The Business Matrix: Saturday 7 December 2013

Cardiff City FC set for Singapore float

The Malay billionaire Vincent Tan looks set to list Cardiff City Football Club in Singapore next year after plans to float it in his own country were thwarted by regulators. The Premier League club is likely to join Singapore's small-cap Catalist exchange. The size of the initial public offering has not yet been decided.

Deloitte to cost Westminster job

A consortium including the accountant Deloitte has won the job to assess the costs and risks of restoring the Palace of Westminster. One of the options the team will look at is moving parliamentary work out of the palace to allow for a period of intense renovation work. The report is due next year.

Domino's feels the heat as boss quits

The chief executive of Domino's Pizza is leaving the takeaway giant to join a "significant private equity-backed company". Lance Batchelor had been at the helm of Britain's biggest pizza delivery business for only two years. News of the move sent Domino's shares plunging 9 per cent to 480p.

Hackers hit RBS online accounts

RBS's banking platform was briefly hacked yesterday, preventing some customers accessing their accounts online. The bank said a surge in internet traffic directed at its NatWest website was a deliberate attempt to disrupt its service. Days earlier a similar crash hit hundreds thousands of customers.

Lloyds offloads Irish mortgages

Lloyds Banking Group has sold a loss-making portfolio of Irish mortgages as it looks to shrink its balance sheet. The residential mortgages, which have a gross value of £610m, produced losses of £33m last year. They are being bought by the private equity firm Apollo Global Management for £257m cash.

Jeff Randall to join Babcock

Jeff Randall, the former BBC business editor, is to join the board of FTSE 100 defence and engineering firm Babcock International. Mr Randall will become a non-executive director from April. He will quit his current roles at Sky News and The Daily Telegraph before he joins the board.

Club Med targets China and Brazil

Club Med is looking to expand in emerging markets such as China and Brazil to counter a slowdown in Europe. The French holiday operator, which posted a €9m (£7.5m) annual loss yesterday, is battling a bid from China's Fosun International and the French private equity firm Ardian.

Qantas bonds rated as 'junk'

Qantas's credit rating has been downgraded to "junk" status after the Australian flag carrier posted a shock profit warning, froze pay and axed 1,000 jobs this week. Standard & Poor's reassessment of the world's second oldest airline came after it admitted making a half-year loss of £165m.

Primark sales drive expansion

Primark's parent, Associated British Foods, said sales had grown further at the budget high-street fashion chain since the end of its financial year in September. It plans to add more than a million square feet of selling space at Primark this financial year.

Banks speed up compensation

Banks have stepped up compensation payments to customers mis-sold complex interest rate swaps, paying out £81.2m last month, according to the Financial Conduct Authority. The City regulator said lenders had responded to its call to speed up the process.