Scottish independence: Will brands be left with Scotch egg on their faces? September 12, 2014 As someone who was born in Scotland, and occasionally wears the Duncan kilt with pride (in the correct fashion if you had to know), I have more than a passing interest in the forthcoming vote. Mostly I feel it’s a little unfair that that the ‘Yes’ camp seems to be having all the fun, leaving [...]
HSBC creates £8bn UK small business fund May 11, 2015 HSBC has set aside £8bn to lend to small and medium-sized businesses in the UK. The bank's small and medium-sized enterprises (SME) loan offering will reach 43 areas of the country, with Scotland, Birmingham and Manchester, receiving at least £400m each. Fees on qualifying business loans worth between £1,000 and £300,000 will be waived or [...]
GSK confirms RBS’ Sir Philip Hampton as new chairman September 25, 2014 GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) has confirmed that Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) chairman Sir Philip Hampton has been appointed to lead its board. The pharmaceutical giant said this morning that Hampton will join as non-executive director on 1 January next year, assuming the role of chairman from Sir Christopher Gent from 1 September. Although RBS did not [...]
It’s time for David Cameron to make unpopular decisions – Editor’s Letter May 14, 2015 Today the hard work begins. After a few days where the Conservatives still seemed to be in full campaign mode, setting out their blue collar pitch for 2020, David Cameron’s speech in Scotland brings the hard decisions he faces in this Parliament back to the forefront. Rightly so. This government has a once-in-a-generation chance to [...]
RBS prices float of Citizens at $21.50 a share September 23, 2014 Royal Bank of Scotland was forced to scale back the price of its jumbo listing of Citizens Financial Group in the US last night, pricing shares at $21.50 each. RBS, which will still own about 75 per cent of Citizens after the flotation, had earlier offered shares to investors at $23 to $25 each but [...]
Tesco share price rises on board announcements October 6, 2014 Tesco's share price rose this morning after the troubled supermarket revealed it was bolstering its senior team. The retail giant, whose share price had fallen 52 per cent this year by the end of Friday's trading, has added two new non-executive members to its board, including former chief executive and president of Ikea Group Mikael Ohlsson. The [...]
Canadian fund Omers make $1.7bn swoop on UK consultancy Environmental Resources Management June 15, 2015 Charterhouse yesterday sold its stake in the world’s biggest environmental consultancy to Canadian mega fund Ontario Municipal Employees’ Retirement System (Omers) in a deal worth $1.7bn (£1.1bn). Omers’ private equity arm (OPE) will buy Charterhouse’s 55 per cent investment in Environmental Resources Management (ERM), which is headquartered in London with 162 other offices around the [...]
London Report: Rise of support for Scottish Yes vote knocks FTSE shares September 8, 2014 BRITAIN’S top shares fell further from last week’s 14-year high yesterday, hurt by firms with exposure to Scotland after a poll unexpectedly showed a lead for supporters of Scottish independence before the 18 September referendum. The YouGov survey for the Sunday Times newspaper was the first this year to give the Yes campaign a lead, [...]
Anglian aims for £150m relisting September 28, 2014 SPECIALIST double glazing and house improvement company Anglian Home Improvements may be looking to return to the London Stock Exchange, over a decade after it was taken private. Anglian Home Improvements, which was founded in 1966 by George Williams as Anglian Windows, was listed for nearly 10 years, until it was taken private when private [...]
Scottish independence: Now Tesco Bank says it will move to England September 11, 2014 Tesco Bank has confirmed it will redomicile in England in the event of Scotland gaining independence, following commitments from four other major banks this morning. The supermarket's personal finance arm issued a statement this afternoon saying that it had been “developing contingency plans…. regardless of the outcome of the referendum” throughout the campaign. [...]