12 The Sunday Times March 18, 2018
BUSINESS
TOP 200 COMPANIES
downpour on Thursday dampened spirits.
Spotted haggling over theprice of an umbrella with a street hawker was none other than Gary Neville, the former Manchester United captain. Neville, 43, has amassed a significant property portfolio since retiring from football in 2011, winding up Historic England, among others, with plans for a skyscraper in Manchester.
My mole says Neville insisted on a red umbrella not a blue one, and tried to offer €10 rather than the going rate of €20. The bemused hawker clearly had no idea who he was, and made him cough up full price. Neville was then heard to remark that being in rain-drenched Cannes was “just like being back home in Manchester”.
Presidents Club is back in fashionMipim was full of remorse about the Presidents Club, which has left several attendees nursing their reputations. But might some people’s loss be a canny entrepreneur’s opportunity?
On February 23, a monthto the day that the scandal erupted, a trademark was registered reserving the (grammatically improved) President’s Club name for clothing, footwear and headgear. The man behind the move was Martyn
Warden, a fashion trader based in Manchester.
Warden, 55, says he will use the brand for a “grown-up” range including suits, jackets and polo shirts. He denies the infamous event provided inspiration: “I don’t think that would go down too well, do you?”
How to get ahead in softwareDame Stephanie Shirley was on sparkling form at the Science Museum last week for the Chartered Management Institute annual shindig, where she received a lifetime award.
Shirley, 84, described herstruggle to build a software programming company staffed by women that was eventually valued at $3bn.
“You can always tell ambitious women by the shape of our heads,” she said. “They’re flat from being patted all the time.”
Roger’s pisteIn last week’s diary, I expressed surprise that YouGov chairman Roger Parry had managed to break a rib while skiing, given his ample padding. This week, the maligned grandee emails over a picture of himself posing on the slopes, looking “svelte and athletic”. Parry, 64, insists: “It’s all muscle.”
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The property playboy Robert Tchenguiz was conspicuously absent from last week’s Mipim boondoggle in Cannes, having been exposed as one of the guests at the scandal-hit Presidents Club dinner in January.
However, talk on the French Riviera still turned to the Iranian-born trader.
Tchenguiz, 57, is said to bethe subject of a new TV documentary. He has been filming since October with Lynn Alleway, who produced a memorable portrait of Camila Batmanghelidjh amid
the collapse of her Kids Company charity in 2015.
Alleway, 59, is said to seeTchenguiz as emblematic of the boom and bust of 2007 and 2008 — quite rightly.
More promisingly, the documentary maker is said to be exploring his somewhatcolourful personal life.
The former tycoon has anunorthodox family set-up: he lives on the fourth floor of a mansion overlooking the Royal Albert Hall in west London with his Polish girlfriend, while his wife, Heather Bird, lives downstairs with their two children. Bird, 48, has said she finally plans to divorce her errant husband.
Alleway has some form inthis area. In January, she released the documentary Millionaires’ Ex-Wives Club. The lead protagonist? Lisa Tchenguiz — Robert’s sister.
But does the new film stillhave Tchenguiz’s backing following the Presidents Club exposé? “It’s not going ahead for the time being,” he tells me, adding cryptically: “The world’s a funny place.”
