AA is driving forward with a new leader Bob Mackenzie August 28, 2014 Motor icon AA yesterday crowned the mastermind behind its £1.4bn market debut as leader of the group after its current boss quit after just eight months. Bob Mackenzie, who used to run Britain’s car park operator NCP, has emerged as the most powerful figure at the 110-year old institution after incumbent boss Chris Jansen’s departure. [...]
Samsonite makes case for new CEO Ramesh Tainwala August 27, 2014 Luggage giant Samsonite yesterday announced the appointment of Ramesh Tainwala as chief executive as sales reached a record $1bn (£600m) in the first half of 2014. The Hong Kong-listed company said Tainwala, the group’s chief operating officer, would take over when current CEO Tim Parker stands aside on 1 October. His appointment comes as Samsonite [...]
Lawmaker who voted to clamp down on Uber arrested for drink-driving August 26, 2014 In a delicious twist of irony, a California state senator was arrested on Saturday for driving under the influence of alcohol only hours after voting for legislation that would subject the taxi app service Uber to a host of burdensome regulations. Ben Hueso was spotted driving the wrong way down a one way street at [...]
Quindell suffers – despite profits quadrupling August 21, 2014 Quindell, the Aim-listed insurance firm whose shares plummeted 60 per cent in April following a scathing blog post by US short seller Gotham City Research, came out fighting yesterday when it reported an 119 per cent increase in half-year revenue. Despite the bullish results, Quindell’s shares still fell 12.4 per cent following the update to [...]
Uber’s battle against taxi industry and regulators steps up a gear with Obama adviser on board August 20, 2014 In Uber’s relentless battle against regulators and the taxi industry around the world, a political strategist was considered a crucial element for negotiating roadblocks in the disruptive taxi service’s plans for world domination. Now the search is over, and Uber has no doubt spent a pretty penny of its billions of dollars of investment (which [...]
Carillion board tries to woo Balfour Beatty with cost-cutting plan August 14, 2014 A merger between Carillion and Balfour Beatty could save as much as £175m a year, according to a statement issued by the infrastructure giant today. The two businesses met on Monday (August 11) to discuss the move, with “significant synergies” between the two businesses having been identified, Carillion said. This includes cost savings [...]
Saxo boss Lars Seier Christensen opens Pandora’s box with jewellery startup investment August 12, 2014 Saxo Bank’s chief exec Lars Seier Christensen has got chins wagging in the Danish press. The banking boss has made a personal investment into jewellery startup Endless Jewelry – a company run by well-known Danish entrepreneur Jesper Nielsen. Nielsen made his name as a reseller of jewellery brand Pandora. He sold his Pandora distributorship for [...]
UK leads western Europe for self-employment August 12, 2014 When it comes an increase in the number of people who are self-employed, the UK is now ahead of its western European neighbours, according to think tank IPPR. Britain has experienced a rapid growth in its workforce over the past year, with net job creation exceeding 900,000 in the 12 months to April 2014, [...]
BuzzFeed valued at $850m as company plans international expansion August 11, 2014 BuzzFeed, the viral news and content website famed for its "listicles", has been valued at $850m after it secured $50m of investment from venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz. The online media company currently reaches 150m people a month, has expanded from its New York base to offices in Los Angeles and London, and now [...]
Foreign Office minister Mark Simmonds quits government after resigning in reshuffle August 11, 2014 Junior Foreign Office minister Mark Simmonds has resigned from government, the second minister in the department to do so in less than a week after Baroness Warsi quit last Tuesday. No 10 said Simmonds’ departure had been agreed during the reshuffle and is unrelated to Warsi’s resignation over Gaza. Simmonds remained in the post after [...]