Steve Varley: The boss doing the running for EY October 1, 2014 No celebrations for EY Britain’s boss, Steve Varley, despite a 8.6pc rise in turnover. Steve Varley, head of EY’s British arm, laughs nervously. After three years at the helm, the Yorkshireman has clear, almost PR-perfect soundbite answers to any question about the business. The one that has flummoxed him is how he and [...]
Co-op Bank takes to ink in bid to win back consumers with tattoo ethics vow September 30, 2014 The Co-op Bank is launching a new series of adverts aimed at rebuilding its brand as an ethical lender, starting on TV tonight. Its reputation took a blow last year when it was bailed out by hedge fund investors. The Co-op Bank is thought to have been one of the losers of the seven-day current [...]
City Moves for 29 September 2014 | Who’s switching jobs September 28, 2014 Deloitte The business advisory firm has announced two appointments to its hedge fund practice. Chris Farkas (pictured) joins as UK hedge fund leader. He was European head of hedge fund consulting in Deutsche Bank’s prime brokerage group, and has also held senior roles at GlobeOp and Goldman Sachs. Brian Forrester, a partner with Deloitte in [...]
Britain’s biggest companies call on Westminster for fundamental business rates reform September 16, 2014 Some of Britain's biggest businesses including Marks & Spencer, Sainsbury's, Tesco, General Motors and Tata Steel have called on the government to rip up the current business rate regime claiming the current system is “a critical problem for all of British business”. The controversial tax delivers around £25bn to the Treasury every year, but [...]
Most bank branches could close over the next 10 to 20 years September 11, 2014 Most bank branches could close over the next 10 to 20 years, shaking up the whole landscape of British banking – and the high street – industry analysts predicted yesterday. In a decade, a bank could serve the whole UK with just 500 branches, Deutsche Bank analysts forecast. Right now Lloyds Banking Group has more [...]
Co-operative Group hires City headhunters to find board members September 7, 2014 The Co-operative has kicked off its search for a new chair by appointing City headhunters Odgers Berndtson to grill potential applicants for the high profile role. The mutual, currently chaired by Co-op insider Ursula Lidbetter, is hunting for the first independent chairman in its 150-year history in the wake of radical governance reforms voted through [...]
Co-operative Group promises return to form after torrid time September 4, 2014 The Co-operative Group yesterday said it was poised to get the battered mutual back on track after returning to profit this year. The retail-to-funeral care provider said income for the six months ending 5 July was £116m, compared to a £1bn loss during the same period last year. The 150-year-old business also announced [...]
Co-operative Group is back in profit as it confirms Richard Pennycook as chief executive September 4, 2014 The troubled Co-operative Group has made interim chief executive Richard Pennycook will take on the role full-time. Pennycook was promoted from his position of chief financial officer in March after the surprise resignation of Euan Sutherland. His appointment is likely to give the group's investors – including the hedge fund owners of its banking arm [...]
Co-operative Group sells cash security arm Sunwin for £41.5m September 2, 2014 Alright, for a corporate deal it is hardly a princely sum – but the Co-operative Group has taken another step along the road to filling its £1.5bn capital hole by selling its Sunwin Services Group to Cardtronics for £41.5m The company, which transports and provides security for cash and has 1,500 workers and 14 regional [...]
Co-operative Group members vote for wide-ranging reforms August 31, 2014 THE CO-OPERATIVE Group’s members overwhelmingly backed a major reform plan this weekend, following the crisis in the mutual’s governing structure. The reforms were a watered-down version of those proposed by former City minister Lord Myners. More than 80 per cent of voting members approved the changes, which reduce the power of elected board members, following [...]