Croisette suffers liquidity problemProperty types clinked glasses as the sun warmed Cannes’ Croisette on Wednesday, but a biblical
Oliver Shah
Jamie Oliver’s sugar tax, which he got us to pay but couldn’t afford to pay himself, is costing us £3m alone
Wetherspoons boss Tim Martin on cost pressures on his pubs
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At last — it’s Tchenguiz, the movie
49 3i Group 907.2 –15.2 969.5 700.5 2.9 - 8911.585 Admiral 1891.0 –23.0 2178.0 1784.0 2.7 23.7 5385.2185 Aggreko 760.4 +43.2 983.0 695.4 3.6 16.1 1947.6162 Alliance Trust 738.0 –1.0 769.0 667.0 1.8 - 2518.023 Anglo American 1769.4 +17.2 1843.6 959.4 2.0 9.8 24853.345 Antofagasta 967.6 +73.2 1061.0 751.0 1.5 38.4 9539.2200 Ascential 421.0 +17.6 421.0 309.1 1.1 45.8 1686.3148 Ashmore 389.2 –5.8 433.2 332.3 4.3 18.5 2774.043 Ashtead 1994.5 –15.5 2152.0 1542.0 1.4 10.1 9957.129 Associated British Foods 2510.0 –97.0 3371.0 2484.0 1.5 16.6 19871.06 Astra Zeneca 4867.0 +81.5 5508.0 4325.0 4.2 27.8 61638.1124 Auto Trader 350.4 –41.5 435.9 319.0 1.5 21.0 3343.5132 Aveva 1951.0 –109.0 3054.0 1803.0 2.0 59.1 3145.127 Aviva 517.8 –1.6 542.0 486.5 4.2 34.3 20780.6120 Babcock International 684.2 +10.8 969.5 626.2 4.1 10.7 3459.330 BAE Systems 585.0 –16.8 677.0 535.5 3.6 17.6 18626.3183 Balfour Beatty 287.6 +10.6 307.6 253.5 0.9 87.2 1983.715 Barclays 209.5 –1.2 230.4 178.9 1.4 61.6 35748.687 Barratt Developments 527.2 –21.4 700.0 527.2 4.6 8.5 5308.9123 BBA Aviation 326.2 –12.6 368.8 292.5 3.0 22.4 3365.6145 Beazley 541.0 –33.0 574.5 425.0 1.9 30.0 2844.1111 Bellway 3048.0 –143.0 3792.0 2687.0 3.7 8.3 3742.993 Berkeley 3713.0 –143.0 4240.0 3087.0 3.7 6.8 5022.418 BHP Billiton 1443.2 +7.4 1660.0 1117.0 4.3 22.2 30480.4106 B&M European 414.3 –9.5 434.8 299.3 1.4 27.1 4143.0193 Bodycote 937.5 –8.5 1006.0 739.5 1.7 23.1 1794.94 BP 473.8 –4.4 534.8 439.8 6.3 32.3 94421.53 British American Tobacco 4183.5 –90.0 5643.0 4166.0 4.1 18.4 95954.470 British Land 632.0 –5.6 691.5 590.5 4.7 10.9 6508.4192 Britvic 691.0 –25.5 820.0 636.0 3.6 16.4 1821.825 BT 227.9 –11.6 334.4 224.9 6.3 14.1 22607.1156 BTG 682.5 +2.5 779.0 565.0 - 35.9 2632.767 Bunzl 2045.0 +5.0 2465.0 1936.0 2.0 23.8 6869.961 Burberry 1669.0 +1.5 1985.0 1498.0 2.3 23.8 7316.6169 Capital & Counties Properties 265.0 –5.6 324.8 253.1 0.6 91.4 2246.644 Carnival 4698.0 –40.0 5380.0 4475.0 1.8 17.7 9764.6194 Centamin 154.3 +2.8 190.5 131.8 7.7 22.1 1777.756 Centrica 138.4 –3.5 219.5 124.1 8.7 13.8 7599.3122 Cineworld 247.4 +7.8 247.4 97.9 3.4 15.5 3388.5167 Close Brothers 1496.0 –83.0 1715.0 1316.0 4.0 11.4 2265.3133 Cobham 129.2 –4.5 148.0 113.4 1.4 - 3089.246 Coca Cola HBC 2531.0 +13.0 2671.0 1991.0 1.5 26.7 9309.121 