Prince Harry, Cheryl ex-Cole, Helen Mirren, Simon Cowell and Dermot O’Leary hit the phones for Icap charity drive December 3, 2014 While most of the City had its eyes glued to the Autumn Statement, Icap traders were slightly distracted by the likes of Cheryl Fernandez-Versini (ex- Cole, née Tweedy), Prince Harry, Dame Helen Mirren, Simon Cowell and most of the cast of The Only Way Is Essex – who were all in helping to raise money [...]
Esure board will see duo depart in May next year December 3, 2014 INSURANCE firm Esure group revealed the departures of Dame Helen Alexander and Anthony Hobson yesterday, both of whom will step down from the company’s board after its general meeting in May 2015. Alexander – the first female president of the Confederation of British Industry – will stand down after three years as deputy chairman and [...]
Chesnara boss to step down after striking Dutch deal December 3, 2014 LIFE insurance consolidator Chesnara is chasing growth in the Dutch market with the purchase of Waard Group for €67.8m (£53.4m). The company described the Waard Group businesses as strongly capitalised, noting that “the potential for phased, orderly capital extraction is a key attraction of the acquisition”. Graham Kettleborough, Chesnara’s boss, said he was “very excited” [...]
Antofagasta names chief December 3, 2014 CHILEAN miner Antofagasta yesterday appointed Ivan Arriagada Herrera as chief executive of its mining division. Arriagada, 51, takes up the role at the helm of Antofagasta Minerals with effect from 16 February 2015. He joins from Codelco, where he has been vice-president of administration and finance since 2012. He has also worked at BHP Billiton [...]
International Greetings blames currency headwinds for sales fall December 3, 2014 INTERNATIONAL Greetings yesterday blamed volatile foreign exchange movements for a decline in half-year sales. The company, which makes greetings cards and gift packaging, said sales fell 1.5 per cent to £111.9m in the six months to 30 September due to a £2m hit from currency headwinds. However, sales were slightly up when excluding currency movements, [...]
Virgin Active hires boss of Woolworths SA December 3, 2014 VIRGIN Active has hired the boss of South African supermarket giant Woolworths to become its new chairman after Richard Baker stepped down from the gym group yesterday. Simon Susman has replaced him with immediate effect, Virgin Active said. Baker, who has been at the helm of Virgin Active since 2008, was poached this summer to [...]
Service sector jump dispels UK growth worries December 3, 2014 THE UK’s service sector rebounded in November, easing fears of a slowdown in the UK economy, a set of data released yesterday shows. The purchasing managers’ index (PMI) – a survey of private sector firms – rose to 58.6 in November from 56.2 in October, data released by Markit show. A score above 50 signifies growth. [...]
Treasury to refinance war loans to take advantage of low rates December 3, 2014 The UK is to refinance the remaining £1.9bn of the nation’s First World War debt, chancellor George Osborne said yesterday. The Treasury will pay off the outstanding debt from the 3.5 per cent War Loan on 9 March 2015. The 120,000 war loan bond holders will receive a cheque for the value of the bond [...]
Low inflation set to prevent rate hike today December 3, 2014 BANK of England (BoE) officials are widely expected to keep interest rates at record lows today. In November, BoE governor Mark Carney warned inflation could dip below one per cent, in which case he would to pen an open letter to the chancellor explaining why. “Growth remains solid, and petrol prices falls should boost the [...]
Autumn Statement 2014: Chancellor bids to get banks to pay tax quickly December 3, 2014 Britain's biggest banks will have to pay their taxes more quickly under new accounting rules brought in by the chancellor yesterday, bringing in an extra £3.5bn over the next four years. Lenders which made huge losses in the financial crisis are still offsetting current profits against those costs. The chancellor said he does not [...]