Minerva hits back at rebel shareholder December 2, 2009 PROPERTY FIRM Minerva yesterday published a hard-hitting rebuttal to South African entrepreneur Nathan Kirsh’s £84.5m takeover bid, urging its shareholders to reject the “woeful” offer. Minerva chief executive Salmaan Hasan said the timing of the 50p per share bid from Kirsh’s vehicle KiFin, launched on 17 November was “opportunistic” and a “wholly inadequate” attempt to [...]
CITY MOVES WHO’S SWITCHING JOBS December 1, 2009 RBC Capital MarketsRBC Capital Markets, the corporate and investment banking arm of Royal Bank of Canada, yesterday announced that it had hired Simon Ballard as a director and senior credit strategist in London. Ballard, who will be based in RBC’s London office, has over 20 years of credit experience, including roles at ABN AMRO Asset [...]
West End rent is the highest in the world December 1, 2009 LONDON’S West End has regained its title as the most expensive place in the world to rent an office, overtaking Tokyo in the past six months as the recovery in demand for space begins to take hold. Despite recording an annual tumble in rents of nearly 18 per cent, banking and finance companies are increasing [...]
Bank of China moves into One Lothbury November 26, 2009 THE Bank of China, the world’s fourth largest bank, yesterday signed an £86m deal for the prestigious City building One Lothbury. The Bank of China, which currently occupies 48,000 sq ft at 90 Cannon Street, will move between 250 and 300 of its UK staff into its new flagship office, with the hope of expanding [...]
Jump in sale and leasebacks November 23, 2009 CORPORATE sale and leaseback transactions have maintained a prominent role in the European property investment market despite the slump, property firm CBRE said yesterday. The sale and leaseback market has grown from six per cent of the overall European property market in 2004 to 19 per cent in 2008. CBRE said that the attraction stems [...]
CITY MOVES WHO’S SWITCHING JOBS November 17, 2009 Neptune Investment ManagementThe fund management boutique has appointed Robert Pickering, the former chief executive of blue-blooded bank JP Morgan Cazenove, to its board of directors. Pickering qualified as a solicitor with Allen & Overy in 1984 and joined Cazenove the following year. He spent a total of 23 years with the firm and was appointed [...]
CITY MOVES WHO’S SWITCHING JOBS November 3, 2009 Gleacher ShacklockThe corporate advisory firm has appointed Peter Alcaraz as a senior adviser, effective from next spring.Alcaraz, who will be tasked with helping to develop the firm’s franchise in the services sector, joins from Close Brothers Corporate Finance, where he was most recently a managing director and head of the services sector team. He has [...]
CITY MOVES WHO’S SWITCHING JOBS November 3, 2009 Gleacher ShacklockThe corporate advisory firm has appointed Peter Alcaraz as a senior adviser, effective from next spring.Alcaraz, who will be tasked with helping to develop the firm’s franchise in the services sector, joins from Close Brothers Corporate Finance, where he was most recently a managing director and head of the services sector team. He has [...]
CBRE profits back in black after losses October 29, 2009 CB Richard Ellis, the world’s biggest property management firm, yesterday missed analyst forecasts for its third quarter results but posted a return to profit. The group – which has worked on the City’s biggest property deals including Macquarie’s move to Drapers Gardens and Nomura’s return to the Thameside Watermark Place – posted a 69 per [...]
Glass ceiling hasn’t been smashed yet October 29, 2009 BRITAIN has slipped to 15th in the international league table for gender equality, it emerged yesterday, as a number of high-profile City women told City A.M. that they believed that glass ceiling still exists. Britain has slid to 15th place, down from 9th in 2006 for gender equality, according to the World Economic Fund. Top [...]