THE DAILY BRIEFING

NEW DIRECTOR Uranium miner Berkeley Energia has appointed former Rio Tinto executive Nigel Jones as a non-executive director.

The 51-year-old is replacing retiring Dr Jim Ross in the Spanishfocused business.

Jones left Rio Tinto as global head of business development and is head of private side capital markets at ICBC Standard Bank.

Berkeley’s managing director, Paul Atherley, said: ‘We believe his considerable experience in corporate development and marketing of uranium products will be of considerable value to the company.’

BUILDING BOOST engineering giant Amec Foster Wheeler has won a contract to provide up to four years of public sector design and engineering work.

Ann Massey, president of its global environment and infrastructure division, said getting on to the Crown Commercial Service’s £2.9bn framework was a ‘key priority for our growth strategy’.

Amec is being taken over by rival Wood Group. Shares fell 2pc, or 9.9p, to 494.6p.

CHURCHILL DEPARTURE Troubled miner Churchill Mining is leaving the junior AIM stock exchange amid its ongoing row with the Indonesian authorities over revoked coal project licences.

Yesterday, bosses said their latest application to an international tribunal would not be decided in time for suspended shares to be readmitted within AIM’s six-month timeframe. Instead it has applied to the NeX exchange Growth Market.

GOLDEN DEAL Scotland’s emerging gold mining industry has signed its first deal with jewellers. Australia-based Scotgold Resources said two of Scotland’s main jewellers had agreed to buy gold produced at the Cononish mine.

The mine produced gold for the first time in August last year.

RENTERS’ BLOCK Investment giant Legal & General has launched its first apartment block built specifically for renters in Salford, Greater Manchester.

Occupiers will start moving into The Slate Yard’s 90 flats this week, with tenancy agreements ranging from six months to five years.

L&G is aiming to profit from surging house prices which put home ownership beyond the reach of most young people.

Shares rose 1.2pc, or 3p, to 254p. CROSS JOINS Rural lender Folk2Folk has hired a chief marketing officer to boost its business. Giles Cross was formerly head of the marketing team at wealth manager Sanlam UK. CORPORATE CRACKDOWN The leaders of 70 countries have pledged to crack down on corporate tax avoidance amid growing public anger.

The UK and other european Union member states, as well as India, China and Australia, signed a deal in Paris yesterday which makes it harder for firms to shift profits to low-tax nations.

The US did not join the agreement, although it already has tough rules.