West End landlord Shaftesbury goes shopping for £130m loan March 18, 2015 WEST END property developer Shaftesbury yesterday secured a £130m loan with Aviva, wiping out a £100m debt that was due to expire next September. The company, which owns huge swathes of London’s busiest shopping districts, including Carnaby Street and Covent Garden, said the new 15-year loan has a fixed rate of 3.2 per cent and [...]
Aviva boasts rising profits in first half of the year August 7, 2014 Aviva has reported a four per cent rise in profit before tax reaching over £1bn for the half-year to 7 August. Furthermore, the insurance provider's operating expenses are £129m lower, at £1.4bn. However, while the company acknowledged encouraging macro-economic trends, it said it would not be waiting for markets to spur improvement in results. Aviva [...]
City Moves for 24 April 2015 | Who’s switching jobs April 23, 2015 Deloitte Real Estate Gerry Biddle has been appointed senior specialist business rates consultant in Deloitte’s real estate division’s valuation advisory and business rates team. He was responsible for setting up the London specialist rating unit of the Valuation Office Agency. Aviva Investors Simon Young has been appointed UK equities fund manager at Aviva’s asset management [...]
Panmure closes in on Charles Stanley division May 6, 2015 CITY broker Panmure Gordon yesterday said it was on the verge of buying Charles Stanley’s investment bank after a rival bid to buy the unit collapsed earlier this year. Panmure, led by chief executive Phillip Wale, has agreed in principle to buy the unit, which has contracts with 49 corporate clients. Mark Taylor, joint managing [...]
QBE’s David Hall on how insurers are the unsung heroes of major sporting events: “I like to think we are the glue that allows the World Cup to operate” August 9, 2015 For A few short weeks next month, England's rugby team will find itself at the centre of the sporting universe. The World Cup will provide nailbiting thrills and drama, established stars will shine, new stars will burst into life, and seminal moments will be etched into the sport’s history books. Amid this landscape of excitement, [...]
Elephant and Castle named the most dangerous junction in London as top 10 cycle hotspots revealed February 25, 2015 The 10 worst hot spots for cyclists in London have been identified – and Elephant and Castle has been named the most dangerous junction in the capital. There have been 80 accidents between motorists and cyclists reported to police between 2009 and 2013, topping the list of locations surveyed by insurance giant Aviva. The next [...]
City Moves for 17 April 2015 | Who’s switching jobs April 16, 2015 Investec Securities Paul Satchell has been appointed pan-European chemicals analyst at Investec Securities. He joins from Canaccord Genuity, where he has been an equity analyst since 2010. Satchell has almost 19 years’ experience as a sell-side analyst, and has held further equity analyst positions at ING, Merrill Lynch, Flemings and Paribas. He also has 16 [...]
British Land grabs a £210m site April 14, 2015 BRITISH Land has added to its huge swathe of property in Paddington after buying Visa Europe’s headquarters for £210m. The UK’s second biggest listed landlord said yesterday it has acquired One Sheldon Square at Paddington Central from Malaysia’s Employees Provident Fund. Paddington Central is a vast 11 acre campus comprising offices, restaurants and shops close [...]
Charles Stanley’s £6m swing into the red June 18, 2015 Wealth management firm Charles Stanley started the arduous task of trying to turn around the business yesterday after revealing a £6m full year loss. The company, which traces its roots back about 200 years, saw a £6.1m profit last year evaporate to a £6.1m loss for the year ending March 2015, due to higher staff [...]
Best of the Brokers for 19 February 2015 February 18, 2015 To appear in Best of the Brokers, email your research to notes@cityam.com AVIVA Berenberg has reiterated its “sell” recommendation for insurer Aviva. Analyst Matthew Preston says: “Just 24 per cent of the reduction in business unit operational costs has made its way through to Aviva’s operating profit, while cash generation has also remained lacklustre.” LEGAL [...]