Brit opts for UK return after its four-year exile March 31, 2014 BRIT, the Lloyd’s of London insurer that has just listed on the stock market, has moved its headquarters back to London from the Netherlands in a boost to the Treasury’s plans to attract more companies to the UK. “The group’s focus on the Lloyd’s market, together with the UK’s positive approach to the insurance sector, [...]
Old Mutual sells German insurer to joint venture March 28, 2014 UK LISTED fund manager Old Mutual has sold its German and Austrian insurance division to private equity firm Cinven and reinsurer Hannover. The all-cash deal, which will reap Old Mutual €220m (£181.9m), is part of the group’s bid to slim down its work in Europe and move its focus to faster growing markets overseas. Cinven [...]
Lloyd’s posts £3.2bn profit March 26, 2014 LLOYD’S of London has announced profits of £3.2bn for 2013, after a quiet year for insured catastrophes. The specialist insurance market posted strong results with profits up 14 per cent compared to 2012. The results are the first since Lloyd’s appointed Inga Beale to the role of chief executive, the first woman to hold the [...]
City Moves for 27 March 2014 | Who’s switching jobs March 26, 2014 Hanson Asset Management The asset management firm has announced the appointment of Jonathan Arthur as head of investment management. He was previously head of UK equities at UBS Private Wealth. KPMG The professional services firm has appointed Dan Roman to lead its UK hedge funds practice. He joined the hedge funds tax practice three years ago from EY, [...]
London Report: FTSE 100 ends flat after Lloyds’ drop weighs index down March 26, 2014 SHARES in Lloyds plunged 4.9 per cent yesterday after the government sold a stake in the lender at a discount to its stock price, and held back the UK’s blue chip equity index. The FTSE 100 index, which at one stage rose as much as 0.6 per cent, ended up by just 0.41 points, flat [...]
What you need to know before the open March 26, 2014 The rebound seen in European markets yesterday is expected to continue today, as investors set aside worries over the Ukraine-Russia situation, focusing on some pretty reasonable data from Germany and the US. The upbeat data buoyed Asian shares, which hit two week highs in Wednesday trading. Two further developments yesterday helped give markets a boost. [...]
Albemarle stock is suspended as lenders pull out March 24, 2014 TROUBLED pawnbroker Albemarle & Bond yesterday suspended its shares from trading on London’s Alternative Investment Market after lenders said they would no longer support the firm’s turnaround plan. Albemarle shareholders could face losing their money while the firm’s 1,000 staff could lose their jobs. “These remaining options open to the company, which could include the [...]
Why this pawnbroker’s shares are now worth nothing March 24, 2014 Troubled pawnbroker Albemarle & Bond requested its shares be suspended from trading on London's Alternative Investment Market (AIM). The company made the announcement after its lenders said they would not be able to support the management turnaround plan for the business. However, Albemarle & Bond insisted that the company's options remained open, including the sale [...]
Inside Track: In Barclays we trust: Retail investors rely on bank for new issues March 20, 2014 @hellierd There’s a page on the Barclays website that directs customers to the joys of investing in new issues and flotations. It is headlined: “Access investments before they become available on the market.” The trouble is that unless Barclays itself is working on one of the current crop of share issues, it is highly likely [...]
Investment into Europe property hits record high March 10, 2014 INVESTORS from outside of Europe spent a record €36bn (£30bn) on European real estate last year, with US, Asian and Middle Eastern investors leading the charge. According to research released today by DTZ at Mipim, the property’s industry annual conference in Cannes, this represented a 26 per cent share of total volumes invested across the [...]