CITY SETS OFF HALF A TONNE OF FIREWORKS
LONDONERS were treated to one of the capital’s biggest public fireworks displays of the year on Saturday, as the Lord Mayor’s grand finale boasted nearly half a tonne of fireworks.
The show’s 800-year old parade was three miles long this time – twice as long as the route it followed from Temple to Bank – and boasted an exotic variety of displays, including a troupe of Hong Kong acrobats.
And it was all there to celebrate the recent election of a new Lord Mayor, Michael Bear, as the City’s 683rd leader. Bear, elected by the City’s livery companies, is appropriately steeped in City professions: he is currently MD of Balfour Beatty Property and a non-executive director of Arup.
As if you needed another reason to loaf around the City on weekends after One New Change.
IMAGE DOCTORING
The undertakers of corporate Britain attempted a little re-branding exercise last week as the UK Turnaround Management industry gathered for its annual conference at the Royal College of Physicians. In an effort to convince the assembled insurers, lawyers and bankers that the industry is more healer than undertaker, the conference recruited speakers including Barclays’ Graham Rusling and KPMG’s head of restructuring Richard Fleming.
And flying the flag up front for the resuscitation of the industry’s image was Risk Capital Partners’ Luke Johnson. Not only is Johnson known for his successful turnaround of Pizza Express back in the day, but he also boasts an Oxford degree in medicine.
GOLIATH BEWARE
Proving that small is beautiful, Numis Corp has landed a deal to be one of Aegis Group’s corporate brokers. Numis’ joint appointment with JP Morgan Cazenove means that the independent brokerage has now clocked up its 26th FTSE 250 client. Big league brokers beware!