People: Dual role for Bell in DB’s UK push

Most eyes have been trained at the top of Deutsche Bank this week, but changes are also afoot in the UK investment banking division, where Scott Bell, who co-heads the global consumer team, will add to his title head of UK investment banking coverage and advisory.

A veteran of HSBC and Goldman Sachs, at Deutsche the 43-year-old advised InBev on its acquisition of Anheuser-Busch and will work closely with Colin Grassie, a fellow Scot who has been building up the investment banking team as UK chief executive.

Nigel Meek, meanwhile, will become chairman of Mr Bell’s division and Richard Sheppard head of UK M&A. Anthony Parsons has been named vice-chairman of UK M&A.

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QPR quest ends

Lakshmi Mittal, the steel magnate, is ready to walk away from Queens Park Rangers weeks before it makes a triumphant return to the Premier League. The Indian billionaire is open to selling his 33 per cent stake in the club after a bust-up with Formula 1’s Bernie Ecclestone, who has a 62 per cent share.

This spring, Mr Mittal was looking into increasing his stake to become the majority shareholder but had no joy; Mr Ecclestone said at the time: “Lots of people say they are going to buy things until they eventually find these things are not for sale.” Mr Mittal’s son-in-law, Amit Bhatia, stepped down as vice-chairman of the club as a result. Mr Mittal now says he is “ready to divest [his] stake” and is “no longer looking” at taking control. Meanwhile, the club said on Thursday it was in talks with a potential suitor.

Mr Ecclestone might wish to clear up questions over QPR ownership, if only to allow him time to focus on an investigation by German prosecutors into payments he allegedly made to a banker in conjunction with the 2005 sale of shares in F1 to buy-out group CVC Capital Partners.

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Digital age

In what digiphiles will regard as a coup for Johnston Press or a come-down for Ashley Highfield, the Microsoft vice-president and father of the BBC iPlayer will become chief executive of the ailing newspaper publisher come November. Mr Highfield, currently in charge of Microsoft’s UK consumer and online business, will join Johnston’s fight to shore up advertising revenues while paying down debt. The former BBC Online editor takes over from John Fry, who joined Johnston in 2009.

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Sporting chance

Mr Highfield is not the only one taking on a challenge. Julia Reynolds, founder of lingerie website Figleaves, is due to start on Monday one of the toughest jobs in retail: chief executive of Blacks Leisure, the struggling outdoor retailer.

It could be a bumpy start. Earlier this month, David Stoddart of FinnCap slashed his price target from 10p to 1p, following a poor set of trading figures that analysts believe will necessitate a rights issue. Meanwhile, Mike Ashley, Sports Direct founder, has raised his Blacks stake, prompting bid chatter. But sceptics note Mr Ashley refused to participate in the last rights issue, and fear the consequences if he sticks to this strategy a second time around.

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Power Player: Martin Davies, Holidaybreak

Martin Davies has made a career – and a small fortune – out of catering to young people. The Chester native became an expert in music and video games while at Woolworths, then left the retailer for record label Tommy Boy, whose artists included De La Soul and Queen Latifah.

After selling the label to Warner Music and returning to the UK from New York, he led a management buy-out of PGL, an operator of school trips. When he sold that to Holidaybreak in 2007 he earned £14m ($23m) for himself and joined the company he would eventually lead.

Mr Davies got the top job last year and has since sold the company’s West End ticketing business and expanded the education division from which he rose. A smart move, as that proved a key attraction to India-based luxury tour operator Cox & Kings, which this week offered to buy Holidaybreak for 432.1p a share in cash, valuing its equity at £312m and representing a premium of more than 50 per cent on the average share price in the past three months.

Holidaybreak’s board has recommended the offer. Mr Davies plans to stay on, though he says he has a few more new business ideas in him.

He also has two teenaged children, Alfie and Ellen, and “the person who always gets left out of these things, my wife Val”.

People will return in September

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