Digitising Whitehall could save taxpayers up to £24bn a year September 1, 2013 CIVIL servants should eliminate the use of paper when interacting with the public and model their working practices on internet start-ups, according to a report released today. Influential think tank Policy Exchange says the existing Whitehall model is failing to take advantage of technological change. It believes that if the state can match the productivity [...]
Barclays appoints former White House and Treasury lawyer as general counsel August 30, 2013 Barclays has announced the appointment of former White House and Treasury lawyer Bob Hoyt as group general counsel, completing chief executive Antony Jenkin's executive team to deliver the bank's "Transform" programme. Hoyt will succeed Mark Harding, who announced his intention to retire in February. He joins from PNC Financial Services, where he is currently general [...]
Foxtons to raise £55m in stock market debut August 27, 2013 FOXTONS confirmed plans yesterday to list on the London Stock Exchange and to raise £55m by offering new shares to help pay down its remaining debt. The London-focused estate agency said the initial public offering will also see Adnams BBPM Holdings, a vehicle controlled by its private equity owners BC Partners, sell a partial [...]
Foxtons’ float to land bosses £100m windfall August 26, 2013 LONDON estate agency Foxtons is poised to make a move onto the London Stock Exchange that could land its senior management team a £100m windfall. The company, which was founded more than 30 years ago in Notting Hill, is expected to announce today its intention to pursue a public flotation that could value the business [...]
Thomson Local bought out of administration August 22, 2013 DIRECTORY services brand Thomson Local was bought out of administration by two serial entrepreneurs yesterday. Thomson Local, which sends out 22m copies of its UK business directory and maintains several websites, appointed Grant Thornton as administrator on Wednesday, following several tough years. The Hampshire-based firm posted a net loss of £732,000 for 2011, down from [...]
First July deficit since 2010 as spending creeps higher August 21, 2013 THE UK posted an unexpected deficit in July, the first for the month since 2010, highlighting the sluggish progress in reductions to spending. Records of the country’s recent public finances, released yesterday, show a relatively small deficit of £62m for last month. In the same month in 2012, the treasury ran a budget surplus of [...]
The City must not over-react to the shock death of an intern August 21, 2013 THERE are still lots of unanswered questions following the sudden and tragic death of Bank of America Merrill Lynch’s 21-year-old intern Moritz Erhardt. Whether he was an epileptic – and whether he had declared that to the bank – is crucial to understanding what happened to cut an ambitious young man down in such cruel [...]
Strong London rents help boost UK Commercial Property Trust August 21, 2013 UK Commercial Property Trust, the largest UK-focused trust of its kind, said yesterday its net asset value (NAV) per share had dipped 1.2 per cent to 68.9p in the six months to 30 June, as the value of its property portfolio fell. The Guernsey-based trust, which owns retail and office properties across the UK, posted a [...]
UK public finances run up unexpected deficit August 21, 2013 The UK's public finances posted an unexpected deficit in July, exposing the government's failure to reign in spending. July is typically a good month for the public coffers, as it is the time of year when high taxes on income and wealth are recorded from self assessment and quarterly corporation tax returns. Indeed, tax receipts [...]
What the analysts are saying about July’s public sector deficit August 21, 2013 This morning, the Office for National Statistics said the UK government posted a £62m deficit in July – down from an £823m surplus the year before (full story here). Here's what analysts are saying about the figures. Martin Beck, UK economist at Capital Economics: Despite signs of life in the economy, July’s public finances data [...]