Compass 1540.0 –11.5 1757.6 1425.0 2.2 21.6 25326.7110 Convatec 195.5 –12.0 344.0 182.0 0.5 33.1 3815.128 CRH 2484.0 +39.0 2920.0 2380.0 2.3 13.2 20773.382 Croda 4548.0 –84.0 4655.0 3483.0 1.6 28.1 5975.7153 CYBG 305.6 –9.8 340.3 260.0 - 17.8 2703.474 DCC 6940.0 +105.0 7755.0 6515.0 1.6 30.6 6190.5152 Dechra Pharmaceuticals 2664.0 +114.0 2690.0 1624.0 0.8 58.0 2724.7121 Derwent London 3054.0 +29.0 3118.0 2580.0 1.7 32.0 3404.47 Diageo 2436.0 –10.5 2725.0 2201.5 2.5 19.1 60535.786 Direct Line Insurance 388.3 –2.1 411.3 334.4 3.8 16.7 5339.1
33 Legal & General 262.4 –0.1 276.8 245.0 5.6 8.6 15635.512 Lloyds Banking Group 67.5 +0.2 73.1 62.2 4.0 14.1 48647.436 London Stock Exchange 3996.0 +60.0 4085.0 3014.0 1.1 47.1 13857.5147 Man 173.9 +1.5 217.7 142.3 4.1 15.4 2823.497 Marks & Spencer 275.9 –1.8 395.5 275.9 6.8 24.2 4482.798 Mediclinic International 601.8 –15.6 887.0 507.5 1.3 64.7 4435.3117 Meggitt 452.0 –11.0 526.0 437.1 3.3 12.1 3506.4101 Melrose 224.2 –0.5 261.2 198.8 1.0 - 4352.2199 Mercantile Investment Trust 2125.0 –15.0 2210.0 1796.0 2.4 - 1712.7114 Merlin Entertainments 358.3 –14.8 537.0 318.4 2.0 17.3 3639.6130 Metro Bank 4018.0 nc 4040.0 3242.0 - 318.9 3230.253 Micro Focus International 1884.5 –138.5 2739.0 1884.5 3.8 36.6 8199.0188 Millennium & Copthorne Hotels 575.0 +27.0 625.5 431.9 1.4 16.8 1867.363 Mondi 1949.0 –35.5 2130.0 1693.0 2.6 17.2 7157.5196 Monks Investment Trust 810.0 +3.0 825.0 617.5 0.2 - 1738.094 Morrison Supermarkets 211.0 –16.9 252.9 207.0 2.6 14.0 4928.3180 National Express 392.8 +4.6 395.2 340.9 3.1 17.1 2010.120 National Grid 780.7 –3.0 1157.5 736.8 5.8 15.7 26247.2125 Nex Group 874.0 +197.5 874.0 558.0 4.4 47.5 3318.965 Next 4759.0 –13.0 5320.0 3617.0 3.3 11.1 6998.464 NMC Health 3448.0 –66.0 3524.0 1744.0 0.3 56.1 7043.8113 Ocado 585.8 –8.2 597.6 238.5 - 3661.2 3698.940 Old Mutual 249.0 –7.5 257.8 188.0 2.8 31.5 12282.6198 Page Group 526.5 –0.5 560.0 421.3 2.3 20.7 1719.575 Pearson 775.8 +24.4 775.8 566.5 6.7 - 6079.2161 Pennon 605.6 –33.6 944.0 605.6 5.9 13.9 2522.0176 Pershing Square 920.0 –9.0 1250.0 912.0 - - 2158.855 Persimmon 2527.0 –70.0 2890.0 2083.0 5.3 11.3 7805.8135 Phoenix Group Holdings 781.0 –16.5 815.0 724.0 6.0 - 3068.2164 Playtech 758.0 –34.0 1016.0 749.2 3.8 12.2 2405.5128 Polymetal International 754.0 –31.0 1095.0 740.6 2.7 11.9 3243.171 Paddy Power Betfair 7635.0 –250.0 8900.0 6665.0 2.0 47.0 6430.611 Prudential 1913.5 +67.0 1981.0 1613.0 2.3 17.9 49507.784 Randgold Resources 5964.0 –70.0 8190.0 5766.0 1.2 27.0 5605.914 Reckitt Benckiser 5675.0 –135.0 8108.0 5624.0 2.7 19.0 39892.1170 Redrow 592.0 –16.5 664.5 493.3 2.9 7.5 2189.217 Relx 1485.5 –27.0 1782.0 1455.0 2.5 18.2 30707.9118 Renishaw 