Quindell share price falls as it finalises Slater & Gordon deal and Lord Howard joins board May 29, 2015 Shares in troubled insurance claims outsourcer Quindell fell in late morning trading after the company announced it had completed a deal to sell its professional services division to legal giant Slater & Gordon. The £637m sale of the division, which comprised 90 per cent of Quindell's business, will return £500m to shareholders. The company took the [...]
More lettings at the Cheesegrater as new TSB owner Banco Sabadell takes two floors May 29, 2015 British Land and Oxford Properties, the developers behind the Cheesegrater (aka Leadenhall Building), confirmed three new lettings across seven floors of the building – including new TSB owner Banco Sabadell. Among the new signings are insurance giant Brit, which has signed a 15 year lease to occupy 66,300 sq ft across five storeys – 16 [...]
City Moves for 29 May 2015 | Who’s switching jobs May 28, 2015 EC Harris The natural and built asset design and consultancy firm has appointed James Crawley as an associate partner in its development management and consultancy team. Based in Leeds, he joins from Calderdale Council. Crawley has also held roles at Muse Developments and M&G Real Estate. OM Asset Management Trevedi Tewari has been appointed head [...]
What was in the 2015 Queen’s Speech, bill-by-bill May 28, 2015 A full employment and welfare benefits bill aiming to create 2m more jobs and 3m more apprenticeships An enterprise bill to cut red tape and help small and medium-sized businesses resolve late payment disputes A personal tax allowance bill raising the personal allowance to £12,500 and linking future increases to the minimum wage A finance bill [...]
Banks in scramble for Barclays’ coveted broking ticket as Deutsche and Credit Suisse invited to re-pitch May 27, 2015 Barclays, the international London-based bank led by Antony Jenkins, has decided to put its broking mandate up for review after four years. The group is currently served by Deutsche and Credit Suisse as joint brokers. A source close to the bank, which is valued at around £45bn, said yesterday the decision to look for new [...]
Business groups pick apart new policies laid out in Queen’s Speech May 27, 2015 BUSINESS groups largely welcomed yesterday’s Queen’s Speech, but many nevertheless identified concerns with specific policy proposals, including the immigration and childcare bills. Tim Thomas, head of employment policy at EEF, the manufacturers’ organisation, took issue with the immigration bill, which the government said would include a possible “skills levy” to tax businesses that use foreign labour. [...]
Prudential says men can expect to earn their first million by 50 – 19 years before female colleagues May 27, 2015 A man on average income will earn his first million nearly two decades before an average female worker, according to new analysis from Prudential out today. The insurance company crunched the numbers from the latest Office for National Statistics (ONS) survey of hours and earnings, finding that male workers earn £1m by the time they [...]
Watchdog to probe unfair PPI sales fees May 27, 2015 BANKS and brokers could face a new wave of costs related to payment protection insurance (PPI) and other products sold to customers, after a judge said hidden high commissions on sales can be unfair on customers. The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) is looking into the judgement from the Supreme Court in November 2014, which found [...]
City Moves for 28 May 2015 | Who’s switching jobs May 27, 2015 Tokio Millennium Re The reinsurer and subsidiary of Tokio Marine & Nichido Fire Insurance Co has announced the appointment of Mark Julian as head of its UK branch. He joined Tokio Millennium Re (UK) in 2008 and assumed the dual role of chief risk officer and chief actuary in 2011. Baker & McKenzie Julia Hayhoe has [...]
Queen’s Speech 2015: Let’s hope the Tories are saving the radicalism for the Budget May 27, 2015 We were told we’d never see such a sight again. Majorities were a thing of the past, they said, and coalition politics was here to stay. And yet there it was yesterday – resplendent in all the finery and pageantry that the British state can muster – a legislative programme for a majority Tory government. [...]