Premier Foods eyes former Reckitt finance boss as new chair August 15, 2019 The former finance boss of Reckitt Benckiser is said to be in the running to take over as chair of Mr Kipling and Angel Delight owner Premier Foods. Colin Day, who until last year was chief executive of cigarette filter manufacturer Essentra, is one of a small number of candidates for the role, Sky News [...]
Fleet Street veteran David Montgomery sets newspapers in sights as he plots takeover spree August 14, 2019 Veteran Fleet Street executive David Montgomery is poised to launch a media takeover spree, with struggling publisher JPI Media slated as his first major target. Montgomery has set up a company called National World, through which he is said to be planning a series of deals to snap up struggling newspaper groups. Read more: Shares [...]
UK lawyers taking Belgian citizenship in case of no-deal Brexit August 13, 2019 UK lawyers in Brussels are taking Belgian citizenship in order to keep practising before the European courts post-Brexit. Brussels is a key centre for competition law and most large international law firms have an office there to advise clients on European law issues. Trevor Soames, a Brussels-based partner with US law firm Quinn Emanuel who [...]
City Moves for 13 August – Who’s switching jobs at Circassia, Bank of America Merrill Lynch and RPMI? August 13, 2019 Today’s City Moves includes Circassia, Bank of America Merrill Lynch and RPMI. Circassia Dr Rod Hafner, senior vice president of research and development at Circassia Pharmaceuticals, a specialty biopharmaceutical company focused on respiratory disease, will step down from the board after 11 years as a director. However, Rod will remain part of the senior management [...]
Cineworld sets hopes on The Lion King as first half revenue drops August 8, 2019 Cineworld has posted a sharp drop in revenue for the first half, which it blamed on the unfavourable timings of major film releases. The cinema chain reported revenue of $2.2bn (£1.8bn) in the six months to the end of June, down 11 per cent on the same period last year. Read more: Cineworld maintains guidance [...]
Dominic Cummings is behind Number 10’s new startup-mindset August 8, 2019 “What we want to hear is their conquer the world strategy,” said Scott Kupor, managing partner of American venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz. Kupor was talking about wannabe entrepreneurs knocking on the company’s Sand Hill Road door in California and looking to become the next Twitter, Lyft, or Airbnb. If Boris Johnson’s right-hand man Dominic [...]
Why Britain needs a minister for AI August 8, 2019 With the nation in a state of economic and political uncertainty, Britain’s newly appointed Prime Minister looks to technology to rejuvenate and refocus the country. He announces “a major national effort to bring advanced technology and new processes into industry”, launching the government’s first ministry of technology. Tech experts across the country rejoice as policymakers [...]
Commerzbank warns its 2019 profit target now looks ‘ambitious’ August 7, 2019 Germany’s second-biggest lender Commerzbank said its net profit was unchanged in the second quarter from a year earlier, as it described “a very challenging environment”. Commerzbank, which was set to merge with its bigger rival Deutsche Bank this year before the deal fell through, said its target of a slight year-on-year increase in net income [...]
Workspace giant IWG launches £100m share buyback scheme August 6, 2019 Office space provider IWG has launched a £100m share buyback and increased its dividend. The company, which operates under the Regus brand, increased its interim dividend 10.3 per cent to 2.15p per share as it announced it would repurchase £100m worth of shares by 5 August next year. Read more: Workspace giant IWG posts double [...]
Starling to break even as bank customers double August 4, 2019 Starling Bank is set to break even in the UK by the end of 2020, its founder and chief executive has said, after revealing that its user numbers have doubled in the last eight months. In her annual letter, Anne Boden said the fintech firm’s account total – spanning both business and retail users – [...]