4782.0 –128.0 5775.0 3050.0 1.1 25.3 3480.892 Rentokil Initial 276.5 +4.1 335.8 239.2 1.2 7.5 5080.2109 Rightmove 4193.0 –107.0 4573.0 3889.0 1.2 29.0 3815.210 Rio Tinto 3735.0 +8.5 4172.5 2910.0 4.6 10.4 50094.5139 RIT Capital Partners 1918.0 –12.0 2005.0 1815.0 - - 2967.232 Rolls-Royce 901.6 –24.2 981.0 743.0 0.5 - 16590.7163 Rotork 278.9 –4.2 304.2 223.5 1.8 32.1 2426.916 Royal Bank Of Scotland 260.6 –1.2 302.4 224.7 - - 31183.41 Royal Dutch Shell A 2213.5 –48.0 2573.5 1992.5 6.4 22.8 185974.9
Royal Dutch Shell B 2248.5 –39.0 2609.0 2052.5 6.2 23.290 Royal Mail 516.0 –50.6 570.0 369.9 4.5 14.4 5160.0126 RPC 811.6 –20.2 993.0 720.5 3.0 15.9 3310.672 RSA Insurance 628.6 –6.6 666.5 570.5 2.5 56.1 6428.058 Sage 687.0 –8.8 821.4 615.5 2.1 28.9 7425.6
89 Sainsbury, J 236.1 –6.9 281.7 224.8 4.3 24.6 5169.848 Schroders 3410.0 +6.0 3773.0 3030.0 2.7 17.9 9048.069 Scottish Mortgage 470.0 –3.6 477.8 352.2 0.6 - 6558.276 Segro 608.4 +9.4 609.4 452.5 2.7 6.2 6074.3103 Severn Trent 1775.0 –51.0 2553.0 1703.0 4.6 14.4 4190.0140 Shaftesbury 960.0 –23.5 1055.0 900.0 1.6 8.9 2946.119 Shire 3205.5 +13.0 4852.0 2992.0 0.7 9.3 29097.626 Sky 1309.5 –28.5 1373.5 900.0 - 27.7 22510.588 Smith (DS) 495.5 –14.7 558.5 418.8 3.1 24.4 5288.041 Smith & Nephew 1329.0 –2.0 1431.0 1215.0 1.7 20.5 11625.073 Smiths 1591.0 –19.0 1685.0 1444.0 2.7 11.2 6292.0172 Smith WH 1984.0 –54.0 2347.0 1664.0 2.3 19.1 2185.657 Smurfit Kappa 3158.0 –62.0 3220.0 1962.0 2.2 21.4 7478.8165 Sophos 497.4 –32.6 669.5 271.0 0.7 - 2292.4131 Spectris 2701.0 +68.0 2834.0 2229.0 1.9 290.4 3220.099 Spirax-Sarco 5990.0 +210.0 6090.0 4703.0 1.3 33.9 4405.1181 Sports Direct International 371.3 +4.3 419.5 284.5 - 13.3 2006.239 SSE 1239.0 –18.0 1551.0 1182.0 7.4 9.2 12576.6142 SSP 609.5 –17.0 687.5 404.0 1.0 31.7 2896.522 Standard Chartered 767.4 –11.5 849.2 685.9 - 44.5 25299.578 St James’s Place Capital 1141.5 –11.5 1270.5 1030.0 2.9 48.2 6033.942 Standard Life Aberdeen 375.1 +4.7 446.3 360.0 5.4 12.7 11168.1159 Tate & Lyle 549.6 –13.4 795.0 542.8 5.1 10.3 2559.580 Taylor Wimpey 184.1 –4.0 211.2 174.9 1.5 11.2 6025.3179 Templeton Emerging Markets 773.0 –8.0 825.0 643.0 1.1 - 2110.431 Tesco 209.8 –2.9 214.4 166.5 - 37.5 17177.8189 Thomas Cook 120.0 –2.1 129.5 84.1 0.4 150.0 1843.0154 TP Icap 487.2 –59.4 553.6 444.8 3.5 30.8 2699.7129 Travis Perkins 1283.0 –36.5 1696.0 1273.0 3.5 427.7 3234.347 Tui 1545.5 +13.5 1640.5 1068.0 3.6 12.6 9072.7158 Tullow Oil 186.9 –4.2 238.9 145.6 - - 2594.9112 UBM 949.5 +19.5 949.5 645.0 2.3 27.3 3741.9177 UDG Healthcare 857.0 –32.0 959.0 694.0 1.1 39.9 2128.213 Unilever 3787.0 –107.5 4548.5 3710.5 3.3 19.8 46647.0197 Unite Group 768.5 –26.5 813.0 622.0 2.3 8.9 1724.895 United Utilities 