Aviva to sell Polish arm to Allianz for €2.5bn March 26, 2021 Aviva has agreed to sell its Polish arm to Allianz for a cash consideration of €2.5bn, which it said valued the acquired business at €2.7bn. The pension provider and insurer said it will now focus on its business in the UK, Ireland and Canada. This is Aviva’s eighth transaction in as many months. The giant [...]
Deliveroo float under fire as major investors balk at workers’ rights row March 25, 2021 Deliveroo’s blockbuster stock market float is under pressure after a string of high-profile investors said they will steer clear of the IPO due to the way the company treats its workers. Legal & General Investment Management and M&G today became the latest institutional investors to announce they will not take part in the delivery giant’s [...]
Green investment surges as UK bosses sound alarm on climate change March 25, 2021 The majority of UK bosses intend to increase their long-term investments in sustainability initiatives as they grow concerned about the impact of climate change. A PwC survey of UK chief executives reveals 70 per cent are concerned about the impact of climate change, with almost a third “extremely concerned” about the issue. But climate change [...]
MPs call for insurers Legal & General and Aviva to cut ties with HSBC over its Hong Kong stance March 22, 2021 A group of British parliamentarians have called for major British insurers Aviva and Legal & General to cut ties with HSBC over its support of Beijing’s democracy crackdown in Hong Kong. The group of 10 MPs and peers wrote to the pair of insurers to say that “investment in HSBC is in direct conflict with [...]
More than half of PE and VC firms have all-white investment teams March 17, 2021 Private equity and VC firms are making great strides with gender diversity but the industry is still significantly lagging on ethnic minority representation, according to new research. Analysis by the British Venture Capital and Private Equity Association (BVCA) and Level 20 reveals all male investment teams have declined from 28 per cent in 2018 to [...]
Aviva boss Amanda Blanc appointed Women in Finance Champion March 17, 2021 Amanda Blanc, chief executive of Aviva, has been appointed the Treasury’s Women in Finance champion. She succeeds Dame Jayne-Anne Gadhia, former chief executive of Virgin Money, who led the 2016 review into the representation of women in the industry. The Treasury launched its Women in Finance Charter after the review and it now has over [...]
Women sentenced after faking husband’s death for £400,000 insurance claim March 15, 2021 A woman from London faces two years imprisonment after she reported her husband dead in an attempt to defraud her insurer £397,153. Thuile Bhebhe, 51, reported that her husband had died in Zimbabwe in August 2016, submitting false documents to her insurer, Aviva, in order to substantiate her claim. But discrepancies in the paperwork submitted [...]
Share of Brits working from the office rises to pre-lockdown level, as remote working appeal fades March 5, 2021 Share of Brits working from the office rises to pre-lockdown level
Business chiefs urge Boris Johnson to speed up return to office review March 5, 2021 The bosses of some of London’s top businesses have urged Boris Johnson to accelerate a review that will determine when people can return to the office. The government is set to carry out a review of Covid safety measures such as one-metre social distancing and mask-wearing that will pave the way for a return to [...]
Coming or going? Aviva the latest to cut office space as rival bosses say ‘remote working can’t last’ March 4, 2021 Aviva the latest to cut office space as rival bosses say 'remote working can't last'