THE DAILY BRIEFING

METRO SWOOPS Lending upstart Metro Bank has splashed out almost £600m on acquiring a package of UK mortgages from investment firm Cerberus, picking up a portfolio that consists of 92pc buy-to-let mortgages.

TRICKY PROSPECT Banking giant HSBC is struggling to fill marketing and communications roles at its new high street lending division’s HQ in Birmingham.

More than half of the 1,040 jobs moving from London have been filled but chief executive Antonio Simoes said some specialist roles were ‘proving trickier’.

SNAP HAPPY Photo booth operator Photo-Me said that its plan to design booths so they send off passport pictures automatically has progressed significantly so far this year.

The scheme, which allows customers to upload passport and ID pictures via its kiosks, has been rolled out successfully in France.

VODKA APPOINTMENT Vodka brand Revolution Bars has appointed Mike Foster as chief financial officer – he had been interim finance director.

STANSTED LAUNCH Low-cost carrier Jet2 has launched its first long-haul flights to New York from London Stansted Airport.

The airline is selling four-night winter trips to the Big Apple.

PAIR OFF Two star fund managers Paul Marriage and John Warren are leaving investment firm Schroders to launch Tellworth Investments, taking their UK Dynamic Absolute Return fund with them.

SAGE SELL-OFF Accountancy software group Sage has sold off its North American payments business to GTCR, a private equity firm, for £202m.

The sale is part of a move to offload parts of the business which are not as strong as others.

The company’s shares rose 0.1pc, or 0.5p, to 729p.