694.4 –8.2 1056.0 659.0 5.6 11.1 4735.1173 Vedanta Resources 787.2 +35.2 954.0 575.0 5.2 - 2181.3178 Victrex 2480.0 –96.0 2730.0 1832.0 1.9 21.3 2128.09 Vodafone 201.5 –5.5 238.0 198.8 6.5 - 53747.7102 Weir 1962.0 –40.0 2305.0 1727.0 2.2 65.8 4282.166 Whitbread 3811.0 –121.0 4307.0 3512.0 2.5 14.8 6989.2151 William Hill 320.5 –11.2 338.0 240.0 4.0 - 2752.7187 Witan Investment Trust 1054.0 nc 1108.0 944.0 2.1 - 1871.8184 Wizz Air Holdings 3437.0 –7.0 3716.0 1615.0 - 21.0 1975.5100 Wood 647.0 –9.6 828.5 560.0 4.0 - 4384.634 WPP 1169.0 –35.5 1754.0 1155.5 4.8 8.6 14836.2
174 Dixons Carphone 189.0 +0.7 342.0 149.1 - 8.9 2179.768 EasyJet 1658.5 +95.5 1696.0 985.0 3.2 21.6 6587.7157 Electrocomponents 593.6 –24.6 709.0 471.2 2.1 24.7 2621.179 Evraz 420.9 –16.1 455.1 173.2 5.2 11.9 6027.535 Experian 1605.0 +24.5 1705.0 1446.0 1.9 26.0 14757.137 Ferguson 5264.0 –54.0 5702.0 4460.0 2.0 15.0 13322.0190 Ferrexpo 313.0 +20.0 323.2 137.2 0.8 7.3 1842.4115 Foreign & Colonial 651.0 –1.0 672.0 555.5 1.6 - 3518.850 Fresnillo 1203.5 –35.0 1725.0 1189.5 1.9 20.3 8868.5108 G4S 251.2 –11.0 341.1 248.8 3.8 13.6 3897.660 GKN 426.9 –8.2 447.6 294.3 2.1 14.7 7331.65 Glaxo Smith Kline 1323.4 –12.6 1722.0 1242.8 6.1 28.0 65082.98 Glencore 385.5 +15.7 415.0 276.6 1.3 13.0 55607.4186 Grafton Group Units 818.0 +3.5 841.0 652.0 1.7 15.2 1941.8171 Great Portland Estates 669.5 –0.5 739.0 587.5 1.5 - 2187.5144 GVC Holdings 955.0 +9.5 982.0 708.0 - - 2871.496 Halma 1192.0 –20.0 1330.0 959.5 1.1 32.5 4519.9119 Hammerson 437.1 –18.3 609.5 434.4 5.6 8.9 3471.652 Hargreaves Lansdown 1734.5 +14.0 1928.0 1266.0 1.7 36.8 8227.1195 Hastings 265.4 –7.6 325.0 249.9 3.7 18.7 1745.5150 Hays 190.4 –1.5 205.0 155.9 1.7 18.4 2762.0160 HICL Infrastructure 142.7 +0.5 174.6 141.1 5.5 - 2547.4155 Hikma Pharmaceuticals 1121.5 +223.1 2168.0 855.6 2.3 21.0 2699.2104 Hiscox 1456.0 –54.0 1525.0 1082.0 2.0 161.8 4178.4166 Homeserve 733.0 –10.5 867.0 545.0 2.1 31.5 2277.5136 Howden Joinery 476.3 –19.9 501.2 399.5 2.3 16.0 2997.92 HSBC 707.3 +1.5 796.0 620.8 5.3 19.9 141430.6137 IG Group 814.5 +11.0 824.5 491.9 4.0 15.5 2996.5134 IMI 1130.0 –11.0 1443.0 1103.0 3.4 20.3 3073.324 Imperial Brands 2454.5 –137.5 3933.5 2454.5 6.5 16.7 23409.5143 Inchcape 689.5 –3.5 880.5 674.5 3.6 10.8 2875.7141 Indivior 403.0 +1.0 419.5 267.6 - 47.6 2907.581 Informa 729.6 +21.8 761.0 629.5 2.7 29.2 6011.9191 Inmarsat 400.6 –32.1 850.5 386.7 10.2 11.4 1826.951 Intercontinental Hotels 4510.0 –80.0 4928.0 3668.0 1.6 20.0 8568.6138 Intermediate Capital 1029.0 –22.0 1178.0 700.5 2.5 13.8 2987.254 Intertek 4953.0 –99.0 5425.0 3871.0 1.3 29.3 7993.738 International Airlines Group 631.8 +7.8 670.0 523.5 3.5 7.7 12939.6182 International