Zurich appoints new chair after death of exec September 11, 2013 ZURICH Insurance yesterday appointed Tom de Swaan to be its chairman, as the company starts rebuilding its board following the death of chief financial officer Pierre Wauthier. Wauthier committed suicide last month, leaving behind a note in which he allegedly blamed Zurich’s ex-chairman Josef Ackermann for putting him under excessive pressure at work. Ackerman resigned [...]
Black taxis back in business as new owner Geely restarts production line in Coventry September 11, 2013 LONDON’S black cabs have started rolling off the production line in Coventry again, six months after Chinese business Geely bought the manufacturer out of administration. Geely has pledged to invest £150m in the factory that makes the iconic TX4 model over the next five years. The firm said yesterday that it has already sold out [...]
Redrow signs £250m loan as it sets sights on further expansion September 11, 2013 REDROW announced yesterday it has agreed on a new and larger £250m loan with its banks, in a further sign of growing confidence in the housing market. The housebuilder said the four and a half year credit facility, which expires in March 2018, was £50m bigger than the existing facility it replaces, while costs were [...]
Lendlease wins on Battersea September 11, 2013 LENDLEASE won planning consent yesterday to build 200 new homes at two schemes in Battersea. The property giant, which is also behind the £1.5bn regeneration of Elephant & Castle, said the developments bring the number of homes for which it has won consent for in London this year to 700. The first site on Surrey [...]
Buyers queuing for homes, says Barratt’s chief September 11, 2013 HOUSEBUILDER Barratt Developments yesterday said queues were forming for its housing schemes for the first time since the financial crisis, as the market recovery spreads beyond southeast England. Britain’s largest housebuilder by volume, said yesterday that buyer appetite for its homes was so strong that for some sites it was making five to 10 sales [...]
Surge in London living costs as rents jump to £2,192 a month September 11, 2013 LONDON rents increased in August after pausing for six months, according to numbers out yesterday from estate agency Move with Us. Rents in the capital increased 1.74 per cent in August to an average of £2,192, though that is still 3.38 per cent below the level a year ago. The increases come at a time [...]
Cable and bank boss voice fears on Help to Buy September 11, 2013 BUSINESS secretary Vince Cable and Barclays’ Anthony Jenkins mauled the Treasury’s Help to Buy scheme yesterday, adding to fears about the risk of a new housing bubble. Cable said: “We should certainly think about how it should come into effect, indeed whether it should come into effect in the light of changing market [...]
UK deals still 60pc down on pre-crisis highs September 11, 2013 THE FINANCIAL sector across the world has still not recovered from the credit crunch, with deal levels a quarter below 2007 levels, law firm Allen and Overy said yesterday. And in the UK the picture is even worse, with deals – from mergers and acquisitions, and bond and equity fundraising – down 63 per cent. [...]
African Barrick shares plunge as exec resigns September 11, 2013 STRUGGLING Tanzania-focused miner African Barrick Gold yesterday said that its chief operating officer had resigned with immediate effect, less than a month after the departure of its chief executive. The FTSE 250-listed firm issued no timeframe for the appointment of Marco Zolezzi’s replacement. Chief executive Brad Gordon, who only took over three weeks ago from [...]
Trouble at the top September 11, 2013 African Barrick Gold is just one of scores of miners to have shaken up its management of late, prompted by challenging market conditions and a renewed focus on cost cuts after years of wayward spending during the heady days of the mining boom. New chief executive Brad Gordon – who is luckily used to challenges [...]
