Boutique banking with an entrepreneurial itch January 13, 2013 MOST people would laugh at someone in their mid-twenties with ambitions of launching their own investment bank. That was the reaction Manish Madhvani received. But with partner Hugh Campbell, the two bankers shrugged off scepticism and, in 1999, founded GP Bullhound, a boutique investment bank giving mergers and acquisition advice and raising capital for tech [...]
Wolfson’s winter jumpers keep Next hot as M&S plays catch-up October 31, 2012 MY mum used to buy me a jumper from M&S for Christmas every year. Now she goes to Next.” My colleague’s admission may have raised a laugh yesterday, but it’s a telling sign of the changing times on the UK high street. Looking at Next’s upbeat statement – predicting a £15m increase in profit for [...]
The wild, wonderful tale of the Bentley Boys December 7, 2012 When Bentley unleashes its Continental GT3 racer next year, it will be the first time for generations that owners will be able to join a Bentley racing team. This raises the mouth-watering prospect we could be looking at a whole new generation of Bentley Boys; flamboyant, wealthy and talented gentlemen racers of an ilk not [...]
Housing market gets brief boost March 14, 2012 ACTIVITY jumped in the housing market in January as first-time buyers rushed to beat the end of the stamp duty holiday this month, but house prices fell in January according to government data. Figures from the Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML) showed a 23 per cent rise in lending to first-time buyers compared with January [...]
CRASH PADS May 24, 2012 For the City’s movers and shakers, it’s the million pound question: do you live in the town centre and save yourself hours of tedious, stressful commuting, safe in the knowledge that you own property in one of the world’s cultural hubs? Or, do you move to the commuter belt, get yourself a bigger house with [...]
First time buyer mortgages rise June 9, 2011 The number of mortgages available to first time buyers has nearly trebled in the last two years, according to the website Moneyfacts. Today there are 183 deals for people looking to get on to the property ladder, compared to just 62 this time in 2009.
What the other papers say this morning September 25, 2012 FINANCIAL TIMES Temasek considers StanChart stake Singapore investment fund Temasek has sounded out potential buyers for its £6bn stake in Standard Chartered, potentially reigniting talk of a takeover of the emerging markets bank. The fund, which is owned by the Singapore government, had been judging buyer interest for its 18 per cent shareholding in recent [...]
Private buyout deals reach a four-year high September 30, 2012 PRIVATE equity buyouts in the UK are returning to pre-financial crisis levels, with buyout leverages and deals worth over £1bn at their highest point since 2008, data released today reveals. Figures from the Centre for Management Buyout Research shows that three buyout deals have surpassed the £1bn mark this year, the first time this has [...]
The subprime mortgage crisis isn’t over – UK taxpayers remain liable June 7, 2012 THE subprime mortgage crisis isn’t over. On the back of misguided government policies, taxpayers in the US and UK remain on the hook for huge sums. The ideology of affordable housing must end. It took just 13 years to destroy the American mortgage market with devastating effects for the rest of the world. The process began [...]
No mercy from Van Persie against old friends November 1, 2012 MANCHESTER UNITED VS ARSENAL Tomorrow 12.45pm IT was a harsh lesson learned by the Arsenal fans who left the Madejski Stadium early during the Gunners’ incredible Capital One Cup comeback against Reading. But if the scoring at Old Trafford tomorrow lunchtime resembles anything like the pattern it followed when they last visited Manchester United, then [...]