London retail sales outpace UK thanks to sunshine and tourists July 19, 2009 RETAIL sales surged in central London last month thanks to the mini heatwave which sent shoppers racing for summer clothes, sandals and outdoor items, according to the latest survey from the British Retail Consortium (BRC) and KPMG. Research found like-for-like sales in June were 4.7 per cent higher than the same month in 2008 when [...]
Why holding its nerve has paid off for Britain’s top accountancy firm September 6, 2009 LOOKING out of the window of his Embankment office, Ian Powell points at the sky above the London Eye. “It’s a bit cloudy,” he says. “But there’s sun on the horizon.” The same could be said of the outlook for PricewaterhouseCoopers, the largest of the “big four” professional services firms, which Powell has chaired since [...]
Why holding its nerve has paid off for Britain’s top accountancy firm September 6, 2009 LOOKING out of the window of his Embankment office, Ian Powell points at the sky above the London Eye. “It’s a bit cloudy,” he says. “But there’s sun on the horizon.” The same could be said of the outlook for PricewaterhouseCoopers, the largest of the “big four” professional services firms, which Powell has chaired since [...]
Canary Wharf versus the City row is reignited July 12, 2009 THE departure of Japanese bank Nomura from Canary Wharf to the City has reignited the row between the two hubs over where the true heart of the financial sector lies. Nomura is quitting the Isle of Dogs for the new new 525,000 sq ft riverside City complex Watermark Place. But Canary Wharf achieved a coup [...]
CITY MOVES WHO’S SWITCHING JOBS August 6, 2009 LUUPTory MP Michael Howard has joined independent global mobile financial provider LUUP as chairman. The former home secretary is retiring from Parliament to develop an international business career. The position adds to his current business profile as chairman of Northern Racing, deputy chairman of Entrée Gold and a non-executive director of Helphire group. Tenon RecoveryTenon [...]
HORSES FOR COURSES FOR CITY RACING SET September 22, 2009 IT SEEMS barely a moment since the end of the horseracing season, but the City is already gearing up for the bevy of racehorse auction sales coming up over the next few weeks, starting with the Goffs Orby Sale in Ireland next week. Racing buffs might recall that sellers at the spring sales teamed up [...]
HORSES FOR COURSES FOR CITY RACING SET September 22, 2009 IT SEEMS barely a moment since the end of the horseracing season, but the City is already gearing up for the bevy of racehorse auction sales coming up over the next few weeks, starting with the Goffs Orby Sale in Ireland next week. Racing buffs might recall that sellers at the spring sales teamed up [...]
Nomura’s exit triggers AIG Wharf payout July 6, 2009 JAPANESE bank Nomura’s decision to ditch the former Lehman Brothers office and house its 3,600 employees in the City will trigger a rental insurance payout of up to £224m for Canary Wharf. As City A.M. revealed yesterday, Nomura has signed a deal to move into the riverside complex Watermark Place in 2010, meaning it will [...]
WHAT THE OTHER PAPERS SAY THIS MORNING June 17, 2009 FINANCIAL TIMES FEDEX SWINGS TO FOURTH-QUARTER LOSSFedEx executives told investors they believed the worst of the economic downturn was behind them. The note of optimism came during an otherwise sobering review of the package-delivery company’s fiscal fourth quarter, during which its net loss widened from a year earlier on goodwill writedowns, and the company warned [...]
City Moves who’s switching jobs May 25, 2009 WolseleyThe plumbers and builders merchant has appointed Michael Wareing, chief executive of accountancy firm KPMG, and Alain Le Goff, a former executive at consumer giant Reckitt Benckiser, as non-executive directors. Wareing, pictured, 55, joined KPMG in 1973 and became chief executive in 2005. Le Goff, 57, retired as executive vice president of supply at Reckitt [...]