City Moves for 11 June 2015 | Who’s switching jobs June 10, 2015 JLL The property-focused professional services and investment management firm has announced three appointments to its Central London tenant representation team. Robin Pugh becomes national director. He has previously worked for JLL in Dubai and in its City leasing team. Andrew Wood (pictured) joins as associate director. He has previously held roles at CBRE and DTZ [...]
US corporate results round up April 29, 2015 Carlyle Group impacted by $112m French court fine Carlyle Group reported a 13 per cent year-on-year drop in first-quarter profit, as it was asked to pay $112m in a French tax court case involving one of its real estate funds, yet it still beat most analysts’ expectations on performance. Carlyle had reserved only $82.5m for [...]
City Moves for 18 May 2015 | Who’s switching jobs May 17, 2015 BT Alison Wilcox has been appointed group HR director at BT. She joins from Vodafone, where she has been regional HR director for Europe for the past 18 months. Wilcox has also worked as regional HR director for Africa, the Middle East and Asia Pacific at the mobile operator. Centrus Advisors The treasury and debt [...]
Italy’s Ferrero goes hazelnuts for Thorntons June 22, 2015 ITALIAN confectionery giant Ferrero International is hoping to treat itself to another box of chocolates after offering to buy Thorntons for £112m yesterday, sending shares in the ailing retailer soaring by 43 per cent. The family-owned chocolatier behind Nutella, Kinder and Ferrero Rocher has offered to pay 145p per share in cash for Thorntons, reflecting [...]
Lord Browne: Saving the corporation – it’s time to reconnect September 17, 2015 Criticism of big business has long been a favourite pastime of the left. From Jeremy Corbyn to UK Uncut, such campaigners dominate discourse on the disconnect between companies and society, and the solutions proposed to deal with this issue consequently often have a punitive edge, from jailing bankers to renationalising industry. Enter one of [...]
Have brands “hijacked” Easter? I’d say it’s an egg-cellent idea April 5, 2015 It’s funny how we so often link food to religious events: hot-cross buns on Good Friday; Pancakes on Shrove Tuesday and Simnel cake during Lent. So who could blame brands trying to do the same thing: Coco-Cola’s land-grab for the Christmas holidays – and, more relevant to this time of year, Cadburys' chocolate egg-gifting [...]
Kraft shares jump 30 per cent as Warren Buffett and 3G Capital confirm plans to merge it with Heinz in $40bn takeover March 25, 2015 Ketchup and cheese single sandwich, anyone? Warren Buffett has confirmed plans to merge processed cheese maker Kraft with Heinz, creating the Kraft Heinz Company, pushing shares in the company up more than 30 per cent in after-hours trading. Last night it was rumoured Brazilian private equity giant 3G Capital, which joint-owns Heinz with Buffett's Berkshire [...]
Return to Utopia: The desire to live where you work harks back to the industrial towns of yesteryear February 19, 2015 On frosty, damp mornings like the ones London has seen of late, the morning commute is worse than ever. Biting winds followed by packed, sweltering trains, followed by more wind – it’s as if the commute was specifically designed to make you as ill-prepared as possible for the day ahead. Yet it’s accepted by millions [...]
Gatwick and Heathrow get eggstremely eggcited about Easter as both airports forecast record traveller numbers April 1, 2015 Eggcited about going away this weekend? You're not the only one. Gatwick and Heathrow are both eggspecting to welcome a record number of travellers looking to get away for the bank holiday weekend. Heathow claims more than 800,000 passengers will use the west London airport between April 3 and 6, “shattering” the previous [...]
When raiders strike: Are US activist investors in City boardrooms a force for good or a costly nuisance? April 30, 2015 When US investor Nelson Peltz walks into a boardroom carrying a piece of paper you know there’s going to be trouble. Peltz, best known in the UK for bouncing Cadbury’s into a series of spin-outs and mergers, has a tried and tested tactic for effecting change: meet a chief executive, present him with a [...]