City Moves for 29 March – who’s switching jobs at Neom, The City Mental Health Alliance and Aon? March 29, 2019 Who’s on the move today? Neom Wellbeing and beauty brand Neom has appointed Emmanuel Osti as chairman. French-Italian Osti was managing director of L’Occitane from 2000 until 2015. During that period the company grew from a brand turning over close to €50m (£42.9m) to a multi-channel business with sales of more than €1bn and over [...]
Motor insurer Sabre unveils special dividend in first annual results since listing March 28, 2019 Specialist motor insurer Sabre declared a special dividend today in its first full-year results since listing on the London Stock Exchange. The insurer wrote £210m of premiums last year, a slight drop on the previous year which it said was a result of focusing on underwriting profitability over growth. Read more: Private equity firm BC [...]
Icelandic airline Wow Air closes operations as it fails to secure rescue deal March 28, 2019 Debt-ridden Wow Air shut operations and grounded planes this morning after a last-minute fight for funding failed, leaving thousands stranded and seeking alternative transport. The struggling Icelandic airline told customers it has now ceased operation, cancelling all flights. Read more: Boeing's Ethiopian Airlines crash fallout: Everything you need to know While tickets were still being [...]
Best 5 US stocks for an ISA March 28, 2019 By Rodney Hobson from interactive investor. Brexit makes investing overseas especially attractive now, argues our commentator, author and columnist. Rodney Hobson is an experienced financial writer and commentator who has held senior editorial positions on publications and websites in the UK and Asia, including Business News Editor on The Times and Editor of Shares magazine. [...]
Lloyd’s of London loses £1bn in year of natural catastrophes as it grapples with harassment scandal March 27, 2019 Insurance market Lloyd’s of London, currently embroiled in a sexual harassment scandal, said today it had made a loss of £1bn for 2018. Lloyd’s said it paid £19.7bn in claims last year, leading to an aggregate loss of £1bn, down from £2bn the year previously. The exchange had gross written premiums of £35.5bn last year, [...]
Lloyd’s of London unveils ‘robust plan’ to create safe workplace following sexual harassment claims March 26, 2019 Lloyd’s of London has unveiled a “robust plan” to create a safer workplace following reports of sexual harassment. The package of measures focuses on making it easier for staff to lodge complaints and includes an independent survey on the company’s culture and a review of practices. Read more: Shadow City minister pushes Lloyd's of London [...]
Former Aviva boss pay halved in 2018 as insurers gets tough on bonuses but could still net a further £4m March 26, 2019 Former Aviva chief executive Mark Wilson had his pay more than halved last year but could net a further £4.1m after quitting the insurance giant. Wilson, who was brought in to turnaround the business in 2013, stepped down in October last year after the company decided it needed new leadership to boost shareholder value. Read [...]
Shadow City minister ramps up pressure on Lloyd’s of London over sexual harassment claims March 26, 2019 The shadow City minister has ramped up pressure on Lloyd’s of London to eradicate its “institutionally sexist” culture after reports of sexual harassment at the 330-year-old insurance market. Labour’s John Reynolds has demanded answers from chief executive John Neal on how the company will respond to the allegations and permanently change it culture. Read more: [...]
AI is coming for you: One in three City of London jobs at risk from automation March 25, 2019 More than one in three jobs in the City of London are under threat from automation, a study has found. The Office for National Statistics identified around 710,000 jobs in the Square Mile which they said were at risk from new automated technology. However, the figures make the City one of the top four safest [...]
Just Group completes £375m fundraising to meet new regulations March 25, 2019 Retirement services firm Just Group shares fell again this morning as it announced it had completed a £375m fundraise to comply with new capital requirement rules. The firm, which unveiled heavy 2018 pre-tax losses earlier this month, said it had issued £300m worth of bonds and raised an extra £75m via an equity placing. Read [...]