WHAT THE OTHER PAPERS SAY THIS MORNING April 19, 2010 FINANCIAL TIMES HCL FUELS DEBATE The head of one of India’s biggest IT outsourcing companies has waded into the debate on UK public sector efficiency savings, complaining of an “old boys’ network” in government procurement. Vineet Nayar, chief executive of HCL Technologies, hit out at the “stranglehold of a few companies” in Britain’s £17bn market [...]
Red Knights bid imminent April 18, 2010 THE structure for an audacious fan-backed bid for Manchester United has been finalised, paving the way for a formal offer as soon as next month. A group of wealthy City financiers desperate to take control of the club from the Glazer family thrashed out details of their £1.25bn bid last week and will now present [...]
ARE PRE-ELECTION JITTERS HAVING A NOTICEABLE EFFECT ON THE HOUSING MARKET? April 18, 2010 LUCIAN COOK | SAVILLS “The election is no doubt in the public consciousness and will, if anything, put a limit to activity as people wait until after 6 May to buy. But activity in the housing market is so subdued anyway so it will be difficult to pick out any discernible impact. More interesting will [...]
CITY MOVES | WHO’S SWITCHING JOBS April 14, 2010 FSSC The Financial Services Skills Council has appointed Trevor Matthews, the chief executive of Friends Provident, as its new chairman. Matthews joins a number of high-profile City bosses on the FSSC board, including Resolution Group chief executive John Tiner, Standard Life managing director John Gill, KPMG vice chairman Brendan Nelson, and Angela Knight, the chief [...]
Red Knights thrash out United plans April 14, 2010 THE group of City financiers hoping to wrest control of Manchester United met in London yesterday to hone their plans. They are understood to have discussed the structure of the complicated share issue that will give fans the chance to buy a stake in the club. They are also thrashing out whether to retain the [...]
Lib Dems: we will ban bank board bonuses April 13, 2010 NICK Clegg, the leader of the Liberal Democrats, yesterday said his party would ban all bank bonuses at board level. Speaking alongside his Treasury spokesman Vince Cable, Clegg said the Lib Dems would “ensure the bonus system can never again encourage banks to behave recklessly”. Clegg, who could play kingmaker after the election if polls [...]
CITY MOVES | WHO’S SWITCHING JOBS April 12, 2010 Shepherd and Wedderburn The law firm has elected James Will, the head of its corporate practice, to the position of chairman after over 20 years as a partner at the firm. Corporate partner Andrew Blain takes over as head of corporate, while Guy Winter has been promoted to partner in the same division. Winter joined [...]
UK Reader’s Digest saved by £13m bid April 11, 2010 BETTER Capital, Jon Moulton’s new turnaround private equity group, has saved Reader’s Digest magazine with an eleventh hour white knight bid. The UK arm of the 87-year-old publisher filed for administration in February, two weeks after the Pensions Regulator rejected a plan to plug the £125m hole in its savings fund. Better Capital said the [...]
Live in a Cold War bunker – the ideal home for a nuclear family with style April 8, 2010 JUST imagine the dinner party possibilities of living in an unusual house. No matter what other people tell you about their wonderful new stables or their eco-conversion, revealing that you live in a converted Cold War military base is sure to stop people in their tracks. Two of the most desirable properties currently on the [...]
City slams Europe bank tax April 7, 2010 THE City hit out at plans to introduce a Europe-wide banking levy yesterday after reports the European Union is prepared to go it alone if it does not achieve an international consensus. A European Union report suggested a levy could raise €50bn (£43bn) a year. The money could either be saved to ward against future [...]