Hugh Osmond returning to the market January 24, 2010 THE founder of pub chain Punch Taverns is returning to the market to raise up to £500m for an investment vehicle aimed at buying distressed companies and funds. Hugh Osmond, who also floated Pizza Express, is joining other City heavyweights to launch Horizon, which will try to raise the cash via a public offering on [...]
Man Utd bond deal slammed February 2, 2010 MANCHESTER United’s controversial £500m bond issue was last night slammed as the worst performing launch of the past two years. The bond, which is part denominated in sterling and partly in US dollars, has seen its price slide to 93p in the pound following worries over the club’s high debts and volatile revenue profile. The [...]
Alternative exchanges give traders an edge March 8, 2010 ANOTHER shake-up of London’s trading landscape is underway after the London Stock Exchange (LSE) announced on Monday that it would sell 9 per cent of Turquoise, its European trading facility, to three investment banks. Barclays, JP Morgan Cazenove and Nomura each bought a 3 per cent stake of Turquoise for £1m. The multiple owners of [...]
Soco raises £102m to fund drilling in Congo and Vietnam January 20, 2010 OIL explorer Soco International raised £102m in a share sale yesterday, to allow it to repay holders of a convertible bond due in May, while advancing a busy drilling programme. The shares were placed at a two per cent discount to the market price at 1,410p and, according to those close to the placing, they [...]
AMBITIOUS SQUARE MILE LADIES APPOINT THEIR NEW AMBASSADOR March 8, 2010 MUCH has been made of the significance of today – International Women’s Day – for ladies in the City, so it seems fitting that the appointment of the latest high-flying president of the City Women’s Network (CWN) has been timed to coincide with the festivities. India Gary-Martin, the new president, is one of the best-known [...]
New Look to float on stock exchange February 2, 2010 BUDGET High Street fashion chain New Look is planning to float on the stock exchange in a bid to raise £650m. The company, owned by Permira and Apax, said that new shares would be used to pay down debts and help bankroll its expansion plans. It said that a secondary sell-down by existing shareholders was [...]
JP Morgan leads bank equity tables July 2, 2009 JP MORGAN was the leading bank in global equity capital markets (ECM) in the first half of 2009, with a 14.6 per cent share of revenues, according to figures released by Dealogic yesterday. The investment bank’s ECM revenues of $1.3bn (£800m) were boosted by its role as joint bookrunner for HSBC’s $19.6bn rights issue. However, [...]
Banking bosses divided over Tory plans for sector reform January 19, 2010 BANKING bosses are divided over George Osborne’s plans to overhaul regulation of the industry, City A.M. has learned. The shadow chancellor met twelve banking bosses for lunch yesterday for what one source at the meeting described as a “full and frank” exchange of views. Those in attendance included HSBC chairman Stephen Green, Barclays chairman Marcus [...]
CITY MOVES | WHO’S SWITCHING JOBS February 22, 2010 KPMG The accountancy giant has appointed Michelle Quest as its new head of people in the UK, having spent the past 13 years of her career at the firm. Quest joined KPMG from Robson Rhodes in 1997 and became an M&A tax partner in the tax and people services practice in 2003. She takes over [...]
Petrofac will create new oil colossus March 4, 2010 OIL services group Petrofac will buy-up a string of North Sea fields as it prepares to float a new venture with Sweden’s Lundin Petroleum. The new company, named EnQuest, is expected to crash straight into the FTSE 250 and have a market capitalisation of $1bn (£669m). EnQuest will become one of the ten biggest oil [...]