Dubai property titan backs laws ahead of float November 4, 2013 ONE OF Dubai’s biggest property firms yesterday said tougher regulations in the country would help prevent a repeat of its 2008 real estate meltdown, as it unveiled plans to raise $500m in a London float. Damac Properties, which was founded by chairman Hussain Sajwani and is the biggest developer in the middle east, said recent [...]
Asset managers forced to break up fee bundles October 30, 2013 INVESTORS could get more control and more transparency over the fees they pay asset managers, under proposals unveiled by the City watchdog yesterday. Financial Conduct Authority boss Martin Wheatley said he is worried that trust in the sector is being undermined by a lack of openness on fees and charges. He said a consultation will [...]
Just Retirement launches £300m market listing October 17, 2013 LIFE INSURER Just Retirement yesterday became the latest UK company to tap buoyant stock markets after announcing plans to raise £300m in an initial public offering (IPO) The company, which goes head to head with recently floated insurer Partnership in offering enhanced annuities, will launch a road show in the UK and America in the [...]
Tech and media firms pile into central London October 16, 2013 TECHNOLOGY, media and telecoms companies have come out in force this year, snapping up 24 per cent more office space than both 2012 and 2011 respectively, according to property consultancy Colliers International. Take-up across central London stands at 2.9m square feet (sq ft) in the year to date, driven by major deals such as Google’s [...]
Merchant banks no longer rule the City but their influence hasn’t gone November 14, 2013 WHEN the First World War broke out, an interesting meeting took place in the City to assess its implications. It consisted of what were then known as accepting houses: the elite merchant banks who ruled the City with unquestioned command. Run by the sons of the gentry, they made their money by buying commercial IOUs [...]
Italian luxury group Moncler eyes £2bn float November 27, 2013 MONCLER, an Italian maker of luxury fur lined puffer jackets, yesterday announced plans to float on the Milan stock exchange, hoping to replicate the success of Brunello Cucinelli, the luxury retail group that went public in early 2012. Shares in Brunello Cucinelli are up more than 200 per cent since the group’s flotation. Moncler considered [...]
Scalpel tower makes the cut January 9, 2013 A NEW skyscraper, located at the junction of Lime Street and Leadenhall Street and dubbed “The Scalpel”, is expected to be given planning permission by the City of London Corporation early next week. Planning officers from the City of London Corporation this week recommended approval of the proposed 35-storey building, which will reach 190 metres [...]
A City pro is out to save pensions September 29, 2013 Venture capitalist Edi Truell is injecting private equity thinking to the public sector. Michael Bow hears why. THE HIGH-OCTANE arena of venture capital is not a natural fit for the sedate world of town hall pensions. But just tell that to Edi Truell, the venture capitalist tasked with shaking up London’s £4.6bn public sector pension [...]
Philanthropy in the City at JP Morgan awards February 7, 2013 TO the Lord Mayor’s Mansion House for JP Morgan’s eighth biennial Beacon Awards for Philanthropy. The Capitalist was pleased to see a City Philanthropy category introduced this year, especially to honour the City’s unsung philanthropes. Sponsored by the City of London Corporation’s charity, City Bridge Trust, three City Fellowships were given out – to chair [...]
Why the London Docklands hold the key to tackling the UK housing crisis October 1, 2013 HOW DO we solve Britain’s housing crisis? Ed Miliband has promised to see 200,000 homes built each year by 2020. But his pledge was linked to a misguided initiative to stop developers hoarding land (the Office for Fair Trading couldn’t find any evidence that this actually happens). The Tories, meanwhile, are bringing forward the second [...]