Standard Life to shut down Singapore arm June 25, 2015 Standard Life is closing its insurance business in Singapore, swallowing a £45m loss, it revealed today. The FTSE 100 company said the closure would go ahead subject to regulatory approvals, but that it was now no longer accepting new applications or contributions to existing plans. Customers in Singapore will be contacted with an [...]
Afren’s share price soars as it reveals entire board is stepping down at today’s AGM June 25, 2015 Afren's share price jumped nearly 20 per cent this morning after it emerged the entire board, including chairman Egbert Imomoh, will step down after today's AGM. As well as Imomah, Toby Hayward, Patrick Obath, Sheree Bryant and Iain McLaren will not stand for re-election as directors. Imomah said: "The past year has been [...]
Bank junction facing second protest – and “die-in” – over cycle death June 24, 2015 Bank will be the scene of a second protest highlighting the dangers of cycling on London's roads on Monday, in response to the death of a young City worker this week. PwC employee Ying Tao died on Monday after being knocked off her bike by a tipper truck. That was the second death in [...]
Bank junction could still be pedestrianised, as City of London insists “plans not shelved” June 24, 2015 Plans for an overhaul of Bank junction – which could include complete pedestrianisation – have “not been shelved”, the City of London Corporation insisted today. Proposals will be put forward in a couple of months that will outline three possible designs for the junction: one will be fully pedestrianised, one partial and one a [...]
Piccadilly’s Criterion restaurant enters administration after 60 per cent rental hike by landlord Criterion Capital June 24, 2015 Iconic London restaurant Criterion has gone into administration after 140 years, as a result of sky-high rents. UHY Hacker Young has been appointed administrator, with Peter Kubik and Andrew Andronikou handling the case. The Criterion was put into administration by the directors after its rent jumped 60 per cent from £525,000 to £850,000 [...]
Bank junction brought to standstill by cycle protest June 24, 2015 Hundreds of protesters brought Bank junction to a standstill this morning, as they gathered in a flash protest to highlight cycle safety. The protest, organised by the London Cycling Campaign, had been called at short notice following the death of 26-year-old PwC employee Ying Tao, who was killed in an accident involving a tipper [...]
UK Oil and Gas’ share price rises as Gatwick gusher company reveals wide-ranging plans for next six months June 24, 2015 UK Oil & Gas (Ukog), the company behind the Gatwick Gusher, has widened its losses – but the company is confident about opportunities over the coming months. The figures: Ukog made a loss of £383,000 for the six months to 31 March, up from a £290,000 loss over the same period in 2014. However [...]
SuperGroup confirms Wharton as chief financial officer after previous finance head was made bankrupt June 24, 2015 SuperGroup, the parent company of young fashion label SuperDry, has upgraded its interim chief financial officer Nick Wharton to a permanent role. Wharton, who now joins the board had been acting in the role since 25th February, when he joined from Dunelm where he was chief executive. He had been parachuted in after [...]
Buckingham Palace could be vacated to remove asbestos as upkeep presents “significant financial challenge” June 24, 2015 It's not just the UK's elected officials that apparently need to be rehoused – Her Majesty the Queen could be forced to move out of Buckingham Palace to make way for repair work. Maintanence work costing as much as £150m is needed for the central London palace, with the BBC quoting sources as saying [...]
London’s cyclists will continue to die until decisive action is taken June 24, 2015 The latest cyclist casualty figures from TfL look like good news. Cyclist deaths and serious injuries appear to have gone down at the same time as the number of people in London cycling – especially commuting into the centre – is increasing. And yet the number of cyclists killed or suffering life-changing injuries in [...]