CITY MOVES | WHO’S SWITCHING JOBS January 7, 2010 Rathbone Brothers The fund management group has appointed Mike Webb as chief executive of its unit trust business, Rathbone Unit Trust Management. Webb has over 25 years of experience in the retail funds world and joins from Hermes Fund Managers, where he was head of business development. He has also previously held roles as chief [...]
Miners push FTSE higher but M&S weighs on retail shares January 7, 2010 BRITAIN’S top shares added 0.1 percent yesterday as a rally by heavyweight miners, in tandem with stronger metal prices, offset weakness in energy issues, with retailers upset by a disappointing update from M&S. At the close, the FTSE 100 index was 7.54 points higher at 5,530.04, another 16-month closing high. “It looks like the big [...]
Aviva buys US equities house January 5, 2010 AVIVA Investors has bolted on a US equities operation through the takeover of River Road, a Kentucky-based boutique asset manager, for an undisclosed sum. The British insurer’s funds arm said the acquisition would complement its existing fixed income presence in the US and help it win more institutional mandates in North America. River Road has [...]
Mining and oil stocks drive London to a 16-month high January 4, 2010 Strength in commodity stocks and banks drove Britain’s leading share index to a 16-month closing high yesterday, the first session of 2010, outweighing falls from real estate firms and life insurers. The FTSE 100 closed up 87.46 points, or 1.6 per cent, at 5,500.34, its highest close since Sept. 2, 2008 – the month when [...]
Omega board faces coup January 3, 2010 OMEGA Insurance is under increasing pressure to replace the directors of its board after Invesco Perpetual, its largest shareholder, secured the backing of other investors to request a special general meeting. Neil Woodford, Invesco’s star fund manager, wants to oust Walter Fiederowicz and replace him with former Benfield man John Coldman as chairman of the [...]
HUMAN LIE DETECTOR BOOSTED BY CITY COMPANIES ON THE WARPATH December 20, 2009 WE ALL know businesses are rather jumpier than usual given the difficult ride they’ve had over the course of the recession, but I hear some are taking truly unprecedented steps to counter risky office behaviour. Darren Stanton, who calls himself a “human lie detector”, tells me he has seen a surge in requests from corporates [...]
CITY MOVES | WHO’S SWITCHING JOBS December 20, 2009 PricewaterhouseCoopers The accountancy firm has appointed Martin Caddick to lead its risk and business continuity management services team. Caddick joins from insurance broking and risk advisory firm Marsh, where he developed a successful business continuity practice and worked with numerous Fortune 500 companies in the UK and overseas. He also previously held director roles at [...]
Dealings start well for Moulton group December 17, 2009 JON Moulton’s £142.4m investment vehicle Better Capital made a quiet start to trading on AIM yesterday, ticking up as high as 105p before settling 3.5p up at 103.5p. Moulton, a former managing partner of private equity firm Alchemy Partners, will use the listed vehicle to deploy capital turning around companies in dire financial straits. Deal [...]
CITY MOVES | WHO’S SWITCHING JOBS December 17, 2009 Aviva The insurance giant has appointed Gary Price as marketing director of its UK business. Price will be responsible for customer insight, strategy, brand, sponsorship, communications and corporate responsibility across the UK’s life and general insurance businesses. He was most recently responsible for the reattribution of the inherited estate at Aviva, having joined the business [...]
Moulton raises £143m for investment vehicle to target distressed companies December 15, 2009 PRIVATE equity industry veteran Jon Moulton has raised £142.4m to invest in struggling businesses through his new investment vehicle. Moulton, perhaps best known for his involvement in an unsuccessful bid to buy collapsed Midlands car maker MG Rover, will advise Better Capital, which will list on the Alternative Investment Market (AIM) on tomorrow. The group’s [...]