Exiles eye final flourish as season nears climax March 22, 2012 London Irish star Topsy Ojo wants five from five, starting against Leicester Q.WHAT HAPPENED LAST TIME YOU PLAYED LEICESTER IN THE AVIVA PREMIERSHIP? A. We drew 24-24, scoring a charge-down kick late in the game. I went off injured, so that wasn’t great. We started well, Leicester came back but we picked up a bit [...]
Segro banks £80m through selling off industrial estates February 20, 2012 BRITISH landlord Segro said yesterday it has sold a portfolio of five non-core industrial estates to funds owned by Ignis Asset Management for £80.2m. The sale is part of the company’s plan to focus its UK multi-let industrial portfolio on London and South East. “The sale of these assets demonstrates that, despite the uncertain economic [...]
Why we need to convert sport to suit today’s lives February 29, 2012 MAINTAINING and realising the sporting legacy of this summer’s Olympic and Paralympic Games is a huge challenge. But it also presents the chance for those governing sport to do things differently, and find a new generation of participants as a result. Existing policy has failed to engage people in sport in the volumes hoped for. [...]
Banks can trip in search of a rise up the table February 20, 2012 INVESTMENT bankers are pleased with any pickings these days and in the past few weeks there has been healthy signs of action in the world of block trades. This is a phenomenon whereby a bank offers to buy a block of shares in one company and sell it on. The idea is that, hopefully, the [...]
Insurance firms need regulators to pay attention March 4, 2012 PRUDENTIAL’S threat to quit the UK and move its headquarters to Asia isn’t a hollow one. There is a growing feeling in the City that British insurers are getting a raw deal from Solvency II, the new capital requirements that will soon govern the sector. There is wide acknowledgement that the UK regulator, the Financial [...]
Aviva sells off RAC to Carlyle for £1bn cash June 23, 2011 AVIVA is to sell its RAC roadside rescue business to private equity firm The Carlyle Group for £1bn, as the British group continues scaling back from non-core areas to focus on its insurance operations. The auction process was fiercely fought, with Carlyle battling rivals Clayton Dubilier & Rice and BC Partners to be the first [...]
Aviva UK head in shock exit June 2, 2011 A SHOCK change of roles at major City insurers saw Aviva’s high-flying UK chief executive Mark Hodges leave to become head of insurance broker Towergate yesterday. Aviva has moved in highly regarded insurance veteran Trevor Matthews, formerly of Friends Provident and Standard Life, to replace Hodges. The move is Aviva’s second high-profile exit in five [...]
FTSE sees biggest fall since November over Greek drama March 6, 2012 BRITAIN’S top share index ploughed down through support levels yesterday as slowing global growth and Greece’s dithering over its debt swap plan intensified pressure on riskier assets, prompting a flight to safety and sparking fears of a deeper sell-off. London’s blue chip index, which is heavily weighted towards riskier banking and commodity stocks, posted its [...]
Duke Street takes stake in legal market February 6, 2012 PRIVATE EQUITY firm Duke Street has become the first investment house to take a stake in the UK’s legal sector, buying a majority stake in Parabis Group – the parent company of two insurance litigation firms. Duke Street’s investment, which means it owns just over 50 per cent of Parabis, values the company at £150m-£200m. [...]
SUSTAINABILITY IS ABOUT MORE THAN THE ENVIRONMENT January 25, 2012 GROUP CHIEF EXECUTIVE, AVIVA SUSTAINABILITY is a word that crops up in a lot of the conversations going on at Davos. For many, it’s a shorthand for environmentalism, but for us it has to mean much more than that. Our relationships with customers can last for decades – running a sustainable business is how we [...]