Brit boss Cloutier applauds firm on good job for investors in 2014 February 25, 2015 INSURANCE group Brit reported a 9.8 per cent rise in written premiums for 2014, up to £1.3bn from £1.2bn. The company, which is being bought by Canadian magnate Prem Watsa’s Fairfax Financial Holdings for £1.22bn, also saw combined ratio worsen from 85.4 per cent to 89.5 per cent, which chief executive Mark Cloutier attributed largely [...]
Man Group profits soar in 2014 February 25, 2015 MAN GROUP, the world’s largest listed hedge fund, recorded a 62 per cent surge in adjusted profits before tax to $481m (£310m) for the financial year ended 31 December, on the back of higher performance fees and cost savings. The British fund manager also saw funds under management rocket 35 per cent to $72.9bn over [...]
The Skipton’s profits soar on mortgage spurt February 25, 2015 PROFITS jumped 75 per cent in 2014, the Skipton Building Society said yesterday, as it increased its mortgage and savings books rapidly. The UK’s fourth largest mutual reported pre-tax profits of £181.6m for the year, up from £103.2m in 2013. The Skipton attracted an extra 31,276 members, raking its total to 794,739. They helped it increase [...]
London pricing out first-time home buyers February 25, 2015 THE LONDON housing market is cooling, according to figures yesterday released by the Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML). Loans to first-time buyers totalled 12,000 in number and £2.9bn in value in the three months to 31 December. It marks a drop of 11 per cent in number and seven per cent in value on the three [...]
…but lending dip may have bottomed out February 25, 2015 MORTGAGE lending may have picked up again, with approvals rising marginally in January. The number of mortgages approved for house purchase was 36,394, according to the British Bankers Association. It marks the first climb in approvals since June 2014, but approvals are down 26 per cent year-on-year. “Aspirational first-time buyers and home movers face multiple [...]
St James’s Place signs up Metro February 25, 2015 WEALTH manager St James’s Place will launch a new banking service in conjunction with challenger lender Metro in April, it confirmed yesterday The FTSE 100 group unveiled the new service as it released full-year results showing a 24 per cent rise in profits up to £173.8m, helping it to hike its full year dividend by [...]
Agnelli family to sell Cushman and Wakefield February 25, 2015 ITALY’S Agnelli family has put real estate advisory giant Cushman & Wakefield up for sale in a deal that could fetch up to $2bn (£1.3bn) Exor, the investment arm of the Agnelli family, has approved management’s hiring of bankers Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley to help find a buyer for the business. “As is the [...]
Topps Tiles appoints Poundland’s Shapland as its next chairman February 25, 2015 TILING specialist Topps Tiles yesterday announced that Poundland chair Darren Shapland will become its chairman after current chair Michael Jack announced his retirement. Jack, who has served as Topps’ chairman since 1999, will step down on 18 March, handing the reins to Shapland. As well as Poundland, Shapland is also chairman of Maplin Electronics, non-executive [...]
Profits jump through the roof at Barratt February 25, 2015 BARRATT chief executive Mark Clare said its £4bn spending spree on land over the past six years had paid off after house sales reached a new high and profits soared by 74.6 per cent in the first half of the year. The housebuilder said yesterday property sale completions reached 6,971 in the six months to [...]
Tory minister Sam Gyimah: I’ll use my City skills to boost childcare February 25, 2015 Conservative minister Sam Gyimah will today launch a programme aimed at convincing businesses to put more cash into childcare. Gyimah, who is a former employee of Goldman Sachs, wants to get so-called social investors around the table with childcare providers – especially those operating in deprived areas. The government describes social investment as “providing capital for [...]