SENIOR BERKELEY EXECUTIVE QUITS September 16, 2010 TONY CAREY (inset), a senior executive at building group Berkeley, has quit the company after 17 years. Carey led Berkeley’s St George business, which develops shops and mixed flats in central London. Last year Carey made £1m. His departure was sudden and took place with “immediate effect”, the firm said yesterday. A spokesman refused to [...]
Barratt beats forecasts but warns of dip September 8, 2010 HOUSEBUILDER Barratt Developments said concerns about the economy and the lack of mortgage finance meant the market for new housing was still challenging as it reported better-than-expected full-year profits. “It’s early days in the autumn-selling season but so far private reservation rates are in line with expectations and prices are holding up,” chief executive Mark [...]
DIY job for Berkeley chairman August 11, 2010 The boss of building group Berkeley took DIY to the extreme last year by calling in his own firm to carry out £1.32m worth of repair work on his luxury home. Tony Pidgley took advantage of the firm’s “own build scheme”, where employees can get good rates on construction work, according to the firm’s annual [...]
DIY job for Berkeley chairman August 11, 2010 The boss of building group Berkeley took DIY to the extreme last year by calling in his own firm to carry out £1.32m worth of repair work on his luxury home. Tony Pidgley took advantage of the firm’s “own build scheme”, where employees can get good rates on construction work, according to the firm’s annual [...]
WHAT THE OTHER PAPERS SAY THIS MORNING August 2, 2010 FINANCIAL TIMES LIVERPOOL FC AUCTION ATTRACTS GLOBAL INTEREST Global interest in the auction of Liverpool Football Club intensified on Monday with prospective bidders emerging from Hong Kong and the Middle East. Chinese sports entrepreneur Kenneth Huang has made an approach to Liverpool’s bankers Royal Bank of Scotland and US-based Wachovia seeking support for a deal, [...]
Claridge’s owner is close to loans deal August 1, 2010 THE OWNER of the five-star Claridge’s, Berkeley and Connaught hotels is close to a deal to refinance its £600m debts. Maybourne Hotel Group is in talks with Westbrook Partners, an American real estate investor, and another unidentified firm over selling a £200m stake in the hotelier. Maybourne has spent months seeking investors for the refinancing, [...]
Advisers will get a slice of the limelight July 8, 2010 ADVISING on Lord Levene and Sir David Walker’s new retail bank is a particularly lucrative piece of business for Cenkos and Kinmont, who have already been hard at work preparing the team for what one insider described as “a pugnacious couple of months” ahead. Cenkos corporate broker Paul Hodges has so far been instrumental in [...]
Claridge’s owner in talks with Deutsche Bank to refinance £610m of borrowings June 14, 2010 THE owner of some of London’s most luxurious hotels is in talks to refinance £610m of debt, it was confirmed yesterday. Maybourne Hotel Group, owner of the Claridge’s, Connaught and Berkeley hotels in London, is in talks with Deutsche Bank about a refinancing that needs to take place by the end of the year. The [...]
WHAT THE OTHER PAPERS SAY THIS MORNING June 13, 2010 THE SUNDAYS The Sunday Telegraph $2.6M BUFFETT LUNCH WON BY ANONYMOUS BIDDER A mystery benefactor has paid $2.6m (£1.8m) to meet with billionaire investor Warren Buffett for a business lunch. The Sage of Omaha auctioned his time in aid of a San Francisco charity. This year’s auction brought in 25 per cent more than any [...]
Gucci cuts into London luxury as its bosses quit London for Switzerland June 8, 2010 GUCCI Group’s chief executive Robert Polet has struck a blow to the UK’s standing in the world luxury goods market by quitting London for Switzerland. Polet, whose group includes high end fashion labels like Stella McCartney and Alexander McQueen, is relocating from Grafton Street, off Berkeley Square, to Cadempino, Switzerland, along with chief operating officer [...]