Public Partnerships 147.4 +0.8 166.6 146.0 4.5 13.5 1989.6149 Intu Properties 204.0 –7.9 289.0 194.7 6.9 12.1 2764.3107 Investec 597.2 –47.8 648.6 461.4 3.8 12.4 3981.183 ITV 147.6 –5.6 219.6 146.9 4.9 14.6 5941.5175 IWG 237.5 –8.6 365.2 190.9 2.2 19.3 2162.4146 Jardine Lloyd Thompson 1296.0 +6.0 1448.0 1096.0 2.5 24.0 2838.7116 JD Sports 361.2 –24.7 456.0 303.3 0.4 17.6 3515.377 Johnson Matthey 3138.0 –112.0 3503.0 2727.0 2.4 16.0 6073.1168 Jupiter Fund Management 491.2 –13.6 631.4 420.2 3.5 14.6 2248.291 Just Eat 749.6 –38.8 890.0 556.5 - 60.9 5092.1105 Kaz Minerals 930.6 +37.6 965.8 430.5 - 18.6 4157.259 Kingfisher 343.4 –7.3 368.1 288.0 3.0 13.1 7423.9127 Ladbrokes Coral 170.4 +2.7 188.0 111.3 1.8 - 3266.162 Land Securities 906.8 –10.3 1208.5 906.8 4.6 39.3 7170.5
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RISERSNex: 874p, U 29.2% on takeover approach Hikma Pharmaceuticals: £11.22, U 24.8% on annual results Nostrum Oil & Gas: 319p, U 13.9% on broker report Petra Diamonds: 72.5p, U 13.1% on sentiment Soco International: 104.4p, U 12.7% on analyst upgrade
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THE ECONOMYINSIDE THE CITY JOHN COLLINGRIDGEDATABANK
trains. Bear with me . . . Last week, John Laing sold its remaining 15% stake in the first phase of a private finance initiative deal to build and maintain a new fleet of Hitachi IEP trains — which are running on the Great Western Railway. It was sold for the eye-watering price of £227.5m to insurer Axa.
Why eye-watering? Only five months ago, John Laing sold a 9% stake in the same contract for about £90m. Had it achieved the same valuation on the earlier sale, that would have raised an extra £45m or so — trimming the amount now raised in the cash call.
Industry sources claim there was no competitive auction for that stake. The buyer, John Laing Infrastructure Fund ( JLIF), is a separate listed company but with a shared heritage.
JLIF was founded in 2010when it was spun out of its namesake. While the two companies are completely independent with separate shareholders, JLIF gets first refusal on assets sold by its sister company. The relationship between the two perhaps needs more scrutiny.@jcollingridgeST
closed on Friday at 255.6p — above the 251.7p price the night before the rights issue — to value John Laing at £938m.
Was the rights issue reallynecessary? Analysts at Royal Bank of Canada don’t think so, and reckon it said more about John Laing’s challenges to squeeze cash from selling assets and its high cost base. “Investor feedback has raised questions about whether the rights issue was a fitting decision by management,” they wrote. “Communication needs to be improved.”
