Troubled Barclays braced for famously tough incoming new chairman John McFarlane April 29, 2015 It is hard to keep a straight face when calling PPI compensation and litigation costs “one-offs” at any of the big banks nowadays. Yet seven years on from the start of the financial crisis, Barclays and the other big banks are still treating the extraordinary costs as unusual items each quarter. Yesterday Barclays [...]
City funds near £1bn deal for British Car Auctions March 16, 2015 A City-backed investment vehicle is on the verge of driving away with Europe’s biggest second-hand car dealership BCA Marketplace in a £1bn takeover deal. Listed investment fund Haversham, which is backed by City fund houses like Aviva, Schroders, Invesco and Artemis, is in advanced talks with the private equity owners of BCA to take a [...]
City Moves for 08 April 2015 | Who’s switching jobs April 7, 2015 Marsh The insurance and risk management firm has appointed Sally Williams as director of risk and governance. She joins from National Australia Bank Group, where she was head of risk, London branch. Williams has also worked as group director of risk at Aviva. Legal & General Investment Management The asset management firm has announced two [...]
Goode ready to face Ireland after Brown suffers concussion setback February 23, 2015 SARACENS full-back Alex Goode looks set to start England’s pivotal Six Nations showdown with Ireland in Dublin on Sunday after Mike Brown suffered a setback in his recovery from concussion. Harlequins No15 Brown was knocked unconscious in a collision with Italy centre Andrea Masi at Twickenham in England’s last clash but appeared on course to [...]
British Land buys up Surrey Quays plots in Canada Water for £135m March 2, 2015 Developer British Land said yesterday it has bought the last of the sites for its £2bn regeneration project in Canada Water – paying £135m for Surrey Quays Leisure Park from Aviva Investors. The FTSE 100 developer has quietly amassed over 50 acres of land in Canada Water over the last five years and is spending [...]
The London Powerhouse: Universities are at the heart of the capital’s success May 28, 2015 Dreaming spires and cloistered courtyards: the image of Oxbridge has for centuries defined excellence in Britain’s global higher education offering. But in the twenty-first century, it is London’s elite universities that are tearing up the script. Last September, Imperial College shared second place with Cambridge in the QS World University Rankings, with Harvard just [...]
When raiders strike: Are US activist investors in City boardrooms a force for good or a costly nuisance? April 30, 2015 When US investor Nelson Peltz walks into a boardroom carrying a piece of paper you know there’s going to be trouble. Peltz, best known in the UK for bouncing Cadbury’s into a series of spin-outs and mergers, has a tried and tested tactic for effecting change: meet a chief executive, present him with a [...]
Stonewall top 100 employers: Finance firms among the UK’s best LGBT employers January 14, 2015 Lloyds Banking Group has been named the most inclusive employer in the banking and finance sector, and the third most inclusive employer in the UK, by gay rights organisation Stonewall. Seven companies in the sector were named in the Workplace Equality Index, including RBS (at number 27) and American Express (at 51). Insurer Aviva (number 15) [...]
Kennedy Wilson makes £503m swoop on UK property assets December 22, 2014 KENNEDY Wilson Europe Real Estate has bought a £503m portfolio of 180 mixed-use properties from receivers working on behalf of Aviva Commercial Real Estate Finance. The company, part of the Beverley Hills-based property group that raised £1bn through a London float earlier this year, said the 3.5m square feet portfolio is spread across the UK, [...]
Nick Hewitt: AA executive at heart of firm’s purchase and float on sick leave January 26, 2015 AA executive director Nick Hewitt is taking a leave of absence from the company due to ill health, the roadside assistance firm announced yesterday. A statement from chairman Bob Mackenzie said Hewitt will be obtaining essential medical treatment until further notice, but is expected to be absent for at least three months. “We wish Nick [...]