City AM – Back in room
The front page of the London business newspaper City AM leads on Insurance giant Aviva heading back into Lloyd’s for the first time since 2000.
Aviva back into Lloyd’s for first time in two decades after £242m acquisition
Insurance giant Aviva will head back into Lloyd’s for the first time since 2000 after acquiring carrier Probitas for more than £200m.
The transaction sees Aviva take tenancy rights to Syndicate 1492, giving it a pathway back into the Lloyd’s market, and boosting the one Norwich-HQed business’ global corporate and specialty business.
“This acquisition is another step in our strategy to invest in Aviva’s future profitable growth. Aviva’s presence in the Lloyd’s market opens up new opportunities to accelerate growth in our capital-light General Insurance business,” said Aviva CEO Amanda Blanc.
The £242m deal includes the acquisition of Probitas’s fully-integrated Lloyd’s platform, encompassing its Corporate Member, Managing Agent, international distribution entities and tenancy rights to Syndicate 1492.
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Spring budget 2024: Marks boss warns business rate hike is ‘economically illiterate’
Marks and Spencer boss Stuart Machin has said operating a business under the current government is like “running up a downwards escalator with a rucksack on your back”.
Ahead of the Spring Budget tomorrow, the head of the FTSE 100 retailer told his LinkedIn followers of three measures he would like to see the Chancellor enact to help the ailing sector.
Machin argued that plans to increase business rates next month were “economically illiterate” and retailers would feel the pinch the most.
He said: “The total tax rate for retailers sits at 45.7 per cent, compared to just under 40 per cent for the FTSE 100 – with retail almost always the sector with the tightest profit margins. The reason for this is business rates.
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Spring Budget 2024: Jeremy Hunt could back £450m ‘Hollywood of the North’
Plans for a £450m film and TV studio in the North East of England could be backed by Chancellor Jeremy Hunt when he unveils his spring Budget later this week.
Dubbed the ‘Hollywood of the North’, the proposals would see Crown Works Studios developed in Sunderland and feature up to 20 sound stages for blockbuster film and TV productions.
The project is being spearheaded by production company Fulwell 73 which is behind Netflix football documentary Sunderland ‘Til I Die and the reboot of Byker Grove.
The project has been in the works for a number of years but hit the headlines recently when news organisations across the North backed the plans in a joint campaign.
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Spirent: Another listed UK firm to go stateside after £1bn offer
British telecoms testing services provider Spirent Communications has agreed to be sold to US communications equipment firm Viavi in a deal valuing it at £1bn amid a plunge in profits.
London-listed Spirent’s market capitalisation as of Monday’s close was £626m. Under the agreement, Nasdaq-listed Viavi said it would buy Spirent for 172.5p per share in cash, a 61 per cent premium to Spirent shares’ closing price of 108.4p on Monday.
Spirent’s shares soared 59 per cent to 172.4p on Tuesday morning, nearing the deal’s valuation.
The deal also includes a special dividend of 2.5p per Spirent share, in place of any final dividend for 2023.
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