THE DAILY BRIEFING
CALLING TIME Britain’s top taxman Edward Troup is retiring. The 62-year-old father of four is stepping down as executive chairman and first permanent secretary of HM Revenue & Customs.
DRUG JOY Officials at the European Medicines Agency have approved GlaxoSmithKline’s latest drug for the treatment of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). The inhaled drug will be called Trelegy Ellipta.
NEW BEAN Biotech firm Oxford Biodynamics has named Paul Stockdale, 42, chief financial officer.
CREDIT HELP Scottish media firm STV has extended its credit line and overdraft from June 2019 until 2022, with Santander and Barclays.
UNITED ESTATE Online estate agent Purplebricks has expanded in the US. The British company launched in Los Angeles yesterday.
DUTCH DEAL Netherlands has sold a third of its stake in nationalised lender ABN Amro Group NV, which it bailed out during the financial crisis. It took advantage of a hike in the shares to sell 7pc, raising £1.34bn.
CONTRACT BOOST Oil services giant Cape has been awarded a one- year extension on its key Karratha Plant Life Extension Programme in Western Australia which involves planning and installing services such as access, fire protection and pipe equipment replacement at the site.
ELVIS SOLD Advertising firm Next Fifteen Communications has bought digital marketing agency Elvis Communications for £5.5m.
COURT ACTION British drug maker Indivior has filed lawsuits against firms seeking to make generic versions of its opioid addiction treatment Suboxone, which generates 80pc of its revenue.
SICK LEAVE The chief executive of Coca-Cola HBC, which bottles Coca-Cola products, has temporarily left his job because of ill health. Dimitris Lois is expected to be away for about four months.
SPAIN SALE UK insurer Aviva has completed the sale of its Spanish businesses for about £418m to local insurer Santalucia.
RETIRING CHIEF Global miner Rio Tinto’s finance chief Chris Lynch plans to retire next September, when he will be 65. He became finance chief in 2013 and slashed costs at the firm as commodity prices fell.