One Savings Bank and Charter Court announce terms of £1.6bn merger March 14, 2019 Challenger banks One Savings Bank and Charter Court have confirmed the terms of a £1.6bn merger. Following the completion of the deal One Savings Bank shareholders will own around 55 per cent of the combined company, the firm announced as it posted its full-year results for 2018. Read more: One Savings Bank and Charter Court [...]
Hammond confirms business rate relief for small firms as the high street faces pressure ‘as never before’ October 29, 2018 Chancellor Philip Hammond has confirmed his plans to inject £1.5bn into Britain’s high streets in today’s budget. In a new spending package aimed at boosting small town retailers and high street firms, Hammond has announced business rates relief for firms with a rateable value of less than £50,000 will be cut by a third. The [...]
Legal & General completes £2.4bn buy-out of folded telco’s pension scheme October 8, 2018 Insurer Legal & General has today finalised a £2.4bn buyout of the Nortel Networks UK Pension Plan, nearly a decade after its telecommunications sponsor collapsed, forcing it into the lifeboat. The deal will see the benefits of 15,500 pensioner members and 7,200 deferred members protected. It is the UK's joint second largest ever pensions buyout, matched [...]
Bank of Cyprus offloads UK subsidiary for £103m to ‘Cynergy’ consortium July 10, 2018 The Bank of Cyprus has agreed to sell its UK banking operations to a consortium of investors in a £103m deal. The all-cash sale, which will complete by the end of the year, comes as Bank of Cyprus refocuses its efforts on the Cypriot economy. The lender was bailed out in 2013 by European authorities, [...]
Litigation funder Augusta completes £150m financing round to pedal expansion plans July 10, 2018 Litigation funder Augusta has successfully completed a £150m financing round from institutional and private investors as its business moves into the next phase of expansion. Augusta, whose main markets are in the UK and Australia, says the boosted finances will enable it to fund disputes of a bigger size and scope and reach other jurisdictions [...]
London’s audit giants are muscling in on law firms August 8, 2018 The City's top law firms are keeping a wary eye on the Big Four accountancy giants as the beancounters expand into the $600bn (£465bn) global legal services market. Managing partner of City law firm Fieldfisher Michael Chissick said: “They have very ambitious plans, that isn’t in doubt, audit is in decline and it is low [...]
Turf war: Law firm bosses see Big Four as ‘threat’ as they aggressively expand into legal sector | City A.M. August 8, 2018 The City’s top law firms are keeping a wary eye on the Big Four accountancy giants as the beancounters expand into the $600bn (£465bn) global legal services market. Managing partner of City law firm Fieldfisher Michael Chissick said: “They have very ambitious plans, that isn’t in doubt, audit is in decline and it is low [...]
Demand for office space in Central London grows year-on -year driven by financial services sector March 14, 2018 Demand for office space in London is up by 76 per cent year-on-year, new data has shown. According to data from real estate firm CBRE, office space under offer in Central London rose by three percent last month to 3.7m square feet (sq ft). This stood ahead of the 10 year average of 2.8m sq [...]
Will the number of listed law firms double over the next 12 months? March 15, 2018 When previously unfashionable Birmingham law firm Gateley listed on London’s AIM market on 8 June 2015, hundreds of years of legal tradition were undone, as members of the public were able to buy shares in a law firm for the first time. While this was undoubtedly a seminal moment for the English legal market, Gateley’s [...]
After a bumpy end to 2017 what is the outlook for the London listing market in 2018? April 9, 2018 Nearly £3bn worth of initial public offerings (IPOs) were pulled in London at the end of last year. Deals that were announced but then failed to make it to market include debt collector Cabot Credit Management, professional services business TMF Group and phone mast company Arqiva. In the six months to December companies that had [...]