Centrica takes on Connaught’s gas safety arm September 28, 2010 THE OWNER of British Gas has bought a chunk of Connaught’s surviving business and taken on 600 employees, the energy giant announced yesterday. Centrica paid £11.2m yesterday for the gas and electrical safety branch of Connaught Compliance, one of the few parts of the firm to escape administration. It has also bought Connaught’s training academy [...]
The defence industry boss who is reshaping his firm for new realities September 28, 2010 FOR Cobham’s chief executive Andy Stevens, life is measured out in five-year plans. The head of the FTSE 100 defence company first joined the business in 2003 as head of its aerospace division and played a key role in the 2005 strategic review that “took a root a branch look at our operations and decided [...]
CITY SET TO APPOINT ITS LATEST LORD MAYOR September 28, 2010 IT’S ALL change for the City in the traditional sense this week, with the annual election of the Lord Mayor taking place later on today. As is the way with these things, the result of the “election” is almost a foregone conclusion before it’s even begun, since the City of London’s senatorial group, the Court [...]
CITY EYE September 28, 2010 A pair of City gents take time out to have a rest as they get their loafers polished into tip-top condition.
Miliband warns City of shake-up September 28, 2010 Ed Miliband warned that every chief executive in the UK should brace themselves as his party seeks a “fairer deal” for workers. The new Labour leader said that the UK was too dependent on the financial services industry and that the economy needed to be overhauled. “We were too exposed to financial services as an [...]
Morgan Stanley in recruitment freeze September 28, 2010 Morgan Stanley, which employs more than 5,000 people in London, has put a freeze on hiring staff for the rest of the year. The US investment bank said although it was not hiring it had no plans for large-scale lay-offs this year. THE Royal Bank of Scotland earlier announced the axing up to 500 back-office [...]
UK balance of payments narrows as GDP grows September 28, 2010 The UK’s balance of payments narrowed to £7.38bn between April and June official figures have shown. According to the e Office for National Statistics (ONS) Britain’s deficit with the rest of the world narrowed to £7.383bn from an upwardly revised £11.298bn in the first quarter. Meanwhile Britain’s economy grew at its fastest pace in nine [...]
Man Group hit as more clients pull out assets September 28, 2010 Hedge fund firm Man Group saw clients pull out assets for an eighth straight quarter, as improved performance from its flagship AHL fund failed to offset withdrawals by private investors. Man, which is buying smaller rival GLG to boost assets and diversify away from computer-driven funds, said clients withdrew a net $600m (£379m) over the [...]
JJB warns that sales stalling September 28, 2010 Sportswear retailer JJB Sports said trading conditions had got tougher in recent weeks as shoppers brace themselves for higher taxes and big cuts in public spending. The group, which teetered on the brink of insolvency in 2009, said sales at stores open at least a year rose 18 per cent from August 2 to August [...]
Lloyds of London profit halves as claims rise September 28, 2010 The Lloyd’s of London insurance market said its profit for the first six months of 2010 more than halved, hit by higher catastrophe claims and weaker investment returns. Lloyd’s had a first half pretax profit of £628m, down from £1.32bn in the same period last year, it said on Tuesday. Lloyd’s, which traces its origins [...]