Blackstone in $500m North Sea investment in Siccar Point Energy August 31, 2014 Blackstone’s top Wall Street energy guru drove through his first major deal yesterday since sweeping into the UK, as the private equity group said it would lead a half billion dollar investment in a new oil explorer and producer focused on the North Sea, Mustafa Siddiqui made the recent move to London to lead Blackstone’s [...]
London’s philanthropists recognise the long-term value they can generate October 5, 2014 Lord mayors have been involved in philanthropy for many centuries, and my predecessors founded some of the greatest charitable ventures existing today – from schools and hospitals to water conservation and sanitation. They knew, as we do, that the sucesss of London and the UK depends on the strength and sustainability of our communities and [...]
Independence referendum: Lloyds, Standard Life and Clydesdale Bank say they’ll quit Scotland if it votes yes September 10, 2014 Lloyds, Standard Life and the Clydesdale Bank are planning to quit Scotland and move their headquarters to London if voters back independence in next week’s referendum, the firms said yesterday. RBS is also planning to move to the City, Treasury sources said. The contingency plans are aimed at reassuring investors they will be able to continue normal [...]
Six charts showing why the UK needs to build more homes September 22, 2014 The housing market is hotly watched recently with prices rising and demand under constant observation. There were 21.9 per cent fewer house completions in England during 2013/14 than there were in 2003/4, while demand for house in London has driven the average price north of £500,000. These are just some of the results of analysis [...]
NS&I tells competitors to suck it up June 17, 2014 Pensioners are getting an extra bonus next year courtesy of George Osborne, and building societies fear it will sink their products. The new retirement bonds will be run by NS&I (National Savings and Investments), who run premium bonds and other savings products – and they have little sympathy for their commercial rivals. But [...]
Manchester City owners to invest £1bn in 6,000-home project June 25, 2014 Abu Dhabi United Group (ADUG), the private equity firm that owns Manchester City Football Club, is set to build 6,000 houses in Manchester in a deal worth £1bn. The development will be part of a 10-year agreement with Manchester City council which will see the rejuvenation of several of the city's previously run down areas, [...]
Sir Richard Lambert shoots down bankers’ oath proposal as “hot air” July 29, 2014 Forcing bankers to swear an oath to behave properly was “just hot air” and could even backfire, undermining standards in the sector, Sir Richard Lambert said yesterday. The City grandee is leading an effort to reform banking standards. He was responding to proposals from think tank ResPublica, which had called for an oath to make bankers [...]
Asda steals market share as like-for-likes edge up August 14, 2014 Like-for-like sales at Asda edged up 0.5 per cent for the 10 weeks to June 30, with the supermarket building market share by 0.14 per cent year-on-year. The Walmart-owned grocer – which is currently going through a major restructure involving 1,360 job cuts – said growth demonstrated it was “continuing to deliver on its [...]
Conversions to housing driving office shortage July 28, 2014 DEVELOPERS converting commercial property into private homes are helping to drive the sharpest decline in availability of non-residential buildings in at least 16 years. According to figures released today by the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS), there has been a rapid drop in the number of available commercial properties across the UK. A third [...]
Techcrunch Disrupt in London: City’s rising tech talent is the star of the show October 20, 2014 Some 1,500 investors, entrepreneurs and startups will go head to head at Old Billingsgate Market today and tomorrow as one of Silicon Valley’s biggest annual tech conferences lands in London for the first time. Techcrunch Disrupt promises to focus the world’s tech investment community on the capital’s top startups over the next two [...]