The commercial property king who says the City is ready for take-off November 2, 2010 Land Securities’ chief executive leaps from behind his desk, bounding across his seventh floor office overlooking Trafalgar Square as he welcomes City A.M. – after years of stagnation, the country’s biggest property developer is on the move again – and it certainly seems to have put a spring in Francis Salway’s step. Last week, the FTSE [...]
Ensuring the UK remains open for business November 14, 2010 The new Lord Mayor of the City of London will this evening outline his vision for creating a City of Choice AS THE new Lord Mayor of the City of London, I am well aware that decisions taken at home, in Europe and indeed across the world during the course of the next 12 months [...]
Brit Insurance accepts £888m offer from Apollo and CVC October 26, 2010 Brit Insurance has accepted a formal offer from buyout firms Apollo Management and CVC Capital Partners after recommending an approach which values Brit at up to £888m. Lloyd’s of London insurers, which offer cover against large-scale risks such as natural disasters, have emerged as potential takeover targets because cyclically low insurance prices have weighed heavily [...]
City sees lift in financial services poll September 26, 2010 THE financial services sector grew at faster rate in the past three months than any time since June 2007 – but the increasing burden of regulation is hitting businesses hard, a CBI-led report warned today. A poll carried out by the CBI in tandem with professional services firm PwC revealed an increasingly upbeat City with [...]
Mouchel calls in Deloitte as austerity bites December 2, 2010 MOUCHEL yesterday confirmed Deloitte has been drafted in to examine how far the firm’s future income could drop, sparking fears it could follow Connaught and Rok into administration. The engineering consulting and design group has been rocked by swingeing cuts in government spending, resulting in the haemorrhaging of contract income. Deloitte was called in by [...]
CITY MOVES | WHO’S SWITCHING JOBS October 25, 2010 Lazard The financial advisory and asset management firm has hired Fotis Hasiotis as co-head of the European financial sponsors group, based in London. Hasiotis joins from Bank of America Merrill Lynch, where he was head of EMEA financial sponsors. He originally joined Merrill’s New York team in 2004 from CIBC World Markets, later moving to [...]
FTSE hits a five month closing high, led by banks, miners and oil stocks October 5, 2010 STRONGER banking and commodity shares helped drive Britain’s top share index to a more than five-month closing high yesterday, after encouraging US economic data gave a boost to markets. The FTSE 100 closed 79.79 points, or 1.4 per cent, higher at 5,635.76, its highest closing level since 26 April, after a 0.7 per cent fall [...]
The rise of 3D January 9, 2011 STEVE DINNEEN REVIEWS THE MAJOR TRENDS THAT DOMINATED THE AGENDA AT THE CONSUMER ELECTRONICS SHOW THE technology world will remember 2011 as the year that 3D went mainstream. Every major electronics manufacturer made 3D the centre of their displays and its presence was ubiquitous throughout the show. Sony predicted 3D will become as accepted as [...]
FTSE led lower as Smiths Group and banks fall despite gains by Unilever September 27, 2010 THE FTSE 100 closed down 25.06 points, or 0.5 per cent, at 5,573.42, after gaining 1.6 per cent last week, with Smiths Group out of favour while Unilever rose after a US acquisition. Broker recommendation and target price changes were behind some of the individual equity moves. Smiths shed 1.6 per cent after Bank of [...]
Carlyle launches student housing investment push September 27, 2010 CARLYLE Group, the private equity firm known for its large-scale investments in the defence industry, yesterday sealed a joint venture deal with Generation Estates, kickstarting its next big push in the student accommodation sector. Carlyle, led by co-founder David Rubenstein, and Generation said they had acquired one site in Highbury and Islington and are progressing [...]