Flexible working to the extreme: Dispersed office May 14, 2014 James Knight, founder of Keystone Law, talks to Liam Ward-Proud about gaining acceptance for a new business model, and how dispersed working can cut overhead costs and realise efficiency gains FOUNDED in 2002 by lawyer James Knight, Keystone Law brought an entrepreneurial streak to a centuries-old profession. Using advances in communication technology, including a remotely [...]
Analyst Views: How does the future look for Lonmin? May 12, 2014 MARC ELLIOTT | INVESTECWe understand that management will ramp up processing activities regardless of miners returning to work as it has the staff to do so, and this enables cash flow generation. We expect it to take around two weeks to ramp processing back up, whilst mining activities would probably take six to eight weeks. [...]
US corporate results round up May 1, 2014 Cereal maker Kellogg gets a rude awakening from generic rivals Kellogg, the world’s biggest maker of breakfast cereals, reported a bigger-than-expected fall in quarterly revenue yesterday as competition from private-label brands and alternative breakfast items ate into cereal sales. Sales at Kellogg’s US morning foods business fell 5.5 per cent in the first quarter. Oaktree [...]
Labour’s war on landlords April 30, 2014 LABOUR leader Ed Miliband will today announce his party’s controversial plans for a sweeping reform of the private rented sector, as he tries to win the votes of generation rent. The plans have been accused of defying economic logic by think tank the Institute of Economic Affairs, and will see Labour propose a national rent [...]
Glaxo boss not tempted to bid for AstraZeneca April 30, 2014 SHARES in British pharmaceuticals giant Glaxosmithkline slid more than two per cent yesterday after the firm revealed a 10 per cent drop in first-quarter sales, and its chief executive played down the chance of a so-called white knight bid for AstraZeneca. Sir Andrew Witty said he still prefers targeted transactions rather than mega-mergers. UK rival [...]
CNBC Comment: It’s vive la difference for European M&A April 28, 2014 CAN THERE be a clearer illustration of the difference between French and British attitudes to business than this week’s M&A headlines? Once again, the French have been accused of erecting the barricades to repel an Anglo-Saxon corporate takeover, while there is a deafening silence in Westminster about a jewel in British pharma potentially being gobbled [...]
What London property could you get with 50,000 Bitcoins? April 25, 2014 Estate agent Knight Frank has compared how an investment in the cyrptocurrency Bitcoin would have performed compared to an investment in highly prized central London property. In July 2010, it would have taken 50,000 Bitcoins to buy one measly square foot of an eight-bedroom mansion house in Mayfair, based on a value of £28m. By [...]
Getting property back in business April 24, 2014 As residential prices soar, developers are turning commercial spaces into homes THE DARK dark satanic mills of William Blake’s Jerusalem were once a dominant fixture in the bustling life of industrial London. It wasn’t that long ago that the city produced condiments like sugar, honey, jam and vinegar, while warehouses stored valuable goods that were [...]
Hotels converted into townhouses in west London April 24, 2014 Michael Jackson’s favourite London hotel has been revived as The Hempel Collection TWO HOTELS that were worlds apart in style, concept and clientele have been brought together under one roof as part of a period conversion in west London. The Hempel Collection, a luxury development of 12 apartments and three bespoke townhouses in Bayswater, bears [...]
Focus on… Stratford: Stratford’s racing to the finish line April 24, 2014 EVERYONE knows that the Olympic Games were held in Stratford, east London, nearly two years ago, but few people know it for much else. It’s true that, since the opening of Westfield Stratford City, millions of people go there to shop – but how many are looking to live there? Despite the pre-Olympics hype, house [...]