Student loans, uranium, and six other things on the Shareholder Executive’s to-do list May 27, 2014 The government’s Shareholder Executive announced today that it has picked Robert Swannell as its new chair. Swannell, who is also chairman of Marks & Spencer, has been on the board of the group since January, giving him some experience of the group's various portfolio companies. Here are some of the projects that are [...]
ACCA Comment: Why post-crisis regulation has proved far from perfect May 14, 2014 Blunt tools must be replaced with more responsive solutions THERE is celebration in the air now that the UK has come out of recession strongly. However, is it too soon to get out the bunting? Yes, lessons have been learned from the financial crisis, and we are looking healthier as an economy. But there could [...]
Gherkin in a pickle: iconic tower is bust April 24, 2014 THE CITY’S iconic Gherkin tower has fallen into receivership after its owners failed to strike a restructuring deal over its mounting debt-pile, paving the way for a likely sale of the skyscraper. Lenders to 30 St Mary’s Axe have handed the keys to receivers Deloitte after a tranche of the debt secured against the building [...]
What the other papers say this morning – 17 April 2014 April 17, 2014 FINACIAL TIMES Knights less likely to cut jobs A group of European academics have concluded that company bosses are less likely to cut jobs to boost profits if they are in line for an honour, for fear of drawing the ire of politicians and the public. The study looked at companies in New Zealand, which [...]
The real casualties of the supermarket price wars April 16, 2014 The threat posed by the hard discounters on Britain’s big four retailers has been well documented. Tesco’s chief executive Philip Clarke today described his discount rivals as “formidable” as he announced further plans to slash prices beyond the £200m already set aside in February. But new research shows that the biggest unrecognised casualties of the [...]
Travel agency insolvencies soar as buyers book for themselves April 14, 2014 THE NUMBER of travel companies and tour operators closing down has soared over the past year due to more Britons buying holidays online, figures released today show. According to accountants Wilkins Kennedy, 77 travel agencies and tour operators became insolvent in the year to 31 March, up 45 per cent on the previous year. Despite [...]
UK Coal receives £10m state loan to close mines April 10, 2014 THE UK government said yesterday that it will give a £10m loan to UK Coal to help finance a managed closure of two of its mines over the next 18 months. “The taxpayer would face significant losses and liabilities in the event of an immediate insolvency of UK Coal, principally relating to redundancy and unpaid [...]
Small flotations get £2bn boost after lean years April 7, 2014 THE LAST 12 months have been the most active for initial public offerings (IPOs) on London’s junior stock market since 2007, with the amount of funds raised nearly tripling, according to UHY Hacker Young. Research released today shows that in the 12 months to the end of March, firms floating on the Alternative Investment Market [...]
What the other papers say this morning – 02 April 2014 April 1, 2014 FINANCIAL TIMES Plans for fracking on private land Exploration companies would be given powers to drill under privately owned land as part of government plans to kick-start Britain’s fracking industry. The coalition is working on proposals, to be included in the Queen’s Speech to change trespass laws to make it easier for companies to explore [...]
Pawnbroker Albemarle & Bond appoints PwC as administrator March 25, 2014 ALBEMARLE & Bond called in administrators yesterday, just a day after the struggling pawnbroker said that its lenders no longer supported the management’s turnaround plan. Albemarle’s board said that the decision had been made due to Albemarle’s inability to regain the support of its lenders on Monday – including Lloyds Banking Group and Barclays to [...]