DEALMAKER OF THE YEAR | The Shortlist September 6, 2010 THE past 12 months have seen a boom in M&A as we have emerged from the downturn, with the Kraft-Cadbury deal filling endless column inches.?Elsewhere, Santander’s onward march continued. Other deals brokered by our short list were perhaps not so high-profile, but just as impressive in their own sectors. Don’t miss the City event of [...]
City veteran to help troubled Gartmore September 1, 2010 EMBATTLED fund manager Gartmore hired industry veteran Robert Kyprianou as a non-executive director yesterday as rumours swirled of a sell-off by its largest shareholder. Kyprianou, whose CV includes stints at ABN Amro’s investment arm and Axa Framlington, will add weight to Gartmore’s board at a time of intense difficulty for the company. Gartmore has seen [...]
Wembley ‘big incentive for London clubs’ August 26, 2010 ARSENAL chief executive Ivan Gazidis believes a Wembley final will provide extra motivation for London clubs to go all the way in the Champions League after British sides learned their fates yesterday. Newcomers Tottenham got the plum draw they hoped for with a group that includes last season’s winners Inter Milan, while Chelsea and the [...]
Banks and miners push FTSE to its highest close in a week August 17, 2010 FINANCIAL stocks and commodity companies pushed Britain’s top share index up for a third session by the close on Tuesday, as fears about a global economic slowdown abated and raw material prices gained. The FTSE 100 ended up 74.45 points, or 1.4 per cent, at 5,350.55, its highest close in a week. Miners were firmer, [...]
Cowdery eyes third project as profits leap August 17, 2010 ENTREPRENEUR Clive Cowdery has begun sounding out potential sellers of assets for a third consolidation project after Resolution beat expectations with a £139m first-half profit. Cowdery, who banked a fortune of millions of pounds from the first incarnation of his insurance buyout vehicle, has held talks with both open and closed life companies in the [...]
RESOLUTION August 17, 2010 WHEN it comes to insurance, size matters and that’s the strategy Resolution is betting the farm on. After buying two insurers – Friends Provident and most of Axa’s UK life operations – it is clear that it’s now hunting down its next prey. The question for investors is whether Resolution, founded by insurance entrepreneur Clive [...]
Resolution posts profit and eyes new acquisitions August 17, 2010 Insurance buyout vehicle Resolution said on it would hunt out further acquisitions in a consolidating sector, as it posted an interim profit compared to a loss a year earlier. Resolution made an operating profit before tax of £203m for the six months ending June, compared to a loss of £7m a year earlier. Its earnings [...]
CITY MOVES | WHO’S SWITCHING JOBS August 11, 2010 Coutts The private bank has appointed Jeff Stubberfield as a commercial banker in its media banking team, looking after clients in the music, TV and entertainment business. Stubberfield has over 15 years of experience in financial services and joins from Barclays, where he spent eight years, latterly as a relationship director managing a portfolio of [...]
NAB happy to maintain status quo in the UK August 10, 2010 National Australia Bank (NAB) yesterday said it was happy with the status quo in the UK and any acquisitions it made there would have to meet its financial criteria. NAB chief executive Cameron Clyne also told analysts there were no immediate plans to change the mortgage rate despite rising funding costs. NAB’s UK operations – [...]
Hannover Re hit by pricing pressure fear August 10, 2010 Hannover Re yesterday joined a wave of European insurance players reporting forecast-beating results as rising premiums amid economic recovery offset high damage claims. However, analysts expressed worry about Hannover’s underwriting performance in the second quarter and the prospect of reinsurance prices coming under pressure, contributing to a fall in Hannover’s shares which closed six per [...]