THE DAILY BRIEFING

BOARD SHAKE-UP The chairman of banking group HSBC is plotting a drastic shake-up of his boardroom, it is claimed.

Mark Tucker, who took the job last year, is reportedly axing three non executive director roles to leave a 14-strong board.

Those not standing for re-election are said to include Joachim Faber, chairman of German stock exchange Deutsche Boerse.

BIG DEALS There were £443.4m of deals for City offices last month – up 50pc on a year earlier, according to estate agent Savills.

Six agreements were struck in January, three involving British investors and three with Asian ones. Around £2.7bn of space is currently under offer.

SOLAR BOOST Investment titan Blackrock has snapped up 13.5 megawatts of UK solar panels in a £15m deal alongside partner Lightsource BP.

The firm bought the panels, enough to supply 13,500 homes, from Chinese company CTF Solar. It means Blackrock backs more than 40 solar plants in Britain, generating about 350 megawatts.

SPANISH SELL-OFF The last Spanish operation has been sold for £178m by insurer Aviva as it seeks to focus on its most profitable businesses. Bosses flogged their stake in life insurance and pensions joint ventures Cajamurcia Vida and Caja Granada Vida to Spanish banking group Bankia.

SWISS MISS Bosses at beleaguered bank Credit Suisse have vowed to fight on after losing a £251m court case over a failed Las Vegas resort. A US appeals court found the lender had fraudulently lured investors, including Texasbased Highland Capital Management, to back the scheme, only for it to collapse into bankruptcy in 2008. But Credit Suisse yesterday said it will continue to fight the judgement in the courts.