E-clear in administration as legal fight continues January 19, 2010 A HIGH Court judge yesterday granted an administration order against E-Clear, the company which dealt with the online ticket sales of collapsed travel firm Globespan. Mr Justice Vos, who made the ruling at a hearing in London, heard that E-Clear consented to the move. The action against the company was brought by business adviser PricewaterhouseCoopers [...]
Catalyst February 1, 2010 Steve Currie advised on the £44m sale of Minivator from Gresham to Handicare. He is a partner at finance house Catalyst and has over 15 years’ corporate finance experience working at private equity and corporate advisory firms. He recently advised on the management buyout at Farrow & Ball, which was funded by European Capital. He [...]
WHAT DOES THE CHANCELLOR’S BUDGET MEAN FOR YOU? March 24, 2010 KATE SOLWAY, 30 FUNDS CONTROLLER AT PRIVATE EQUITY FIRM COGNETAS Kate is single and lives in rented accommodation with flatmates. She also owns two investment properties – one a London flat with a mortgage which she rents out, and the other a holiday home under construction in Cape Verde, which she owns outright and will [...]
Private pay is stagnating as public soars January 20, 2010 PRIVATE sector pay is stagnating while public sector workers have received above-inflation pay rises, separate reports revealed yesterday. The Office for National Statistics (ONS) said average earnings in the private sector fell by 0.1 per cent in the three months to November from a year earlier. By contrast, pay in the public sector rose by [...]
Staycations hammer hotels January 25, 2010 Insolvency levels among hotels hit a high for the recession during the fourth quarter of 2009, according to the latest data from business advisers PricewaterhouseCoopers. Over the winter, the rate at which hospitality and leisure firms became insolvent rose 12 per cent. The increase was driven by a 68 per cent surge in hotel insolvencies [...]
Double dip recession and effects of tax crackdown top London business fears January 31, 2010 THE fear of a double-dip economic recession and concerns that the government’s tax crackdown will force talented individuals overseas have topped a list of major worries experienced by business leaders in London, according to a new survey. London’s top financiers and company executives are still fretting over a potential plunge back into recession, the research [...]
Media M&A deals reach dot com low but set for a surge this year January 17, 2010 MEDIA M&A activity dropped last year to its lowest level since the dot com crash, data from accountants PricewaterhouseCoopers shows today. Just 29 UK deals, worth a combined €2.7bn (£2.39bn), were completed in the sector last year, a drop of 36 per cent compared to 2008. But the firm predicts a surge in media deals [...]
CITY MOVES | WHO’S SWITCHING JOBS February 21, 2010 PricewaterhouseCoopers The accountancy giant has taken on banking veteran Martin Allison as a director to head up its debt advisory services team in the North. Allison started his career at NatWest before working his way up the ladder to become head of international banking services at RBS until 2008. He has recently pursued a more [...]
PwC called in as Intimas fails July 15, 2009 INTIMAS, the lingerie firm that produces brands including Ted Baker Intimates, has called in PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) as its administrator following prolonged trading woes. Chairman John Gibson, the 56-year old former Real Good Food Group boss, has called in PwC after the firm failed to secure new investment to save it from collapse. PwC joint administrator [...]
BANKER BASHING IS ‘JUST LOUSY ECONOMICS’ April 18, 2010 AT LONG last, the City’s beleaguered banking contingent has found itself a champion willing to stand up and state the bleedin’ obvious. Tim Morgan, the head of research at inter-dealer broker Tullett Prebon, on Friday put out a damning note condemning our politicians’ obsession with bashing the bankers and non-doms – and advising them to [...]