unilever and PepsiCo with the WPP firm to create a new unit called Millward Brown Vermeer. EffectiveBrands made [...]
WPP swoops for South African digital agency The Hardy Boys June 11, 2014 ADVERTISING giant WPP yesterday announced it had taken a majority stake in South Africa-based creative ad and brand building agency The Hardy Boys for an undisclosed sum. The deal, made through WPP’s global marketing communications agency JWT, will see The Hardy Boys bring its client list, including Diageo and Unilever, over to JWT. “This investment [...]
FTSE ends the day firmer after US jobs report June 6, 2014 UK SHARES advanced yesterday after a solid US jobs report came on the heels of fresh stimulus measures from the European Central Bank that underpinned European markets. Cyclical stocks, so-called because they are highly geared to the economic cycle, were in demand, with money managers St. James’s Place and Aberdeen Asset Management among the top [...]
Spotless sale cleans up for BC Partners June 5, 2014 GERMAN consumer goods group Henkel yesterday said it has agreed to buy French home care company Spotless Group for €940m (£763m) in cash. Private equity firm BC Partners has nearly doubled its money on Spotless, having bought the company for €600m in 2010. BC Partners said the deal would offer the firm potential to expand [...]
What the other papers say this morning – 20 May 2014 May 19, 2014 FINANCIAL TIMES EU banks face debt sale clampdown European regulators are seeking to clamp down on the sale of debt by banks to their own retail customers, amid fears savers do not realise the risks posed by such assets. The European Banking Authority is concerned about the sale of bank debt that could be bailed [...]
The week in brief May 11, 2014 Publicis Group and Omnicom merger falls apart Publicis and Omicom, two of the world’s biggest advertising firms, have called off ther proposed merger. The $35bn (£22.8bn) deal would have formed the world’s largest ad agency. It was claimed last July that the merger would enable the two giants to compete more effectively in the digital [...]
What you need to know before the open April 24, 2014 A higher open’s expected for European markets this morning, following the strong results from Apple and Facebook and despite yesterday’s negative finish. Germany’s latest IFO business survey is expected to be slightly weaker for April, although the positive manufacturing data seen yesterday could also mean a stronger-than-expected surprise. That said, ongoing weakness in China and [...]
Decline in emerging markets slows Unilever sales growth April 24, 2014 Consumer goods giant Unilever has reported underlying sales growth of 3.6 per cent, with emerging markets rising by 6.6 per cent for the first quarter of 2014. However, market growth continued to decline in the emerging economies of South and South East Asia, while developed markets remained relatively fragile despite some improvement in southern Europe. [...]