Rothesay plans £3.5bn takeover of Swiss Re division January 5, 2019 Insurance company Rothesay Life is planning a £3.5bn takeover bid for a unit of Swiss Re, derailing plans to list it on the stock market. Rothesay approached reinsurance firm Swiss Re a few weeks ago about the possibility of buying ReAssure, the company's British closed books division, according to Sky News. The company plans to a make a [...]
SSE to sell 50 per cent stake in its telecoms arm for £380m in bid to cut debt December 21, 2018 Scottish and Southern Energy (SSE) is set to sell a 50 per cent stake in its telecoms business to Infracapital for a fee of around £380m. The company announced the planned sale to the infrastructure equity investment arm of M&G Prudential on Friday as it tries to reduce its debt. It comes as part of a wider restructuring [...]
Talktalk stalls on £1.5bn deal to roll out full-fibre internet to UK homes November 7, 2018 British telecoms network Talktalk has put discussions with Prudential-owned investment vehicle Infracapital on hold amid a valuation dispute on a £1.5bn deal to roll out full-fibre broadband to millions of homes across the country. Sky News reported tonight that the two parties have reached an impasse on the joint venture, which was announced in February. [...]
FTSE 100 roundup: Today’s winners and losers November 2, 2018 The FTSE 100 lost ground today, with the index down 8.05 points at 7,106.61 shortly before the market close. Markets globally reacted positively to suggestions that the US and China may be coming towards a deal to end their recent trade war. However, looking at the week just gone, it appears that the FTSE 100 [...]
There’s nothing to fear from the latest easing back of Dodd-Frank’s reach October 17, 2018 Shortly after his inauguration as President, Donald Trump pledged to do “a big number” on Dodd-Frank regulations, labelling the post-crisis measures “a disaster” and promising to “kill” parts of the legislation. While the rhetoric was typically Trumpian, the reality has proven to be somewhat more modest. Nonetheless, a change in the White House's direction of [...]
In the new age of cyber warfare, finance firms are on the front line October 15, 2018 Throughout history, the job of the nation state has been to protect citizens from a range of threats, be that disease, famine, or foreign invasion. In an analogue world, these threats were physical in nature and, as a result, mostly localised. The threat landscape is radically different in a connected, digital world. Critical infrastructures, from smart [...]
Prudential appoints Just Eat chair ahead of demerger October 1, 2018 The UK's largest listed insurer Prudential has hired Just Eat chairman Mike Evans ahead of the demerger of its life insurance and asset management unit, M&G Prudential. Evans brings more than 36 years of experience in the savings and investments sector to the role, having previously worked as chairman of stockbroker and financial services firm Hargreaves Lansdown and chief executive of Skandia. He will [...]
Rothesay Life buys £860m of UK ‘bad bank’ mortgage loans September 27, 2018 Insurance giant Rothesay Life has bought an £860m equity release portfolio from the UK government's "bad bank", which was set up following the financial crisis. The portfolio was sold by UK Asset Resolution (Ukar), a holding company for the closed mortgage books of failed lenders Northern Rock, Bradford & Bingley and Mortgage Express. Read more: [...]
Rothesay Life the frontrunner to acquire £900m Government mortgage portfolio September 20, 2018 British insurance giant Rothesay Life is the frontrunner to acquire a £900m mortgage portfolio from the Government, it has been reported. Rothesay will buy the equity release mortgages from UK Asset Resolution (UKAR), according to Sky News. Read more: What effect did the financial crash have on UK property? The news comes six months after Rothesay Life acquired [...]
Prudential delivers higher profit as Asia business keeps growing August 11, 2015 Prudential yesterday reported a 17 per cent increase in operating profits in Asia during the six months to 30 June, soothing City fears that the firm’s exposure to China would affect its performance. The financial services company’s operating profits from its Asian business totalled £632m for the first half of the year. Prudential announced a [...]