What the other papers say this morning January 25, 2011 FINANCIAL TIMES RUSSIANS PREPARE FOR LISTING SPREE IN LONDON Four industrial and mining companies from Russia are set to list in London within the next few weeks, the first in a string of companies from the country rushing to raise an estimated $15bn-$20bn (£9.5bn-£12.7bn) this year. The companies are taking advantage of a narrow window [...]
OFT to probe UK’s private health sector December 14, 2010 THE UK’s lucrative £5.5bn private healthcare market is to come under scrutiny from market watchdog the Office of Fair Trading (OFT), it announced yesterday. The regulator has opened a consultation into whether the market for private hospitals and medical procedures offer customers enough choice and value, ahead of a full investigation in early 2011. As [...]
The City is a vital component in UK prosperity October 10, 2010 Now that we have reached the end of the 2010 Party Conference season, it is perhaps time to take a step back and reflect on some of the rhetoric directed at the City in a calm, rational manner. The hostile political environment facing financial services is – to a degree – understandable given the public [...]
Tour operators may see their bad luck end August 15, 2010 FIRST there is a global recession and rising unemployment to put people off booking a holiday, then, just when it looks like the economy has turned a corner, a giant volcanic ash cloud drifts from Iceland and disrupts flights for more than two weeks. UK tour operators have had a dismal 2010 and the extent [...]
London hotels outstrip their country rivals February 28, 2010 LONDON’S hotel sector is beginning to see signs of economic recovery after taking a hit from the recession, while the UK’s provinces continue to experience difficulties. According to new research by professional services company PricewaterhouseCooper (PwC), revenue per available room is projected to grow by three per cent this year and five per cent in [...]
Arena profits up after media deals March 1, 2010 ARENA Leisure – the UK’s biggest racecourse operator – has seen pre-tax profit rise three per cent to £4.1m. The group received a boost from a new media rights deal and £55m of new banking facilities arranged with Lloyds Banking Group. Revenues jumped to £65.2m, up from £64.8m in the year to 31 December. Pre-tax [...]
UK skies are crystal clear for light planes April 19, 2010 WHILE the cloud of Icelandic ash has kept most of Europe’s airliners firmly on the ground, anyone with an interest in flying smaller aircraft will have noticed the volcanic activity has not interrupted all sections of aviation. Many light aircraft even took advantage of the empty skies over the weekend to fly through controlled airspace [...]
More pain for restaurants as firms cut back on Christmas November 12, 2009 THE number of restaurants falling into insolvency is set to rise again next year after one of the quietest corporate Christmases on record. The industry’s woes over the financial crisis have been well publicised by the difficulties experienced by the UK’s celebrity chefs. Gordon Ramsay revealed earlier this year that his restaurant empire had teetered [...]
WHAT THE OTHER PAPERS SAY THIS MORNING December 21, 2009 THE SUNDAY The Sunday Telegraph TEST FOR DEFENCE SPENDING PLEDGE The government’s pledge to direct £900m of defence spending into better equipment for Afghanistan will be tested next month when it announces the replacement for the controversial Snatch Land Rover. The Ministry of Defence (MoD) is understood to be choosing between four vehicles, and industry experts say the [...]
Construction firms accused of bid rigging September 22, 2009 CONSUMER watchdog the Office of Fair Trading (OFT) yesterday dealt out fines adding up to £129.5m to some of the UK’s biggest building companies, punishing them for colluding while bidding for work on projects such as hospitals, schools and housing refurbishments. Balfour Beatty, Carillion, Connaught, Interserve, Kier and Galliford Try were among the 112 named [...]