UK-headquartered law firm DWF to acquire German BridgehouseLaw at start of 2016 December 16, 2015 UK-headquartered law firm DWF announced today that it is acquiring BridgehouseLaw, a German commercial law firm, on 1 January 2016. The newly combined firm will boast a turnover of £194m and will employ 2,360 staff members across 16 locations. Andrew Leaitherland, DWF's managing partner and chief executive, will continue to lead the overall business post-merger, while Michael Falter, [...]
St Pancras’ Sourced Market beats £750,000 funding target with a minibond series on Crowdcube December 16, 2015 Sourced Market, the artisan food market based in St Pancras station, has raised £765,000 in a mini bond series on crowdfunding site Crowdcube. The shop/cafe offers a range of artisan food and fresh produce curated from across London's markets and local delicatessens, and will use the investment to fund its expansion with new sites in Victoria and Marylebone planned for next year. [...]
Dixons Carphone hails bigger than ever Black Friday as profits beat forecasts December 16, 2015 Dixons Carphone shares climbed three per cent higher this morning after the high street electricals giant beat City expectations with a 23 per cent jump in first-half profits. The FTSE 100 company, which trades as Currys, PC World and Carphone Warehouse in the UK and Ireland, said strong performance in the UK helped it outperform the [...]
RBS’ Williams & Glyn trade sale (or IPO) to kick-start next year December 16, 2015 Santander UK or Virgin Money could be planning to buy the Williams & Glyn business from Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) after the taxpayer backed bank said it would begin the sale process in the first half of next year. There has been no formal offer made for Williams & Glyn by either UK challenger, which [...]
Domino’s takes a slice of the German pizza market with $86m deal to buy Joey’s Pizza December 16, 2015 Germany's largest pizza chain, Joey's Pizza, is being bought jointly by the owners of Domino's Pizza in Australia and the UK. London-listed Domino's Pizza Group and Sydney-listed Domino's Pizza Enterprises are entering into a deal worth an estimated $86m (£57.2m). Germany has the fourth largest pizza market in the world, and taking ownership of Joey's [...]
Americans bring Thanksgiving to UK retailers as spending soars December 16, 2015 Black Friday’s online bargain frenzy may have dampened sales on the high street. But international shoppers helped to keep tills ringing, with spending up by 10 per cent in the year to November. The biggest jump in spending came from US tourists, up 55 per cent, despite still accounting for just five per cent of [...]
City Moves for 16 December 2015 | Who’s switching jobs December 15, 2015 DOLLAR UK Steve Dukes has been appointed by consumer finance company Dollar UK as its new chief product development officer, reporting directly to chief executive Stuart Howard. Steve joins from Wonga where he was vice president of customer proposition. GFT UK GFT, a provider of business, design and technology consulting to the investment banking community, [...]
Domino’s Pizza Group forms venture with Domino’s Pizza Enterprises to buy Germany’s biggest operator Joey’s Pizza December 15, 2015 Domino’s is getting a slice of the German pizza business. The London-listed pizza company has formed a joint venture to buy Joey’s Pizza, Germany’s largest pizza delivery firm, in a deal worth €79m (£57.6m). To buy the German company, Domino’s Pizza Group formed a joint venture with Domino’s Pizza Enterprises. Domino’s Pizza Group will own [...]
Interest rates, junk bonds and safe-havens: What investors should look out for in 2016 December 15, 2015 This year has been full of surprises for investors – from the Swiss National Bank's shock abandonment of its currency ceiling, to the financial market turmoil which came out of China's "Black Friday". So what should market mavens look out for in 2016? Interest rates will diverge The long-awaited interest rate rise looks some way [...]
MPs pile pressure on the accounting watchdog and KPMG over HBOS failures December 15, 2015 An influential group of MPs have renewed calls for the accounting industry watchdog to investigate KPMG’s role in the collapse of HBOS. Steve Baker MP, a member of the Treasury select committee, called the auditing of banks by accountancy firms around 2008 “the great uncovered scandal of the financial crisis”. In last month’s report into [...]