FTSE funds help raise £1bn for infrastructure February 18, 2013 A HOST of FTSE 100 retirement funds yesterday revealed they had raised £1bn to plough into the UK’s creak- ing infrastructure as inf luential investor Edmund Truell called on government to do more to boost building investment. Pension schemes run by BAE Systems, BT, Lloyds TSB and British Airways are among ten schemes launching a [...]
Amec beats forecasts but warns revenue growth is set to slow February 14, 2013 SHARES in oil engineer Amec sank yesterday as it warned revenue growth this year would be lower than expected. Strong growth in conventional oil and gas markets would be offset by softening demand in the mining market and reduced oil sands revenue, the FTSE engineer – which designs and builds infrastructure for the oil and [...]
Santander may shut financial advice division February 13, 2013 SANTANDER is reviewing the future of its bancassurance division after it struggled to train its hundreds of advisers to meet the new regulations around the sector, the bank’s UK arm announced yesterday. That could lead to the division being closed, joining the swathe of banks cutting back on mass advice as a result of the [...]
A tale of two cities December 17, 2012 BRITISH Land and Oxford Properties have bagged their second tenant at the Cheesegrater skyscraper in the City, underlining the booming demand in London’s insurance district in stark contrast to parts of the City that have traditionally depended on the banking sector. Amlin is to take 111,000 square feet at the Leadenhall Building for an undisclosed [...]
After a three-year wait … the Walbrook secures its first tenants January 24, 2013 THE WALBROOK Building opposite Cannon Street station has finally clinched its first two tenants, nearly three years since it was first built. Property developer Minerva, said it has secured the first deal with insurance broker, Arthur J Gallagher, which has taken offices on the ground floor and the whole of the seventh floor amounting to [...]
UK construction output falls to six-month low January 3, 2013 The UK construction sector shrank at the steepest pace in six months in December, driven by a fall in house building, according to a survey out today. The Markit/CIPS Purchasing Managers’ Index dropped to 48.7 in December, from 49.3 the month previously, marking its lowest level since last June. The 50 level separates growth from [...]
Centrica set to name US head British Gas boss February 14, 2013 A NEW head of British Gas is set to be installed by parent company Centrica as soon as today, with the firm’s US executive Chris Weston widely tipped to be taking over, it emerged last night. Weston is currently head of Centrica’s US gas retail business Direct Energy. He is set to replace outgoing managing [...]
Brothers who took a punt on a new market | City A.M. June 13, 2013 Annabel Palmer talks tobacco with Taz and Umer Sheikh: salesmen, business partners, and self-professed pioneers of the growing electronic cigarette industry SIX years ago, the smoking ban came into force in England, making it illegal to smoke in enclosed workplaces. So when I meet Umer Sheikh – the younger of the two Sheikh brothers behind [...]
Brothers who took a punt on a new market June 13, 2013 Annabel Palmer talks tobacco with Taz and Umer Sheikh: salesmen, business partners, and self-professed pioneers of the growing electronic cigarette industry SIX years ago, the smoking ban came into force in England, making it illegal to smoke in enclosed workplaces. So when I meet Umer Sheikh – the younger of the two Sheikh brothers behind [...]
Bailey gets top job in the new bank watchdog February 19, 2013 TOP regulator Andrew Bailey was yesterday named as head of the incoming Prudential Regulatory Authority (PRA) and deputy governor of the Bank of England, posts which give him major new powers over banks. Bailey is currently head of the prudential business unit within the Financial Services Authority (FSA) and used to be chief cashier at [...]