GSK rehires woman investigated for whistleblowing about bribery August 3, 2015 Vivian Shi, the former Chinese GSK employee who was investigated for leaking information about bribery by the company, has been rehired. Read more: Glaxosmithkline China dismisses more than 100 over bribery scandal that cost company £300m “We can confirm we have rehired Vivian,” the pharmaceutical company said in an e-mailed statement today. “We are [...]
Almacantar buys Shell Centre offices on South Bank for £550m August 3, 2015 Centre Point owner Almacantar has bought part of Canary Wharf Group and Qatari Diar’s controversial Shell Centre scheme on London’s South Bank, which faced opposition last year for obstructing views of the Houses of Parliament. The developer, which owns other landmark buildings including CAA House in the West End, has spent over £550m buying One [...]
FTSE 350 boardroom diversity is up as women made up four in ten new directors appointed last year August 3, 2015 More women than ever are being appointed to UK boards, as four in 10 of new non-executive directors last year were female. The composition of boardrooms is changing dramatically, with the percentage of women joining boards quadrupling over the past seven years, from 11 per cent in 2007 to 39 per cent in 2014, shows [...]
Government sells off more Lloyd shares, taking its stake below 14 per cent August 3, 2015 The government has sold off another one per cent of its shares in bailed-out bank Lloyds, taking the taxpayer's stake below 14 per cent. The latest sale means so far it's raised nearly £14bn for the Treasury's coffers through a trickle of share sales, which were initially announced in December. "It’s fantastic news that we’ve sold [...]
Dragon Oil share price surges after Enoc wins backing of company’s minority owners August 3, 2015 Shares in Dragon Oil opened nine per cent higher to 799p this morning after Emirates National Oil Company secured enough shareholder votes to privatise Dragon Oil this weekend, having revised their offer for each Dragon Oil share to 800 pence “to give all parties certainty,” the company said in a statement. Increasing the takeover bid [...]
RSA share price soars 12 per cent after Zurich confirms takeover talks August 3, 2015 Shares in London-listed RSA Insurance Group soared per cent this morning as Swiss rival Zurich confirmed it was considering a takeover bid. Zurich is reportedly mulling a bid in excess of £5.5bn for the business as new rules come in governing how much money insurers must set aside to protect against potential market shocks. [...]
Government sells further one per cent stake in Lloyds Banking Group August 3, 2015 The government has sold another one per cent of its stake in Lloyds Banking Group as it looks to reduce its holdings in the bailed-out lender. Now just under 14 per cent of the bank is owned by the taxpayer; at its peak in 2009, 40 per cent was publicly-owned. In total £14bn has [...]
RSA hoping for better offer as bidders Zurich, Axa and Aviva circle August 2, 2015 Insurer RSA is hoping to attract a better offer than Zurich’s potential bid, revealed last week, with several other companies believed to be interested in entering the race for the troubled British firm. City analysts expect Zurich to make an offer of around 550p per share. That price would provide investors with a premium [...]
Tyrrells buys Yarra Valley Snack Foods for global growth August 2, 2015 Upmarket crisps maker Tyrrells is speeding up its global expansion after announcing its acquisition of Melbourne-based organic snacks company Yarra Valley Snack Foods. Tyrrells launched a range of products in Australian supermarket Coles in April last year, and says the purchase will “accelerate the international growth”. It reported a net worth of over £26m last [...]
Stephen Hester’s role at risk as offer for RSA looks likely August 2, 2015 RSA boss Stephen Hester was given a hero’s welcome when he was appointed to lead the embattled insurer just over 18 months ago. However, following last week’s revelation that Zurich is mulling an offer for the group, he could be set to leave before finishing what he has started. The former Royal Bank of [...]
