Recruiter Robert Walters reveals boost in net fee income for fourth quarter of 2015 January 11, 2016 Recruitment consultancy Robert Walters revealed today that it had brought in total net fee income of £59.1m for its fourth quarter ending 31 December 2015, up 10 per cent on a constant currency basis compared to the same period the year before. The recruiter also announced that net fee income for its UK business was [...]
UK pensions: People need to shop around for an annuity, as difference in rates at upper and lower end of the market for a standard annuity is 17 per cent January 11, 2016 An investment company has urged those purchasing an annuity to shop around, as it today revealed figures that showed the average annuity rate had dropped off in the last quarter. The analysis by Retirement Advantage found that the average annuity rate fell by 3.2 per cent in the final quarter of 2015, thanks in part [...]
Euribor rigging trial: £1m bail requested for Christian Bittar as six of 11 ex-traders accused appear in court January 11, 2016 Former Deutsche Bank employee Christian Bittar, who appeared in court today over accusations regarding the manipulation of the Euro Interbank Offered Rate (Euribor), has been ordered to pay bail security of £1m. Bittar, who was represented by David Cameron's brother Alexander Cameron QC and will turn 44 years old tomorrow, was one of the six ex-traders who attended Westminster Magistrates’ [...]
Lin Homer steps down as HMRC chief executive and the search for her successor is underway January 11, 2016 Lin Homer has announced today that she will be stepping down as chief executive of HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) in April, after joining just over four years ago. Homer said: "After ten years as a chief executive and permanent secretary in the Civil Service, the start of the next Spending Review period seemed to be [...]
UK Weather: Storms Desmond, Eva and Frank have already cost insurers £24m, with the total bill looking like it could be £1.3bn January 11, 2016 Insurers have already forked out nearly £24m in emergency payments to deal with the aftermath of storms Desmond, Eva and Frank. Statistics released today by the Association of British Insurers (ABI), which is a trade association for insurers and represents over 250 companies, revealed that these emergency payments comprised of £9m to domestic customers and £15m [...]
Co-op Group grows its legal services offering with acquisition of Collective Legal Solutions January 11, 2016 The Co-op Group has today announced that it has purchased Collective Legal Solutions Group, in a bid to grow its legal services business. Collective Legal Solutions, which has over 100 associates and support colleagues and was founded in 2007, has been acquired to strengthen Co-op’s already existing legal services offering. Co-op Legal Services was set [...]
UK Pensions: MPs warn Department for Work and Pensions that people are confused by new state pension and communications need to be improved urgently January 11, 2016 MPs have called on the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) to urgently change the information sent to people reaching retirement age after it was discovered that confusion was rife over the new state pension. An interim report published today by the Commons Work and Pensions Select Committee highlights some of the responses received from [...]
DLA Piper partner pay is on the up despite drop in revenue and profits January 10, 2016 Law firm DLA Piper International experienced a dip in its profits available to be dished out to partners for its year ended 30 April 2015, down to £264m, which is a 2.4 per cent fall from £271m the year before. However, because of a decrease in the number of partners at the firm from 714 [...]
Insurers which snoop on customers using social media could be in line for a crackdown as Financial Conduct Authority finishes gathering input on big data use January 10, 2016 The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) finished gathering input on how insurers use big data late last week, which might mean a crackdown could be around the corner for those who use social media to snoop on customers. In November, the FCA launched a Call for Inputs on big data in the retail general insurance sector, [...]
Priory Group, famed for celebrity rehab clients, sold to US-based Acadia Healthcare Company January 4, 2016 US-based Acadia Healthcare Company today announced that it had agreed to buy Priory Group. The companies plan for the deal to consist of shares and cash, with Acadia trading £1.3bn in cash, including £925m to be used to repay outstanding debts, and 5.4m shares to acquire the UK healthcare company. Priory, which is known for [...]
