Advisers head to the Gulf as rumours swirl November 29, 2009 Aidan Birkett is beginning a week of intense negotiations as the full implications of Dubai World’s debt problems emerge. The managing director for corporate finance at Deloitte is leading the process to shore up Dubai World’s crippled finances. The state-owned property and financial conglomerate announced last week it needed a six-month respite from its debt [...]
Proposals out on living wills December 16, 2009 EMPLOYEES will be guaranteed the option of working out a notice period and clients promised swift access to their money in the event of a future high-profile investment bank failure, under the terms of proposed government legislation unveiled yesterday. City minister Lord Myners launched the consultation paper on so-called “living wills” – measures for an [...]
L&G puts LGC up for sale as DNA profiling to solve crime increases October 25, 2009 FORENSIC science group LGC, the company which helps with murder investigations and paternity testing, is up for sale. Legal & General Ventures, the private equity group, is selling it off for £200m, after acquiring it for £80m in 2003. It is a massive turnaround for the group – which was also involved in investigating the [...]
Unite seeks 150m for investment arm December 1, 2009 UNITE GROUP, the student housing developer and manager, said yesterday its investment arm USAF was raising £150m to expand its property portfolio, in the latest indication that the student property market is thriving despite the downturn. The group has already secured £133m of its target from investors, it said, and has also received applications for [...]
WHAT THE OTHER PAPERS SAY THIS MORNING November 12, 2009 FINANCIAL TIMES NATIONAL EXPRESS FACES EUROSTAR BILLNational Express could be saddled with a bill of up to £32m to cover losses made by Eurostar, the cross-Channel rail service. The indebted transport group, which gives up its lossmaking East Coast rail franchise tonight, is the leading shareholder in a consortium that manages the UK end of [...]
Nuclear sites get the all clear November 9, 2009 NUCLEAR POWER expansion got the go-ahead from the government yesterday, after energy secretary Ed Miliband named 10 approved sites in England and Wales for future power stations. Miliband said the list includes German utility RWE’s plans for Kirksanton, a site in Cumbria, which currently has no nuclear facilities. But he rejected EDF Energy’s proposal for [...]
Grant Thornton lags the Big Four November 19, 2009 GRANT THORNTON saw turnover fall four per cent over the past financial year as profit per partner dived nearly 20 per cent on costs related to its troublesome merger with rival Robson Rhodes. The fifth-biggest accountancy partnership said revenue fell 4.1 per cent to £378.2m in the year to 30 June. Chief executive Scott Barnes [...]
Big Four accountants retain hold over blue-chip audit jobs October 27, 2009 ATTEMPTS to inject more competition into firms that audit UK company books have suffered a setback as figures released yesterday showed the “Big Four” accountants maintaining their stranglehold on the sector. The Financial Reporting Council (FRC) set up a market participants group three years ago which made recommendations to spread this business more evenly. It [...]
BRITAIN SINKS EVER DEEPER INTO THE RED November 19, 2009 UK PUBLIC borrowing reached a record high in October, according to official figures published yesterday, revealing the state of public finances to be much worse than many economists feared. Borrowing ballooned by £11.4bn during October, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) said, around double the consensus forecast. National debt has spiralled to £829.7bn – equivalent [...]
Blacks to put itself through CVA September 27, 2009 Blacks Leisure Group, the outdoor goods retailer, is intending to go through a company voluntary arrangement (CVA) to secure its survival. The move would include cutting around 400 jobs, and losing 80 of its 400 Blacks, Millets and Free Spirit stores. KPMG will lead the CVA process as Blacks looks to secure its future.