Interserve chairman Glyn Barker prepares to step down June 17, 2019 Interserve chairman Glyn Barker is preparing to step down following deal that saw the struggling outsourcing firm taken over by a consortium of its lenders. The company is working with recruitment search firm Heidrick & Struggles to appoint a successor, Sky News reported. Read more: Interserve went into administration owing suppliers £100m Barker, who was [...]
Gympass secures $300m in Softbank-led funding round June 12, 2019 Gympass has raised more than $300m (£236m) in a funding round led by Japanese investment giant Softbank. Read more: Softbank earns $11bn for selling some of its huge Alibaba stake The corporate fitness platform, which offers flexible gym memberships, said it has secured the funding from Softbank’s Vision Fund and existing investors. Softbank’s Latin America [...]
Aviva pushes out female senior exec while on maternity leave June 10, 2019 Insurer Aviva has pushed out one of its most senior female executives while she was on maternity leave. Chief people officer Sarah Morris went on maternity leave last July and was put on gardening leave at the end of May, the Sunday Times reported. Aviva refused to comment on the circumstances of Morris’s departure. In [...]
Sir Philip Green offers landlords cash to save Arcadia rescue plan June 7, 2019 Sir Philip Green has offered landlords £10m a year of his family’s cash to offset the impact of rent cuts in a bid to secure their backing to rescue his retail empire. Landlords had been asked to slash rental costs by 30 per cent to 70 per cent across 194 of Arcadia’s 566 UK and [...]
Aviva to cull 1,800 jobs to save £300m per year June 6, 2019 Aviva is set to cut 1,800 jobs over the next three years in a bid to help save £300m per year. The bombshell announcement means the UK insurance giant stands to lose six per cent of its 30,000 workforce under new chief executive Maurice Tulloch. Read more: Aviva CFO to leave in latest leadership shake-up [...]
Sir Philip Green’s fashion empire hangs by a thread as CVA vote is delayed June 5, 2019 SIR PHILIP Green made a dramatic last-minute bid to stall the collapse of his retail empire tonight after postponing a crunch vote that threatened the future of his high street brands. In a shock move the Topshop tycoon decided to delay the final decision from creditors on whether to approve an insolvency process for his [...]
Aviva CFO to leave in latest leadership shake-up June 5, 2019 Aviva’s CFO is set to depart in the latest of a series of sweeping changes under new boss Maurice Tulloch. Tom Stoddard will quit his role as chief financial officer at the end of June, the UK insurer’s board of directors said. Read more: Aviva share price falls as it warns of ‘muted’ 2019 He [...]
Esure and Directline founder Sir Peter Wood leads insurance start-up funding round May 28, 2019 Esure and Directline founder Sir Peter Wood has led a £2.5m funding round in insurance start-up Pikl. Wood received £360m when he sold his stake in Esure to private equity firm Bain Capital last year. The serial entrepreneur also founded Directline in the 1980s, allowing customers to buy insurance over the phone, later selling his [...]
Marks & Spencer pension scheme transfers £1.4bn to two insurers May 23, 2019 Troubled retailer Marks & Spencer (M&S) has transferred £1.4bn in pension scheme liabilities to two insurance companies, bringing the total insurance coverage to two thirds. Phoenix Group has insured £460m of liabilities, covering 5,000 pensioners, while Pension Insurance Corporation (PIC) has insured £900m of the £10bn pension scheme. Read more: M&S braced for fresh decline [...]
Challenger bank TSB unveils raft of leadership appointments as CYBG’s Debbie Crosbie begins her reign May 22, 2019 Challenger bank TSB has further bolstered its leadership team following the arrival of new chief executive Debbie Crosbie. The former CYBG chief operating officer took charge earlier this month, replacing Paul Pester who stepped down last year in the aftermath of a major IT meltdown. Read more: TSB launches fraud guarantee for customers after last [...]