Scottish independence: We voted “no” and it’s time to move on September 21, 2015 This time last year Scotland’s fate was decided, we said "no" to independence and now it's time to move on for the better. Following the hasty offering of more powers to Scotland, we essentially said “better the devil we know, than the devil we don’t.” A year on are we any further forward? This has [...]
The biggest gaffes of 2015: Boris Johnson Vs child, Jeremy Clarkson’s clanger, fat fingers and s*** trains. December 31, 2015 The business boo boos, fantastic fubars and ghastly gaffes that made us groan and giggle this year were in some cases a little more serious than merely misplaced word or comment. And don't even get us started on VW's emissions cheating. Here are the gaffes that stuck with us in 2015. 1. Security snafus There was [...]
Charts of the year, from miners’ woes to Ukip’s rise and wage growth to the EU migrant crisis December 22, 2015 The past 12 months have been a time of upheaval across the political and economic world. We've looked back at some of the watershed moments of 2015 in charts to show the scale of some of the changes that occurred this year. EU migrant crisis The migration crisis has dominated the news in 2015, playing [...]
Volution taps banks for £90m in refinancing February 16, 2015 VOLUTION Group, a British supplier of ventilation products to the residential construction market, yesterday signed a new and enlarged £90m multicurrency revolving credit facility. The Crawley-based company – which once supplied air ducts to 10 Downing Street when Winston Churchill was an inhabitant in World War II – signed the agreement with HSBC, Royal Bank of [...]
Quarto secures $95m of credit from its banks February 9, 2015 ILLUSTRATED book publishing and distribution group Quarto announced a new four year $95m (£62.4m) banking facility yesterday with three banks. The facility, signed with the Royal Bank of Scotland, Bank of America, Santander UK and Fifth Third Bank, will run from April 2015 until April 2019. “We are very pleased to have concluded our refinancing, [...]
From the UK general election to Greek debt fears it was an obstacle course for cross-border IPOs in 2015 December 15, 2015 It may have been the year of the mega deal, but the capital markets have suffered in 2015, and it’s been a decidedly poor year for cross-border IPOs. Fears over China’s growth, elections, referendums, and defaults in Europe, as well as uncertainty over the Fed’s rate hike all contributed to a 39 per cent drop [...]
EU neverendum: Why a Remain vote could intensify forces pushing the UK out the European Union February 4, 2016 After months of posturing from the capitals of Europe, David Cameron and European Council president Donald Tusk have finally put a draft deal for proposed European Union reforms on the table. Now the campaign, over an issue that has dominated UK politics for decades, will begin in earnest. As attention turns to Brussels for the [...]
Abu Dhabi fund in £1.6bn bid for London’s Maybourne Hotel Group March 1, 2015 Abu Dhabi’s sovereign wealth fund has put forward a £1.6bn bid for Maybourne Hotel Group, owner of London venues the Berkeley, the Connaught and Claridges. Abu Dhabi Investment Authority (ADIA) is reported to have sent a letter declaring its interest in such a deal to Maybourne’s holding company, Coroin. The firm is understood to have [...]
Grosvenor House Hotel up for sale as owner collapses into administration March 3, 2015 The iconic Grosvenor House Hotel in London has been put up for sale after its owner collapsed into administration. The luxury five-star hotel, located on Park Lane in Mayfair, is expected to go for more than the £470m than its owners Sahara Grosvenor House Hospitality initially paid five years ago – the largest London hotel deal [...]
Scottish independence debate: Ignore SNP bluster, Scotland would vote for the Union again September 16, 2015 Today marks the first anniversary of the Scottish independence referendum and you can bet your house we will not be allowed to forget it. Not by the winners, but by the losers, for it is the nationalists who continue to make the most noise as they refuse to accept the democratic defeat they suffered [...]