Punch Taverns risks defaulting if debt plan fails January 15, 2014 STRUGGLING pub chain Punch Taverns yesterday unveiled a plan to restructure its £2.3bn debt pile with lenders, with executives warning the plan was the only alternative to defaulting. The Association of British Insurers (ABI) hit out at the company’s actions, claiming that they had not seen the restructuring plans and only had limited interaction with [...]
Inflation since 2008 crash has hit low-paid hardest January 30, 2014 THE SQUEEZE on UK pay has meant much bigger wage cuts for high earners, but new figures now reveal that above-target inflation has hit households on low incomes most severely of all. On average, the highest incomes tracked by the Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) have dropped by over eight per cent in real terms since 2007-8. [...]
Essar directors shun investor’s offer as too low February 24, 2014 ESSAR Energy’s independent directors have rejected a plan from the firm’s biggest investor to take the company private, saying the 70p offer price “clearly undervalues the company and its prospects”. The board members with no links to the Ruia family’s Essar Global Fund (EGF) unanimously shunned the proposal yesterday. EGF owns 78.02 per cent of [...]
Punch Taverns sets the date for its third restructuring proposal November 4, 2013 PUNCH Taverns said yesterday that it will announce a fresh plan next month to restructure its £2.4bn debt pile after lenders rejected two earlier proposals put forward by the pub group’s board. Punch, which has over 4,000 pubs in the UK, has already warned that it could be unable to continue trading unless a deal [...]
Insurers’ £25bn growth pledge December 3, 2013 SIX CITY insurers have today announced a major investment into UK infrastructure projects, committing £25bn over the next five years. The money, which does not include finance for existing schemes, signals a commitment to new large-scale projects, following the successful negotiation of changes to EU insurance regulation that had been holding back investment. Changes to [...]
Regulator calls for pension crackdown from government September 19, 2013 Weaknesses in the system mean some savers are not getting value for money when it comes to their pensions, says the Office for Fair Trading (OFT). (Release) The OFT published a market study today and, in agreement with The Pensions Regulator (TPR) has agreed a set of reforms to the £275bn market for defined contribution [...]
US rules out unilateral action on Syria August 28, 2013 known to be trigger-happy A US official has ruled out unilateral military action against Syria, according to Agence France-Presse. If correct, this would confirm speculation that the US will not want to launch a military strike against Bashar al-Assad’s regime without the backing of its allies. Earlier today, the United Nations special envoy to Syria [...]
Soca chairman resigns August 1, 2013 Sir Ian Andrews, the chairman of the Serious Organised Crime Agency (SOCA) stepped down from his position yesterday after failing to disclose a directorship with a management consultancy company, Abis Partnership. Soca has recently come under criticism for failing to properly investigate large companies which were using unlicensed private investigators. Andrews’ resignation was accepted by [...]
London Report: Aberdeen drags down FTSE as downgrade hits September 18, 2013 THE UK’S top share index was led lower by Aberdeen Asset Management yesterday but stayed in the tight trading range set over the previous week as many traders opted to wait for a steer on US monetary policy. The blue-chip FTSE 100 closed down 0.2 per cent, or 11.35 points, at 6,558.82 points – towards [...]
SOCA chair voluntarily resigns after failing to declare potential conflict of interest August 1, 2013 Sir Ian Andrews has announced he is resigning from his position as chair of the Serious Organised Crime Agency after failing to declare a potential conflict of interests. In a letter to the chair of the Home Affairs Select Committee Keith Vaz, Andrews apologised for what he said was both a “genuine and unintentional oversight” [...]