Lloyds launches a thirty-year sterling bond September 15, 2010 LLOYDS Banking Group launched a rare 30-year senior sterling bond yesterday, capitalising on the upbeat tone of the credit markets and on demand from pension funds and insurers for long-dated sterling assets. The bond deal is the bank’s first ever sterling issue with a 30-year maturity, an official with the bank said. Initial guidance on [...]
Northern and Greencore agree merger November 17, 2010 FOOD retailers Greencore and Northern Foods revealed plans to merge yesterday, in a deal that will produce one of the biggest chilled food players in the UK. The firms, responsible for Goodfella’s pizzas, Fox’s biscuits and the Weight Watchers range, will be rebranded Essenta once the proposed tie-up is complete in March 2011. Management said [...]
Northern and Greencore agree merger November 17, 2010 FOOD retailers Greencore and Northern Foods revealed plans to merge yesterday, in a deal that will produce one of the biggest chilled food players in the UK. The firms, responsible for Goodfella’s pizzas, Fox’s biscuits and the Weight Watchers range, will be rebranded Essenta once the proposed tie-up is complete in March 2011. Management said [...]
NAB sees UK profits double October 27, 2010 THE owner of Clydesdale and Yorkshire Banks announced a rise in full year pre-tax profits of over 50 per cent yesterday after it advanced £4.7bn in mortgages and wrote down fewer bad debts. National Australia Bank (NAB) said lending had been subdued in the year to 30 September but that it was “firmly on track” [...]
CITY MOVES | WHO’S SWITCHING JOBS October 12, 2010 Virgin Atlantic The airline has appointed its chief financial officer Julie Southern as chief commercial officer, a newly-created board position. Southern will now take responsibility for all aspects of growing the airline. She originally joined Virgin Atlantic a decade ago from Porsche Cars Great Britain, where she was group finance director. Current finance director Tim [...]
BarCap to cut hundreds of jobs in an effort to cut costs August 10, 2010 BARCLAYS Capital is expected to announce hundreds of redundancies as early as today, affecting back office staff across the firm’s global operations. It is understood the layoffs are intended to cut costs to compensate for a sharp fall in market activity in the second quarter. The investment banking arm was responsible for around 87 per [...]
RUBENS AND CHARLES I WATCH LUXURY GONGS November 15, 2010 THE great and good of the British luxury brands industry gathered for one of the biggest events of the year last night, as its lobbying group, Walpole, held its annual awards. In Whitehall’s Banqueting Hall, under the glow of a delicately lit ceiling of Rubens masterpieces and near the site where King Charles I was [...]
RUBENS AND CHARLES I WATCH LUXURY GONGS November 15, 2010 THE great and good of the British luxury brands industry gathered for one of the biggest events of the year last night, as its lobbying group, Walpole, held its annual awards. In Whitehall’s Banqueting Hall, under the glow of a delicately lit ceiling of Rubens masterpieces and near the site where King Charles I was [...]
Barclays will defer rewards January 24, 2010 SENIOR Barclays figures including chief executive John Varley and president Bob Diamond will have their bonuses deferred over three years. In a move to pre-empt public outcry over bumper payouts, Barclays’ 11-strong executive committee and other top staff will take their bonuses mostly in shares, up to 100 per cent of which will be staggered [...]
Banks in bid to boost lending October 13, 2010 Britain’s biggest banks have outlined a raft of measures to boost lending to small businesses, including a £1.5bn growth fund, in a bid to counter suggestions they are not doing enough to nurture the recovery. HSBC, Barclays, Royal Bank of Scotland, Lloyds Banking Group, Standard Chartered and the UK operations of Santander will contribute to [...]