Aviva’s £5.6bn merger with Friends Life still to convince City November 24, 2014 The proposed £5.6bn merger between the insurer Aviva and its rival Friends Life will come under intense scrutiny when trading opens for the first time since the news broke after the markets closed on Friday. Although many in the City have viewed the move as a positive one for Aviva, not all are approving. “The [...]
Ineos boosts UK shale with $1bn investment vow November 20, 2014 SHALE gas could rejuvenate the UK’s manufacturing industry, Ineos boss Jim Ratcliffe told a press conference yesterday. The chemicals firm chairman made the comments after revealing that his firm planned to invest $1bn (£637m) in UK shale gas exploration and appraisal, with “substantial further investment” to follow if the company moved into development and production. [...]
Dyson commits £1.5bn in global invention quest November 20, 2014 Inventor James Dyson has today announced that his eponymous company, known for its revolutionary versions of household objects from electric fans to vacuum cleaners, is making a £1.5bn investment in future technology, at home and abroad. Dyson aims to launch 100 new products worldwide in the next four years. The financial commitment includes a £1bn [...]
Summit backs business case for diversity November 19, 2014 BRITISH businesses would perform better if they employed a more ethnically diverse workforce, attendees at an Institute of Directors (IoD) business and ethnicity summit heard yesterday. Vivían Hunt, UK managing partner at McKinsey, told the audience at the event that having ethnic diversity “is just as important as gender diversity”, and stated that it was [...]
Amlin share price dips but declining insurance rates fail to stop growing premiums November 19, 2014 Shares in insurance firm Amlin dipped by more than three per cent yesterday, as the company reported rate reductions across a range of its products during the first nine months of 2014. Average renewal rates were down by 2.5 per cent, although UK fleet motor rates were up by 5.7 per cent, while other UK [...]
Upbeat Melrose plans to pay out £200m in 2015 November 19, 2014 SHAREHOLDERS in investment vehicle Melrose Industries can expect a payout of around £200m early next year, after the company confirmed in a trading update yesterday that it would be making a return of capital in 2015. The business, which buys struggling manufacturing firms and improves them, said that trading during the past five months had [...]
Carillion wins contract to look after 50 prisons November 19, 2014 THE UK Ministry of Justice has appointed construction company Carillion and infrastructure group Amey to manage and maintain its public sector prisons. Carillion has been awarded two of the contracts up for grabs, and will provide facilities management services for around 50 prisons in London, the east of England and the south west, south central [...]
Prudential lifts new business profits despite annuity slump November 18, 2014 Insurance giant Prudential grew its new business profit by 17 per cent in the first nine months of 2014, up to £1.5bn from £1.4bn in the same period of last year. The company reported that UK new business profit grew by 28 per cent in the first three quarters, to £209m, while annual premium equivalent [...]
Rothschild enters the fray with equity issue proposal for Arms November 17, 2014 Financier Nat Rothschild may increase his stake in troubled mining firm Asia Resource Minerals (Arms). The Indonesian company announced yesterday that Rothschild had indicated his interest in underwriting an equity issue for the firm. At the start of this month, Samin Tan lost his status as controlling shareholder in Arms, with half of his 47.6 [...]
Serco chair resigns and takes full responsibility for firm’s troubles November 17, 2014 OUTSOURCING firm Serco Group yesterday announced the resignation of its chairman, Alastair Lyons. Lyons, who has been in the role since 2010, will step down once his replacement has been appointed. He said that the initial findings of the Strategy and Balance Sheet Review, which has been ongoing since early 2014, pointed to “strategic and [...]
