Lessons of the crisis loom large for challenger November 21, 2013 Metro Bank’s Craig Donaldson is determined not to make the same mistakes as the big banks METRO Bank has made a splash since it was granted a banking licence just over three years ago. When it launched in 2010 the new lender was the first to the high street in more than 100 years – [...]
City Matters: Stable and predictable regulation is key to safeguarding the future of finance October 6, 2013 PARTY conference season has typically been a testing period for the City of London – and in particular for the banking industry – over the last few years. Thankfully, however, this year saw the focus shift at least partially away from bankers, as the spotlight turned towards other sectors that are currently public (and political) [...]
London Report: Recovery looks on track in busy reporting week November 3, 2013 SERVICES figures due out this week, plus the latest updates on industrial and manufacturing production, look set to show continued recovery for the British economy. “September’s industrial production figures are likely to show that overall output partially recovered from its surprise 1.1 per cent monthly fall in August,” said Martin Beck, of Capital Economics. “Manufacturing [...]
Investors scramble for Royal Mail shares October 8, 2013 ROYAL Mail last night shut the order book on its historic £3.3bn privatisation, with the postal service’s 497-year stint as a public body set to end when it joins the London Stock Exchange on Friday. Unprecedented demand has seen hundreds of thousands of retail investors scrambling for shares in the massively oversubscribed state sell-off, the biggest [...]
Sorry to be a party-pooper, but this is the wrong kind of growth October 31, 2013 EVEN the Bank of England sometimes makes mistakes. It was forced to correct its most recent data on consumer borrowing yesterday, in a development that confirmed what many of us feared all along: credit is beginning to surge dangerously. Yes, the economy has rebounded; but in many ways we are seeing the wrong kind of [...]
Inside Track: London is ready and waiting for the Royal Mail flotation September 24, 2013 THE FORTHCOMING privatisation of Royal Mail is the biggest post-financial crisis test so far of the market for new issues in London, which was virtually closed for business just a couple of years ago. In the years following the financial crisis, London became a notoriously difficult place on which to list shares in a new [...]
French court orders DIY shops to close on Sunday September 27, 2013 The companies affected were Castorama a subsidiary of Kingfisher with over 12,000 employees and 105 stores and Leroy Merlin 53,000 employees in 2010 and 300 stores. A total of 15 stores will be closed on Sunday in the Paris area. The case came to court due to a complaint by Bricorama, another DIY retailer which [...]
Conviviality Retail buys Wine Rack September 2, 2013 Conviviality Retail, the Bargain Booze chain owner that recently listed on Aim, has bought a London-based off-licence chain to boost its footprint in the capital. The north west-based company announced yesterday it has acquired Wine Rack and its 22 stores for £1.65m in cash. Conviviality, which runs over 610 convenience stores, raised around £64m in [...]
Police can intensify the fight against crime with private sector expertise September 26, 2013 THE ECONOMIC crisis has had a lasting effect on London. Much has been negative. But less well-known is that, with the government determined to cut the deficit, the public and private sectors are increasingly finding common ground, by working together in unique and integrated new ways. London’s police force is a case in point. I [...]
How Martin Gilbert is poised to challenge the US giants February 2, 2014 A painful experience in the past has helped Aberdeen Asset Management build for the future. Its CEO tells David Hellier how his latest deal can be a catalyst for US expansion WHEN Martin Gilbert and his board first discussed the acquisition of Scottish Widows Investment Partnership (SWIP) from Lloyds last March, they turned the deal [...]