London Stock Exchange “1000 companies to inspire Britain” 2015: London leads competitors Greater Manchester and Essex March 10, 2015 Specialty beer firm BrewDog, challenger bank Metro Bank and high-street café Patisserie Valerie are all among the "1000 companies to inspire Britain" named by the London Stock Exchange. The report, supported by Lloyds Bank, the Business Growth Fund and Cenkos Securities, is in its second year. Most of the companies more than doubled their revenue in [...]
City Moves for 10 March 2015 | Who’s switching jobs March 9, 2015 New Bridge Street The executive remuneration specialist has appointed Drew Matthews as partner. He joins from Tesco, where he was group reward director for the past three years. Matthews has also held consultancy roles at PwC, Deloitte, and Stern Stewart. Eaton Vance Management International David Morley has been appointed business development director, UK institutional at [...]
London’s firms leading British growth spurt March 9, 2015 LONDON’S economy is leading Britain’s resurgence and contributing to an acceleration in job creation, Lloyds’ regional business survey shows today. Britain’s purchasing managers’ index (PMI) score held steady at 56.7 in February – a strong result, as any score over 50 represents growth. Business activity has now been rising for 28 consecutive months, according to [...]
Virgin Money share price jumps as underlying profit more than doubles after IPO March 5, 2015 The figures Shares in recently-listed challenger bank Virgin Money rose almost five per cent in late morning trading, after it posted figures showing full-year underlying pre-tax profit soared 127 per cent thanks to its swelling mortgage loan book. The challenger bank, which floated in November, said underlying pre-tax profit was £121m in 2014, up from [...]
What’s in store for London’s financial services sector? March 2, 2015 Going into this year, a general election in May, as well as the possibility of a "Brexit" all loom over the City's future. So what are some of the biggest risks facing London's financial services industry? It's an important question. Financial and related professional services contributed £174bn to the UK economy in 2012, or 12.6% of the total. [...]
Hiscox pre-tax profit falls amid low interest rate environment March 2, 2015 The figures Specialist insurer Hiscox has said pre-tax profit fell to £231.1m for the year ending 31 December 2014, down from £244.5m a year earlier. The London-listed group reported a 3.3 per cent increase in gross written premiums, jumping to £1,756.3m in the same period. Why it's interesting Insurers such as Hiscox have struggled amid a [...]
City Moves for 02 March 2015 | Who’s switching jobs March 1, 2015 Newcourt Residential The luxury property developer has appointed Graham Weiss to its board as a non-executive director. He was previously managing director of Octagon Developments, and has over 30 years’ experience in the UK luxury property industry. Hitachi Capital (UK) The financial services firm has appointed Robert Gordon as chief executive. He joined Hitachi Capital [...]
From Greece and Natalie Bennett to the banks and London’s skyline: Here’s what got us talking this week February 27, 2015 There was a lot of talk about a dress. And quite a bit about the llama drama. But here at City A.M. Towers, we were obsessing about plenty of other things. Greece finally managed to break the stalemate over its debt, negotiating a four month extension with Germany, and ending weeks of debate about a [...]
What’s in store for London’s financial services sector? February 27, 2015 With the onslaught of regulation post-financial crisis, and the rise of other financial centres like Hong Kong, many have been left wondering what's in store for the future of London's financial services sector? It's an important question. London's financial sector Financial and related professional services contributed £174bn to the UK economy in 2012, accounting for 12.6% [...]
City Moves for 27 February 2015 | Who’s switching jobs February 26, 2015 Octopus Investments The fund management firm has appointed Richard Wazacz as business line manager for venture capital trusts. He was formerly corporate development director for UK and Europe at Prudential. Wazacz has also held senior positions at Lloyds Banking Group. BLP The law firm has appointed Daniyal Ansari as partner in its real estate finance [...]