It’s a stark message for chief executive Olivier Brousse, who ran the disastrous Connex rail franchise in 2000, and spearheaded John Laing’s float in 2015.
There is another reason why the cash call does not quite add up, and it involves
Turbulent stock markets create unforgiving conditions for rights issues — especially when they are priced at a hefty discount.
John Laing, the FTSE 250investor in roads, railways and schools, tested shareholders’ patience this month with a rights issue priced at a 29% discount.
Its explanation for the £210.2m cash call — set at a level typically associated with boardroom desperation — was that it needed to access a flurry of potential American deals that would generate much higher returns.
Pay up, or miss out, it demanded. Investors duly stumped up the cash (grimly accepting the £6.3m of fees paid to bankers and advisers to arrange the deal). They were soon rewarded. After a blip on the day, its shares have since rebounded. They
Did John Laing need its rights issue?
2015 2016 2017Source: Thomson Reuters
John Laing
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THE WEEK IN THE MARKETS
7,800
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FTSE 100
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M A M J J A S O N D J F
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LETTERS
Europe should beware the costs of targeting the CityThe Sunday Times is to be congratulated for the detail and depth of its analysis on Europe’s financial rivals to London (“France wants to knock out the City, but does the EU?”, last week).
This is because the articletook the all-too-rare position of detailing and explaining why Brexit has potentially huge costs to the EU in terms of financial services.
It also noted the internal EU divisions between those who see an opportunity to try to poach finance business from the City and those who recognise its dominance and the benefits for all that flow from its agglomeration.
Some of the costs of doingbusiness in other locations were also examined. These range from language, total tax rates and housing to education, support services and regulations.
Finally, it concluded that aBrexit beneficiary in financial services may well be New York, second to the City in the Global Financial Centres index (GFCI). This regular survey gives cities a score based on five main factors: business environment;
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financial sector development; infrastructure; human capital; and reputational and general factors.
Warnings about financialservices relocation from the City have been made for some time. The report should have gone further and noted other possible non-EU Brexit beneficiaries. These range from the existing financial powerhouses of Hong Kong (third in the GFCI), Singapore (fourth), Tokyo (fifth) and Shanghai (sixth), even to Osaka (21st), and Seoul (22nd) and other Asian rising stars such as Beijing (10th), Shenzhen (20th), Guangzhou (32nd), even Qingdao (47th).
To put these rankings intoperspective, the highest-ranked European city after London is Zurich (ninth), with no EU city in the top 10. The EU’s “usual suspects” for financial service relocation are Frankfurt (11th), Paris (26th) or Amsterdam (33rd).
Once again the EU shouldbe less inward-looking and more aware and concerned about the rest of the world and its place in it.Professor Chris Rowley, Kellogg College, Universityof Oxford
Muddled thinking on theEU and Nato’s budgetIrwin Stelzer makes a startling mistake in his column last Sunday — he says the EU “has not honoured its commitment to devote 2% of its GDP to the Nato budget” and speculates that
Trumplethinskin will use this as a measure to decide whether or not to impose recently announced steel and aluminium tariffs on the EU.
The EU is not a member ofNato, and some individual EU member states, such as Ireland, are not members of Nato. Ray Leonard, Wicklow, Ireland
Bravo, Luke Johnson: it’s time to laud entrepreneurs What a wonderful piece by Luke Johnson (“We should be celebrating Jamie — not gloating at his misfortune”, last week). It was not so much a read as an eddying flow through certain elitist views and the financial realities of our business environment. It was about “those that do” versus “those that do little”.Steve Adamson, Fareham, Hampshire
While Luke Johnson makes fair points, he neatly overlooks the possibility that Jamie Oliver, like many well-known people, appears to think he has the Midas touch. Writing books and appearing on TV is not the same as running a successful business, so schadenfreude may be appropriate.
Mr Johnson also overlooksthe revelations that many rich people indulge in dubious tax practices to further enlarge their already excessive wealth and thus deserve the opprobrium heaped on them. Edward Bellamy, Bedford
