WHAT THE OTHER PAPERS SAY THIS MORNING November 29, 2009 THE SUNDAYSThe Sunday TelegraphRATE HIKE THREATENS EXISTENCE OF RURAL PETROL STATIONSHundreds of rural petrol stations face closure if an “outrageous” increase in business rates is pushed through next April, forecourt owners have warned. Owners of the UK’s 6,000 independent petrol stations will this week launch a major MP-backed campaign to urge a government body to [...]
WHAT THE OTHER PAPERS SAY THIS MORNING November 22, 2009 THE SUNDAYSThe Sunday TelegraphWOMEN DIRECTORS EARN 50PC LESS THAN MENFemale board directors in the FTSE 350 are being paid half as much as their male counterparts, new research has found. The average female board director took home £178,246 in salary, bonuses, benefits and pension contributions in the 2008-09 financial year, while the average male director [...]
A legal Big Bang is round the corner, but most City firms are unprepared November 17, 2009 Do lawyers have a good profile? “Compared with estate agents and gunrunners, then yes”, replies Ian Dodds, director of BarFutures, a barristers’ chambers. But, alas, compared with more worthy professions such as doctors and teachers “probably not”. Quentin Poole, senior partner at Wragge & Co, reckons if the question was put to him a couple [...]
BUSINESS LUMINARIES TOAST THEIR SUCCESS November 10, 2009 IT’S one thing to see the chancellor of the exchequer give up an entire evening to sit through a business awards ceremony, but quite another when he manages to have the audience in stitches during his speech as well. That’s right, folks: it seems that 18 months of surviving on a few hours sleep a [...]
RYANAIR’S CHIEF O’LEARY PROVES HIMSELF A SUCKER FOR PUBLICITY October 13, 2009 RYANAIR boss Michael O’Leary isn’t exactly renowned for taking criticism lying down, so the BBC’s Panorama programme will probably have seen yesterday’s tirade coming. After Monday evening’s programme on the airline, Ryanair unleashed a campaign to maximise publicity from the episode – offering 1.1m free flights, labelling the show a “hatchet job” and slamming 11 [...]
Co-operative enjoys mutual benefits October 12, 2009 THE CO-OPERATIVE Group, Britain’s biggest mutually owned retailer, yesterday reported a 17 per cent rise in profits, boosted by strong food sales and acquisitions. The Co-op, which bought rival food retailer Somerfield and the Britannia Building Society earlier in the year, said pre-tax profits had jumped to £229m in the six months to 25 July. [...]
CITY VIEWS: WOULD YOU EXPECT CO-OP BANK TO PROSPER IN THE DOWNTURN? October 12, 2009 CHRIS CLARKE BRITISH LAND FINDERS“It would be interesting to see where the people opening the new accounts are coming from. Are they people who cannot get accounts elsewhere, or is there a north/south divide? I think the man on the street probably sees that the Co-op is doing well and has not had any bad [...]
Private equity eyes up City law firms September 1, 2009 THE BELEAGUERED legal profession, says Jeremy Hand, managing partner of private equity firm Lyceum Capital, is facing “a fire-storm whipped up by the recession, smarter customers, technology, outsourcing and legislation”. If that wasn’t trouble enough, it’s also being forcibly opened up to competition that could arise from the so-called Tesco Law – the shorthand for [...]
Tories ahead, but more work still needed July 20, 2009 IN the main, yesterday’s Tory White Paper was a success. George Osborne is right to want to abolish the FSA and make the Bank of England responsible for financial stability. I’m delighted the Tories won’t be proposing a separation of investment and retail banks any time soon, and that any break-up of Lloyds or RBS [...]
Robert Wiseman bullish after milk contract wins July 9, 2009 SCOTTISH dairy group Robert Wiseman said yesterday performance for the first quarter rose 8.5 per cent on the same period last year, thanks to a number of new contract wins. The firm took on three large milk supply contracts with the Co-op and two Spar wholesalers, Cappers and Blakemore. Robert Wiseman plans to increase capacity [...]