Clipper Round the World Yacht Race sailors veering from austerity to global QE bid July 14, 2014 Clipper Round the World Yacht Race sailors were splashing the champagne about as they arrived back in London over the weekend after a 40,000 mile round the world race. With entrants from firms including Goldman Sachs, UBS, Credit Suisse and HSBC, critics might label this sprinkling of sparkling as City excess. But organisers [...]
Mike Coupe: Three things you didn’t know about Sainsbury’s CEO July 14, 2014 Chief executive of Sainsbury’s Mike Coupe 1 He describes himself as a “keen but average guitarist” and prepared for his new job by going to Glastonbury with his wife. 2 He enjoys cycling and recently completed the London to Brighton race in aid of the British Heart Foundation 3 He has a cat called Gretchen, [...]
Business figures get behind Maggie’s campaign July 14, 2014 City figures such as Centrica’s Sam Laidlaw and Gerald Kaye of Helical Bar, have got together to back a £5m scheme to build a new cancer care centre in the centre of the capital’s banking district. The scheme for St Barts Hospital, put forward by charity Maggie’s at Bart’s request, will be presented to the [...]
Could the City get its own Wolf of Wall Street? July 10, 2014 Wolf of Wall Street and just plain Wall Street have created classic depictions of the financial industry’s New York seat, but what about a cinematic romp through Canada? Well, Geraint Anderson, the former City analyst-turned-spill-his-guts-author, who has dedicated his last few years to blowing the lid on the City’s biggest [...]
Bankers dash for the cash in Standard Chartered’s 5k race July 10, 2014 Some 6,500 City workers ran through the streets of the Square Mile last night, not to All Bar One for first dibs on Thursday drinks, but as part of Standard Chartered’s annual 5k Great City Race. The rain held off as teams from firms such as Investec, KMPG, Lloyd’s of London, PwC and [...]
Sainsbury’s bids adieu to its cherished King July 9, 2014 Hundreds of Sainsbury’s shareholders gathered in Queen Elizabeth Hall yesterday for the Great Justin King Love-in, otherwise billed as the supermarket’s AGM. Van Morrison was blaring, there were “Goodbye Justin” t-shirts and the hall was packed with shareholders eager to bid farewell to their King (as it was actually his last day on the job). [...]
Arty Labour off to Roundhouse for Election Gala Dinner July 9, 2014 The Roundhouse in Camden forewent its usual crowd of thesps and music fans last night to welcome Labour and its wealthy friends and for a night of social spending. Stephen Fry delighted crowds with his hosting skills, as big ticket objects were auctioned off, including a sculpture by Antony Gormley (with a reserve price of [...]
Ex-Gowex chief Jenaro Garcia Martin turns to Kipling for staff apology July 8, 2014 JFK once said “when power leads man toward arrogance, poetry reminds him of his limitations”. Could these words have been swirling around Let’s Gowex founder Jenaro Garcia Martin’s mind when he turned to Kipling to apologise to staff on Tuesday? An email sent to staff of the insolvent Spanish Wi-Fi firm, to garner forgiveness for [...]
Barclaycard boss David Chan enjoys a very different kind of board meeting July 8, 2014 Coming up against a chess grandmaster must have been pretty nerve-wracking for Barclaycard Europe’s chief exec David Chan – lucky for him, however, he was allowed to blindfold the chess genius first. The bizarre match took place in the Houses of Parliament earlier this week in celebration of the Yes2Chess championship, an initiative developed by [...]
In pictures: Vestra Wealth in bloom at Hampton Court Flower Show but don’t mention Chelsea July 7, 2014 The Chelsea Flower Show preview night has become one of the biggest soirees on the City calendar, with attendees almost as likely to buy companies as chrysanthemums – but what of last night’s Hampton Court Flower Show preview? Vestra Wealth is sponsoring a garden this year and held its preview drinks reception last night [...]
