Grant Thornton boasts its fifth strong year but CEO Scott Barnes isn’t bragging October 5, 2014 Grant Thornton’s chief executive Scott Barnes is not a man given to extravagant outbursts. Today, the financial adviser’s yearly report boasts of “a fifth successive year of strong results”, with revenue breaking through the £500m mark it had targeted for next year. As Barnes took over as boss six years ago, that consecutive [...]
Consulting firm buyers predict a rise in deals October 5, 2014 BUYERS of consulting firms forecast six per cent growth in deals over the next two to three years, according to a new report from M&A advisory firm Equiteq. Nearly a third of the 100 buyers of consulting firms that were surveyed said they expected their growth to come through acquisitions rather than organically and the [...]
Most of London’s mansion tax properties are flats October 2, 2014 Three quarters of London properties which would fall into the so-called “mansion tax” bracket are flats or terraced houses, according to Knight Frank figures. The property consultants analysed sales data to see what type of “mansions” would fall into the £2m plus category Labour leader Ed Miliband would target if his party came to power. [...]
World university rankings 2014: London institutions boost UK standing October 1, 2014 Universities from London and the south east are flying the flag for the UK in the list of the world’s top institutions. The Times Higher Education rankings for 2014 include 29 UK universities in the top 200, and 45 in the top 400, making the country second only to the US for world-class universities. But [...]
Steve Varley: The boss doing the running for EY October 1, 2014 No celebrations for EY Britain’s boss, Steve Varley, despite a 8.6pc rise in turnover. Steve Varley, head of EY’s British arm, laughs nervously. After three years at the helm, the Yorkshireman has clear, almost PR-perfect soundbite answers to any question about the business. The one that has flummoxed him is how he and [...]
News Corp buys Move to boost its real estate September 30, 2014 Rupert Murdoch’s News Corp yesterday stepped further into the digital age with the announcement it would spend $950m (£586m) buying Move, the US company which owns property websites such as realtor.com. News Corp said it would pay $21 per share, a premium of 37 per cent to Move’s closing price on Monday. Australian real estate [...]
Consort Medical to buy fellow UK pharma company Aesica September 30, 2014 Cambridge medical technology business Consort Medical is buying pharmaceutical firm Aesica for £230m in a bid to diversify its markets. Consort Medical said it would fund the acquisition with £115.9m drawn down under a new debt facility, £10m of existing cash and a fully underwritten rights issue which is expected to raise £95.3m and the [...]
Thousands blockade Hong Kong as tear gas is fired at protesters September 29, 2014 RIOT police fired volleys of tear gas at Hong Kong pro-democracy demonstrators last night as tens of thousands blockaded the city centre. The unrest was the worst since China regained control from Britain in 1997 and, with the financial hub based in the middle of the protest zone, many banks have told staff not to [...]
Topps Tiles lines up profit rise as home improvement sector scores September 24, 2014 Topps Tiles expects pre-tax profits to have risen by one-third this year, with revenue also up as the buoyant housing market encourages home improvements. The tiling specialist has been helped by increased spending as the general economy improved. In a trading statement for the year ending tomorrow, the firm said revenues will be in the [...]
Online House of Fraser lift September 24, 2014 HOUSE of Fraser, the department store chain recently sold for £48m, yesterday announced adjusted earnings of £8.6m for the first half, boosted by a 29 per cent rise in online sales. Like-for-like sales rose 4.2 per cent to £542m for the six months to 26 July and the earnings figure was well up on the [...]
