What the other papers say this morning – 27 February 2014 February 26, 2014 FINANCIAL TIMES Hester to shore up RSA with £1.5bn Stephen Hester is finalising plans to shore up RSA’s balance sheet by as much as £1.5bn with one of the biggest equity raisings by a UK insurer, said people with knowledge of the matter. The former Royal Bank of Scotland chief, drafted in to run RSA [...]
Essar directors shun investor’s offer as too low February 24, 2014 ESSAR Energy’s independent directors have rejected a plan from the firm’s biggest investor to take the company private, saying the 70p offer price “clearly undervalues the company and its prospects”. The board members with no links to the Ruia family’s Essar Global Fund (EGF) unanimously shunned the proposal yesterday. EGF owns 78.02 per cent of [...]
Insurers should do more to help customers save February 19, 2014 THE CONSUMER body Which? has called on insurers to do more to help customers save money when they renew their policies. The group found that consumers would like more information on pricing when deciding which policy to buy, including details about the price they have been paying for the previous year’s insurance. Which? executive director, Richard [...]
Insurers working flat out to help flood victims, says industry body February 17, 2014 THE INSURANCE industry body has spoken up for insurers after ministers appeared to suggest they have not been doing enough to help communities affected by flooding. Director general of the Association of British Insurers Otto Thoresen said insurers have been working around the clock to help victims of the floods since before Christmas. “Flooding is [...]
Punch Taverns shelves £2.3bn debt rescue plan February 12, 2014 PUNCH Taverns will shelve its controversial plans to restructure its £2.3bn debt mountain in the face of opposition from bondholders with blocking stakes in the pub chain. Last week Punch warned that rejection of its plan to reduce its debt to £1.8bn would: “have a material negative impact on the business”. Yesterday the firm said [...]
Do not think twice about calling in military, says PM February 11, 2014 DAVID Cameron has urged flood-hit communities not to think twice about calling on the armed forces for help as severe weather warnings remain in place across the south east. Water levels are set to rise further today as heavy rain falls on saturated ground. The Prime Minister said he wants local council leaders to make [...]
Punch creditors say debt deal is scaremongering February 9, 2014 BONDHOLDERS of British pub operator Punch Taverns have claimed the company is “scaremongering” ahead of Friday’s vote on the restructuring of its £2.3bn debt mountain. Punch Taverns last week reminded bondholders of its imminent restructuring vote, warning that rejection would “have a material negative impact on the business”. The pub group, which now has over [...]
Punch Taverns warns of default if debt restructuring is blocked February 5, 2014 PUNCH Taverns reminded bondholders yesterday of its imminent restructuring vote that the company warned rejection of would “have a material negative impact on the business”. The struggling pub operator announced plans to restructure its £2.3bn debt pile with lenders last month. “The next few days will be some of the most important in the Company’s [...]
Insurers could demand info on fracking sites February 3, 2014 INSURERS could begin requesting information from homeowners about their proximity to fracking exploration sites if it looks likely that the process could cause damage to property. The Association of British Insurers (ABI) said the industry is monitoring fracking exploration and data around any related disturbances but stressed that there is currently very little evidence to [...]
Insurers count the cost of recent floods as bill tops £400 million January 28, 2014 THE INSURANCE industry looks set to pay out millions of pounds worth of claims after the country was hit by bad weather and flooding over the Christmas period. Figures released by the Association of British Insurers (ABI) put the estimated insured cost of the damage at £426m. The figure is the result of 174,000 claims between [...]