First day for Luke Savage at Standard Life August 18, 2014 LUKE Savage will be putting his briefcase down at a new desk today, as he begins his role as finance director at Standard Life. Savage replaces Jackie Hunt, who moved to rival Prudential over a year ago, and joins the FTSE 100 company from Lloyd’s of London where he was director of finance and operations [...]
Standard Life’s profit rises but it warns on lack of clarity over Scotland August 5, 2014 Standard Life has revealed a 12 per cent rise in profit for the six months to 30 June. The UK insurance and pensions group said that its operating profit rose to £339m: an increase of £35m from £304m the year before. It said that the increase was driven by a boost in auto-enrolment [...]
London Report: All eyes on Standard Life ahead of next month’s Scot vote August 3, 2014 WITH the Scottish independence referendum about six weeks away, Standard Life’s half-year results tomorrow will make for interesting reading. In February, it was first major Scottish firm to warn it was drawing up contingency plans in the event of a “Yes” vote. Today HSBC Holdings, Fidessa, Telecity, Alent, Morgan Sindall, Ultra Electronics Holdings, esure and [...]
Standard Life’s shares dip after pension change June 2, 2014 FURTHER changes to the pensions market, expected to be announced by the government in the Queen’s speech tomorrow, caused Standard Life shares to dip by nearly 1.7 per cent yesterday. News that ministers are to legalise collective pension schemes similar to those seen in Holland and Canada has caused unease, after warnings of risks associated [...]
Standard Life backs BP executive pay for second time in nine years April 10, 2014 MAJOR BP shareholder Standard Life yesterday said it would back the oil company’s executive pay report for just the second time in nine years, after it called on the remuneration committee to beef up its targets. “Over the last year we have engaged with the company about our concerns and I’d like to place on [...]
Standard Life shares shoot up after Ignis deal March 26, 2014 STANDARD Life saw its share price rocket yesterday after it announced the acquisition of Ignis Asset Management for £390m. The insurance and pensions specialist saw its shares shoot up seven per cent to 400p per share after the purchase was announced. The deal signals a shift towards investment management and away from its core business [...]
Standard Life swoops for City fund firm Ignis March 24, 2014 STANDARD Life is on the verge of clinching a £400m deal to buy City funds group Ignis Asset Management, the latest tie-up in a wave of consolidations. The Scottish insurer, which runs £184bn through its Standard Life Investments brand, confirmed last night it was in exclusive talks with Ignis’ FTSE-listed owner Phoenix Group. The deal, [...]
Standard Life warns independence may see it quit Scotland February 27, 2014 Insurance giant Standard Life has become the first major Scottish business to warn that it may relocate its operations to England should Scotland vote for independence. In the company's annual report for 2013, chairman Gerry Grimstone said: We have been based in Scotland for 189 years and we are very proud of our heritage. Scotland [...]
Bottom Line: How Standard Life is speaking up for the minority February 17, 2014 STANDARD Life’s head of equities David Cumming was out of the country yesterday, but before he left he did something UK institutional shareholders rarely do: he publicly castigated the majority owners of the London-listed group Essar Energy for a takeover attempt he described as an example of “cynical opportunism”. Cumming’s public intervention, coming as it [...]
Standard Life’s Essar outburst shows shareholder activism has come to the UK February 17, 2014 Standard Life's head of equities David Cumming is out of the country today but before he left these shores he did something UK institutional shareholders rarely do: He publicly castigated the majority owners of the London-listed group Essar Energy for a takeover attempt he described as an example of "cynical opportunism". His public intervention, [...]