Silverfleet eyes Hunter’s Office chain November 28, 2010 HIGH STREET shoe retailer Office is likely to be bought by Silverfleet Capital after the private equity firm entered exclusive talks with current owner Sir Tom Hunter, a source close to the deal said yesterday. The exclusivity agreement all but scuppers the chances of Blackstone and PAI Capital, who had pursued Office since Sir Tom’s [...]
The sweet seller’s son who wants to hold the chancellor to account November 28, 2010 VISITING Andrew Tyrie’s office is like being called to see the headmaster in an old-fashioned boarding school. The chairman of the Treasury select committee occupies a grand corner office in Westminster’s Norman Shaw North building, the former Scotland Yard HQ that now provides office space for MPs. Appropriately enough, Tyrie begins with a history lesson, [...]
New appointments at HSBC November 26, 2010 HSBC’s chief executive-designate, Stuart Gulliver, announced changes to the bank’s top management and structure today. The changes are the first indication of his planned strategic direction before he formally steps into the chief executive role in January. Paul Thurston, the current UK and Europe chief executive, has been appointed chief executive of a newly created [...]
Tube strike to disrupt Monday’s travel November 26, 2010 A 24-hour strike on London’s underground rail network will go ahead on Monday after talks over planned job cuts broke down, heralding the fourth walk-out since September. The strike, by members of the RMT and TSSA unions, will begin on Sunday evening, and is likely to cause further travel disruption for thousands of commuters already [...]
The world’s largest goldminer sees blue skies ahead as demand soars November 24, 2010 Aaron Regent, the chief executive of the world’s biggest goldminer Barrick Gold, straightens his tie and smiles – it’s a good time to be in the gold business. Regent, a 44-year-old with a middle distance runner’s build, is sitting in a meeting room in the recently refurbished Savoy Hotel, and can be forgiven for feeling [...]
Ireland’s stricken banks “for sale” says central bank governor November 23, 2010 IRELAND’S banks are up for sale, the country’s central bank chief said today, as the government seeks to cut them down in size after their reckless lending forced the country to seek an international bailout. “They are for sale as far as I am concerned,” Patrick Honohan said. “I have been an advocate for a [...]
CITY VIEWS: SHOULD THE UK HELP BAIL OUT IRELAND November 22, 2010 RICHARD YOUNG | CONTROLCIRCLE “I’m not sure why we are trying to support an independent country when we have got mountains of debt of our own. There needs to be an underlying trade or political reason to do so.” CHRISTOPHER MILLER | INVESTMENT QUOTIENT “It’s not ideal, but it would be far worse if companies [...]
Investing your love in bricks and mortar November 18, 2010 1 BUDGET Before you start the fun stuff – househunting – make sure you have covered the boring stuff: finances. Work out how much you can afford to put towards mortgage repayments each month, based on your joint net income, and joint outgoings. If, like Kate and William, you are thoroughly modern and are already [...]
Icap revenue up on e-trade November 17, 2010 ICAP, the interdealer broker, said yesterday revenue increased nine per cent to £867m in the first half of the year on the back of its electronic and post trade units. The broker said pre-tax profit also rose by two per cent to £183m and it raised its interim dividend by three per cent to 5.27p. [...]
The Tube boss who is battling to rebuild the world’s oldest network November 17, 2010 It has been a tough few months for the new managing director of London Underground. Mike Brown, a company veteran who returned in March, faces his fourth strike over the axing of ticket office jobs in a matter of weeks. Tube unions RMT and the Transport Salaried Staffs’ Association say getting rid of 800 ticket [...]