Aviva to cut hundreds of jobs in Manchester area as part of cost-cutting plan June 15, 2015 Aviva will cut hundreds of jobs in the Manchester area over the next 18 months as it closes offices in Stretford and Salford. Following the £5.6bn takeover of rival Friends Life, the insurer has embarked on a cost-cutting plan to deliver £225m in savings to its business by the end of 2017. On top of [...]
Insurance giant Aviva to slim down with sale of property debt June 14, 2015 Aviva, the FTSE 100 insurance firm, is said to be selling off property loans to the value of billions of pounds. One source familiar with the matter told CityAM that big four audit firm Deloitte is currently working with Aviva. The property debt reportedly includes loans secured against House of Fraser’s department store in [...]
Budget 2015: Personal finance groups including Hargreaves Lansdown, St James’ Place and Rathbone’s share price boosted by “saving revolution” Budget March 18, 2015 Personal finance groups were treated to a share price boost this afternoon, after George Osborne unveiled “a saving revolution”. Bristol-based IFA Hargreaves Lansdown led the pack, up 4.8 per cent at pixel time. St James' Place also jumped on the announcements, up 3.5 per cent. Rathbone Brothers's share price was up two per cent, while [...]
Aviva share price rises after full-year profit leaps and final dividend gets a 30pc boost March 5, 2015 The figures: UK insurer Aviva said full-year operating profit rose six percent to £2.17bn in 2014, slightly above forecasts of £2.15bn. It proposed a 30 per cent increase to its final dividend taking it to 12.25 pence per share, cheering investors and pushing the company's share price up six per cent to 564 pence per share at pixel [...]
British Land buys up Surrey Quays plots in Canada Water for £135m March 2, 2015 Developer British Land said yesterday it has bought the last of the sites for its £2bn regeneration project in Canada Water – paying £135m for Surrey Quays Leisure Park from Aviva Investors. The FTSE 100 developer has quietly amassed over 50 acres of land in Canada Water over the last five years and is spending [...]
Aviva takes its client to court over an insurance contract capable of making him wealthier than the company itself March 2, 2015 Aviva France is fighting one of its clients in court over a life insurance contract that could make him a billionaire by the end of the decade. Called a Fixed Price Abitrage Life Insurance Contract, it was given to the now 25-year-old Max-Hervé George by his father when he was seven. It was the brainchild [...]
Aviva Investors fined £17.6m by financial regulator over conflicts of interest failings February 24, 2015 Aviva has been slapped with a multi-million pound fine by the City regulator over failings in its asset management business. The Financial Conduct Authority has ordered Aviva Investors to pay £17.6m for failing to employ the correct risk management systems and controls which resulted in conflicts of interest not being managed fairly. “Ensuring that conflicts [...]
Aviva to cut 1,500 jobs in Friends Life takeover January 19, 2015 Aviva could axe up to 1,500 jobs as part of its £5.1bn acquisition of its rival Friends for Life, a move which would amount to 4.8 per cent of the combined companies' total work force. The FTSE 100 insurer said it is unable to provide specifics until the takeover completes, however it will try to [...]
Aviva’s boss Mark Wilson wins over City sceptics to £5.3bn Friends Life deal with cost saving promises December 2, 2014 Aviva chief executive Mark Wilson has won over some of his harshest critics with promises of £225m in cost savings if the proposed £5.3bn Friends Life deal goes through. The companies yesterday confirmed the terms of the deal, and Panmure Gordon analyst Barrie Cornes, who was one of the City’s most vocal opponents of the [...]
As Aviva agrees a £5.6bn takeover of Friends Life, does the acquisition make strategic sense? December 2, 2014 Ben Cohen, an insurance analyst at Canaccord Genuity, says Yes. Aviva’s core strategy is “cash plus growth”, and this deal adds materially to cash flow, which will be used to pay a higher dividend and invest across the group for growth. This is not just jam tomorrow – the 30 per cent increase in Aviva’s [...]