THE DAILY BRIEFING
BANKING BOOST Spanish lender Santander could be a big beneficiary of a £425m banking competition fund – even though it’s one of the biggest banks in Europe. The fund is being set up by Royal Bank of Scotland to help rivals with less than £350bn of British assets, as a condition of the taxpayer-backed NatWest owner’s rescue in 2008.
CHECK IN Kerry Lane, the wife of easyHotel chairman Jonathan Lane, has spent £98,175 buying shares in the company her husband runs at 93.5p each.
CHELSEA TOP Homes in the most expensive area of Britain cost 25 times as much as in the cheapest, the Office for National Statistics said. One square metre of floor space – about the size of a red telephone box – costs £19,439 in Kensington and Chelsea but only £777 in Blaenau Gwent, South Wales.
CORRUPTION PLEA Scandal-hit consultant McKinsey has asked the South African high court to rule on a controversial £88.5m contract it had with state utility firm Eskom.
Eskom last week said the cash had been ‘unlawfully paid’ but McKinsey denies this. The consultant is the latest big-name firm to be dragged into a corruption crisis involving the wealthy Gupta family.
FINANCE BOSS Regional airline Flybe has appointed an ex-British Airways executive to serve as its finance boss. Ian Milne has been interim chief financial officer since joining the firm in August.
PET RESCUE Struggling pet chain Just for Pets has been rescued from administration. Supply firm Pedigree Wholesale snapped up the franchise, securing 200 jobs, but said it will close seven of its 25 stores.
SUPER SEPTEMBER Airport Gatwick had its busiest-ever September, with 4.5m passengers, a 2.7pc increase on last year.
BUILDING BOOM Builder Countryside Properties sold 28pc more homes last year – 3,389 – with 18pc of sales through the Government’s Help to Buy mortgage scheme.
FIT HIT A trendy London gym chain once used by Princess Diana has warned it is being undercut by budget rivals. Soho Gyms says profits fell 37pc to £522,467 in the year to the end of January.
NEW NAME Luxury handbag maker Coach has changed its name to Tapestry.