Qatari hires veteran banker Ken Costa to board of Songbird December 11, 2014 The Qataris have brought in one of the City’s best-known rainmakers to help win control of the Canary Wharf Estate. The Qatar Holding Shareholder Group said it had appointed Ken Costa as a director of Songbird, the owner of the east London financial district, taking its representation on the board back to three. South African-born [...]
Qatari Harrods owners cash in with £118m dividend payment October 30, 2014 Luxury department store Harrods paid out a £118m dividend to its Qatari owners after making record sales of £794m in the year ended 1 February 2014, up from £716m in the previous year. The business also paid a £35.6m royalty to Harrods Corporate Management. It said the year had seen a “confirmed programme of significant [...]
Former Harrods owner Mohamed Al Fayed sells his flash sales site to MySale May 27, 2014 Mohamed Al Fayed has sold his luxury flash sales website Cocosa for an undisclosed sum to MySale, an Australian rival backed by Philip Green that is looking to expand in the UK. The former Harrods boss bought Cocosa in 2011 after selling his world-famous store to Qatar Holdings the previous year, with the view [...]
Lerner ready to sell Villa and hopeful of £200m May 12, 2014 ASTON Villa owner Randy Lerner is hopeful of fetching as much as £200m for the club after officially putting them up for sale yesterday. The American, who bought Villa for £63m eight years ago and has spent around £90m net on transfer fees, said he felt it was time “to look for new leadership” for [...]
Harrods pays its directors £100m in bumper year November 4, 2013 HARRODS has paid its Qatari owners a dividend of £100m this year after turnover rose 10 per cent to £716m. According to Companies House accounts, the record figure came from increased demand for luxury items such as watches and jewellery. Despite the ringing tills, operating profits for England’s biggest department store dropped 13 per cent [...]
Harrods executive takes a trip stateside to join Hudson’s Bay September 17, 2013 HARRODS chief merchant Marigay McKee will become president of Saks after the Canadian retailer Hudson’s Bay acquires the upscale US department store operator. Saks also said that chairman and chief executive Stephen Sadove and president and chief merchant Ronald Frasch are set to leave the company once it is acquired by Hudson’s Bay The $2.4bn [...]
Al Fayed makes Fulham debt-free January 29, 2013 FOOTBALL: Fulham owner Mohamed Al Fayed has cleared the club’s debt by converting £212m of loans into equity. The Premier League club yesterday announced an operating profit of £1.2m and revenue of £79.3m for last season, up from £77.1m in 2010-11, but did not reveal full financial results.
City lawyer warns top football clubs December 17, 2012 A LEADING City lawyer and adviser has warned that European chiefs are gearing up to take a hard line on financial fair play (FFP) rules. The warning comes days after Premier League champions Manchester City announced a £97.9m loss for 2011-12, raising fears they could breach governing body Uefa’s regulations. Uefa’s FFP rules allow clubs [...]
Why football cannot ignore Europe’s new rules December 16, 2012 FOR those who aspire to be the next Sir Alex Ferguson, the Premier League’s fantasy football game offers the chance to build your own squad on a budget of £100m. Each fantasy manager has equally sized pockets, so the playing field is level. Thus, competition is fierce. Compare Premier League reality, where the elite maintain [...]
Lonmin’s chief will return after executive re-jig August 19, 2012 LONDON-listed miner Lonmin yesterday said its chief executive Ian Farmer will return to take the helm of the business despite a re-jig of executive responsibilities following his hospitalisation. Farmer, the well-respected chief executive of the firm, took leave of the day to day running of the business last Thursday after being hospitalised following a routine [...]