THE DAILY BRIEFING
BOSS DEPARTS The chief executive of Poundworld, Gerry Gray, has stepped down from his role with immediate effect after just two years, citing personal reasons.
DIRECTOR ROLE Irn-Bru maker AG Barr has appointed ex-Whitbread finance director Susan Barratt as non-executive director.
HQ SALE Banker Lloyds is selling its City headquarters in Gresham Street to the hong Kong firm hengli, for £165m. Lloyds will lease back the 119,742 sq ft building – the size of nearly two football pitches – for the next 20 years.
ALL CHANGE After a managerial and operational shake-up at Gemfields, which it took over this year, miner Pallinghurst says it expects to revitalise and expand its ruby and emerald production in Zambia and Mozambique.
PLANES ORDER Airline Qatar Airways has ordered 50 A321neo planes from Airbus for £4.7bn. NEW JOBS Miner Polymetal has appointed Anglo American’s head of safety Tracey Kerr and evraz’s general manager Giacomo Baizini to its board.
PRICE RISE Property values rose by 0.5pc in November, the fifth consecutive monthly rise, Halifax said.
HOMES PLAN Developer St Modwen Properties expects to build 694 new homes in the next year – up 43pc on the previous 12 months.
FACE FRONT The co-founder of Facebook, eduardo Saverin, who originally invested about £11,000 in the social network but is now worth £7.5bn, has been announced as one of the backers of Indian payments company Mswipe Technologies.
ELECTRIC DREAM Car giant Ford has teamed up with Chinese internet giant Alibaba to sell electric cars.
CHINA BOOST Revenues at accountancy firm BDO rose 8pc to £6bn in the year to September 30, driven by strong performance in the US and China.
FUNDS RAISED A business used by migrant workers to send money home online, Worldremit, has raised £30m from investors. WORK SITE Britain is still the most popular destination for europeans seeking work abroad, says jobs website Indeed.
MONEY MAKING Savers ploughed more than £5bn into investment funds during October, according to The Investment Association.