City Moves for 23 June 2015 | Who’s switching jobs June 22, 2015 BLP Insurance The insurer has appointed Craig Parfitt as chief operating officer. He joins from Deutsche Bank, where he was managing director specialising in financial management, operational excellence, transformational change and project management. JP Morgan Asset Management Thushka Maharaj has been appointed global strategist and executive director in the asset management firm’s global strategy team. [...]
UK growth picks up but global fears hit morale July 12, 2015 Strong domestic demand is lifting UK growth, according to new figures out this morning, yet fears over global headwinds are knocking confidence in the economy. Lloyds Bank’s purchasing managers’ index – a survey of businesses – climbed to a score of 57.5 in June from May’s 55.9, new data reveals today. London led the [...]
Scottish independence: Lloyds’ contingency plans could see move to London if Scots vote yes September 3, 2014 Lloyds’contingency plans if Scots vote for independence could include moving its official offices from Edinburgh to London in order to avoid being classed as a Scottish bank. LATEST: Lloyds confirms move from Scotland to London and RBS to follow The banking group, which owns Lloyds Bank, Halifax and Bank of Scotland, has formed contingency plans [...]
Piccadilly’s Criterion restaurant enters administration after 60 per cent rental hike by landlord Criterion Capital June 24, 2015 Iconic London restaurant Criterion has gone into administration after 140 years, as a result of sky-high rents. UHY Hacker Young has been appointed administrator, with Peter Kubik and Andrew Andronikou handling the case. The Criterion was put into administration by the directors after its rent jumped 60 per cent from £525,000 to £850,000 [...]
Why the government should take outsourcing a radical step further August 17, 2015 Government raids on the methodology of business are commonplace. Some are more successful than others. But as the challenge of George Osborne’s edict to contemplate departmental cuts of as much as 40 per cent sinks in, the search will intensify. As I sat recently in the splendidly refurbished BT Tower – a guest of [...]
Challenger bank Shawbrook appoints new chairman Iain Cornish to replace Sir George Mathewson July 6, 2015 Challenger bank Shawbrook has appointed former Yorkshire Building Society chief executive Iain Cornish as its new chairman. Cornish replaces former RBS boss Sir George Mathewson who will step down as chairman and as director with immediate effect. Cornish is a senior independent director of debt manager Arrow Global and wealth manager St James's Place. Read more: Challenger [...]
These are the 20 London streets where estate agents are making the most money June 9, 2015 It turns out London’s streets really are paved with gold – for estate agents, anyway, who have earn £10m in fees for sales in London’s 20 most expensive roads over the past 18 months. According to research from website HouseSimple, 80 properties sold in the top 20 prime locations sold for an average of £5.3m, [...]
City Moves for 01 June 2015 | Who’s switching jobs May 31, 2015 Aviva Investors The asset management firm has appointed James Tothill as head of third party sales. He joins from Aria Capital Management, where he was head of strategic partnerships. Tothill has also previously worked as head of global partnerships at Henderson Global Investors. State Street Effie Datson has been appointed global head of product for [...]
UK house prices: What effect does the unemployment rate have on the cost of a home? May 17, 2015 Average house prices in the twenty local authorities with the highest rate of unemployment have risen by just £4,100 since 2009, while low unemployment areas have risen by an average of £65,000, according to analysis from Lloyds. The figures The raw numbers translate to increases of 25 per cent for the areas with the lowest [...]
Don’t be quiet: Why the City needs to shout about its good work in wider society August 16, 2015 Over the past year, I have said frequently that firms in the City are too quiet when there is good news to tell. All too often, the negative stories are the ones that gain the most headlines – normally involving rogue operators or massive fines. This coverage is wholly disproportionate – and wholly depressing. This [...]