US insurance giant Gallagher buys UK’s Stackhouse Poland in $350m deal April 9, 2019 US insurance giant Arthur J. Gallagher has completed a $350m (£268m) deal for specialist UK insurance broker Stackhouse Poland. Gallagher – the main sponsor of Premiership Rugby – said the acquisition for the UK firm, which sells insurance to high net worth individuals, received full regulatory approval today. Read more: Revenues rise at insurance broker [...]
Lloyd’s of London will ban drunk staff from the office as it clamps down on harassment with new rules April 7, 2019 Lloyd’s of London is set to share a new code of conduct with employees this week, setting out revised expectations for staff following a series of allegations over the culture at the firm. Last month Bloomberg quoted 18 women who had been subjected to “near-persistent harassment” at the insurance market, with one colleague calling the [...]
Co-op boosts revenue and profit following Nisa deal April 5, 2019 Co-op has increased its revenue and profit strongly in the wake of its acquisition of retail chain Nisa in May. Looking forward the group warned of potential uncertainty over Brexit and said it was planning for various scenarios as best as it can. The numbers Revenue rose 14 per cent to £10.2bn and profit before [...]
Self-driving cars could inject £62bn into UK economy by 2030 if Brexit is a success, says trade body April 4, 2019 Self-driving cars could provide Britain's economy with a £62bn boost by 2030, but only if the UK agrees a favourable Brexit deal, a report by a leading trade body has found. The report, produced by the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT), says the UK is the world's number one location for connected and [...]
Dormant assets scheme could be expanded following government report April 4, 2019 A scheme to reallocate dormant assets to charitable causes could be extended to the investment and wealth management sector following the publication of a government report. An independent report commissioned by the government found that extending the scheme to other financial services, also including the insurance and pensions sector, could "significantly expand the money available to good [...]
The burden of business rates falls unfairly on the West End April 4, 2019 This week, UK retailers received one of their biggest tax bills of the year. The consequences of the 2017 revaluation of business rates will again be felt, with a further hike of nearly 50 per cent for some companies. Retailers in London’s West End and Mayfair will once again be hardest hit, paying the lion’s [...]
Shares in listed law firm Gordon Dadds jump after it acquires five overseas firms April 4, 2019 Shares in listed law firm Gordon Dadds climbed more than five per cent this morning after it said it had added five new partnerships to its network, representing £23m in revenue. The listed law firm, one of just a handful in the UK, has acquired Ince & Co’s former network firms in Hong Kong, Singapore, Dubai, [...]
Saga shares plunge 36 per cent after it announces £310m writedown and slashes dividend April 4, 2019 Over-50s travel and insurance company Saga lost a third of its value this morning after it said it was more than halving its dividend as it crashed to a £134.6m loss. Its share price plunged 35 per cent to 68p after its shock announcement. Read more: Saga set to hit profit guidance after sales cruise [...]
The AA’s opting for the long road to stability April 4, 2019 Shares in the AA have been swerving all over the place since it returned to the stock market in 2014. After jumping from a float price of 250p to 430p the following year, the ambitions of the team that steered the roadside rescue outfit through an unusual management-buyout-cum-IPO began to stutter. The stock slid and [...]
City Moves for 4 April 2019 – Who’s switching jobs at McLarens, Shearman & Sterling and Astarte Capital Partners? April 4, 2019 Today's City Moves includes McLarens, Shearman & Sterling and Astarte Capital Partners. McLarens Global independent insurance services provider McLarens announced the appointment of Graham Smart to the newly created global role of chief commercial officer. In this new position, Graham will work closely with McLarens chief executive officer Gary Brown and the firm’s global management [...]