THE DAILY BRIEFING
IRAN DEAL France’s energy giant Total will develop a giant gas field in Iran, the first major Western investment in the country’s energy industry since sanctions were lifted in early 2016.
US SALE Water firm Severn Trent has sold its US business to private equity giants Alston Capital Partners and Public Pension Capital. BEAN COUNTER Internet lender Funding Circle has named ex-Auto Trader bean counter Sean Glithero as chief financial officer.
TRACKER LAUNCH Investment firm Kames Capital has launched a tracker fund for pension schemes seeking to match returns in the UK commercial property market.
BATTERY BID Temporary power generator supplier Aggreko has purchased Younicos, a smart battery firm based in Germany and the US, for £40m.
NEW RADAR Defence giant QinetiQ and the Ministry of Defence are replacing Scottish island St Kilda’s two weapons-tracking radar as part of a £95m deal to modernise the military’s air ranges. Around £180m is due to be spent modernising the MOD Hebrides weapons-testing site.
BETTER BET Spread-betting firm Plus500 surged 4.1pc, or 22.5p, to 568p, after predicting profits and revenues will ‘significantly’ beat expectations in 2017 despite a clampdown on the industry by the authorities.
FIBRE FUND A government fund to boost Britain’s digital infrastructure by £1bn was finally launched yesterday. It would be invested in small to medium-sized firms seeking to run more fibre broadband cables into homes. BLOCK SALE Property investor Derwent London has sold an underconstruction office block in central London for £165m to Hamburg-based Union Investment Real Estate.
BOLLYWOOD TIE- UP Indian fashion firm Koovs has struck a deal with Bollywood to sell clothes inspired by the When Harry Met Sally adaptation, Jab Harry Met Sejal. SOLE SELLER American firm AIG has replaced British rival Aviva as the sole seller of Royal Bank of Scotland’s life insurance products. BOARD ROLE Insurance market Lloyd’s of London has appointed industry veteran Robert Childs as one of its three deputy chairmen.