Welsh water bidding war heats up after activist locals attempt to block Severn Trent takeover January 16, 2017 An investment company is still hopeful of buying a Welsh water company, with angry locals seeking to block the rival bid in an unprecedented case of shareholder activism. FTSE 100-listed utility firm Severn Trent agreed an £84m, £18.25-per-share, takeover for Dee Valley Water in November. However, in a never-before-seen move, the deal was blocked last week [...]
Axa UK’s chief executive: With a future of fleets of drones and driverless cars, incumbent insurers must act now January 13, 2017 Running late for work, you burst out of the front door and jump into the back seat of your car. Checking that the coast is clear, the vehicle pulls out of the drive and patiently glides down the street, pausing for traffic. Meanwhile, your smartwatch, gauging your speed and accessing the latest traffic data knows [...]
Axa reveals the cost of Bluefin’s sale to Marsh & McLennan January 2, 2017 Axa will take a €82m (£70m) hit from its £295m sale of UK small business insurance broker Bluefin to US giant Marsh & McLennan. The sale, previously announced in November and referred to by Marsh's boss as "very much a post-Brexit deal", completed today. The move by the French insurer followed the £395m sale of its SunLife [...]
City Moves for 13 December 2016 | Who’s switching jobs December 13, 2016 COLLINSON GROUP Collinson Group has appointed Rebecca White as head of proposition for accident & health (A&H), a core element of its fast-growing insurance and assistance division. In her new role, Rebecca will look to create a leading, global partnership proposition across the firm’s A&H product line as well as building innovative products and service [...]
Planned City skyscraper 22 Bishopsgate taken down a notch over fears of plane crash risks December 6, 2016 A new skyscraper planned for the City has had to knock a few floors off the top, over fears that cranes used to build it could pose a risk to flights over London. New plans have been submitted to reduce 22 Bishopsgate's height by four floors, or 22m, according to Construction Enquirer, meaning the tower [...]
Legal & General in advanced talks to sell Dutch operations to Chesnara November 21, 2016 Legal & General (L&G) is in advanced talks to sell its Dutch arm to Chesnara, with an announcement of the sale expected later this week. According to Sky News, Chesnara, the London-listed owner of Countrywide Assured, is in talks to buy the overseas unit of L&G and is expected to pay around £130m for the Dutch [...]
The ministry of justice to stamp out “bogus” whiplash claims, while insurers promise to pass on savings November 17, 2016 Insurers and motorist groups celebrated government plans to get tough on bogus whiplash claims. Motor insurers have clamoured about the inflationary impact of whiplash claims over recent years. They have said that despite a generally soft insurance market, motor premiums have soared because of spiralling personal injury claims. Read more: Here's one more way the cost of motoring is [...]
Evelyn Wallace of AXA advises on respectfully managing an employee with cancer November 15, 2016 With an estimated 2.5m people living with cancer in the UK there’s a strong chance that you, or someone you know, has personal experience of the disease. Perhaps you’ve managed an employee who’s been diagnosed with cancer? With the number of people in the UK affected by cancer set to rise to 4m by 2030, there [...]
Marsh chief exec reveals details of its £295m purchase of Bluefin from Axa November 14, 2016 US insurance broking giant Marsh said that the Brexit vote had no bearing on its £295m purchase of UK small business specialist Bluefin. The deal, announced earlier today, means that Bluefin’s 1,500 staff across 45 offices will move from the Axa umbrella to the subsidiary of Marsh & McLennan Companies. Speaking to City A.M., Marsh chief exec Mark [...]
Spanner in the works for HSBC chairman search, as Henri de Castries eyes French government role November 13, 2016 HSBC may have to reconsider its options for who it wants to replace chairman Douglas Flint, as a top candidate eyes up a post in politics. It has been speculated for some time that Henri de Castries, who joined the bank's board as a non-executive director this March, is the front runner for the role. However, the Sunday [...]