Centrica names new British Gas chief executive April 14, 2015 Centrica has named the new chief executive of its British Gas arm: former Aviva boss Mark Hodges will take over at the beginning of June. At a time when energy companies – particularly former state-owned ones – are at the centre of a political football game, few in the industry will envy Hodges' new role. [...]
Montague quits as 3i chair to focus on Aviva April 13, 2015 TULLOW Oil chairman Simon Thompson added 3i to his portfolio of non-executive roles yesterday, as the investment group appointed him to head up its board. He will replace Sir Adrian Montague, who is leaving to spend more time in his role as Aviva’s chairman. Thompson’s leadership style is expected to contrast with the relatively fraught relationship [...]
Aviva takeover of rival Friends Life completes April 13, 2015 UK INSURER Aviva was up by 1.17 per cent after the first day of trading following completion of its takeover of Friends Life. The company announced yesterday that almost 1.1bn new Aviva shares had been admitted to the London Stock Exchange, taking its total number of issued shares to around 4.05bn. Aviva unveiled its £5.6bn [...]
Weak Chinese data hits FTSE mining stocks – London Report April 13, 2015 THE UK’s top equity index slipped from record highs yesterday as surprisingly weak data from China weighed on mining stocks, with investors also growing cautious before next month’s General Election. The FTSE 100 index, which touched a record high of 7,095.36 points on Friday, retreated 25.47 points, or 0.4 per cent, to 7,064.30 points by [...]
M&G Investment provides £40m loan for 400 south east homes April 12, 2015 M&G INVESTMENTS has agreed to provide an east London housing association with a £40m loan as part of its expansion into the UK housing sector. The pension fund manager said the 30-year loan to Estuary would help build 400 homes over the next three years. Half the homes will be built in London boroughs while [...]
City Moves for 08 April 2015 | Who’s switching jobs April 7, 2015 Marsh The insurance and risk management firm has appointed Sally Williams as director of risk and governance. She joins from National Australia Bank Group, where she was head of risk, London branch. Williams has also worked as group director of risk at Aviva. Legal & General Investment Management The asset management firm has announced two [...]
Pension changes April 2015: Huge demand sees pension groups Aviva, Prudential and Pension Wise open for bank holiday business April 7, 2015 Pension firms have put extra measures in place to deal with the impact of the new pension rules, which came into play yesterday. The reforms mean savers aged 55 and over will no longer be forced to buy an annuity with their pension pot, and instead will be allowed to cash in as much of [...]
Webuyanycar.com owner British Car Auctions sold for £1.2bn March 26, 2015 The company formerly known as British Car Auctions (now known as BCA), the parent behind those ubiquitous, irritating webuyanycar.com ads, has been sold for £1.2bn, it was confirmed today. BCA was sold to listed investment fund Haversham, which is backed by City fund houses including Aviva, Schroders, Inveso and Artemis. It had been thought to [...]
West End landlord Shaftesbury goes shopping for £130m loan March 18, 2015 WEST END property developer Shaftesbury yesterday secured a £130m loan with Aviva, wiping out a £100m debt that was due to expire next September. The company, which owns huge swathes of London’s busiest shopping districts, including Carnaby Street and Covent Garden, said the new 15-year loan has a fixed rate of 3.2 per cent and [...]
Budget 2015: Personal finance groups including Hargreaves Lansdown, St James’ Place and Rathbone’s share price boosted by “saving revolution” Budget March 18, 2015 Personal finance groups were treated to a share price boost this afternoon, after George Osborne unveiled “a saving revolution”. Bristol-based IFA Hargreaves Lansdown led the pack, up 4.8 per cent at pixel time. St James' Place also jumped on the announcements, up 3.5 per cent. Rathbone Brothers's share price was up two per cent, while [...]