Financial Services 2006 - Company News Summary

Carlisle Group has acquired Chadwick Nott, the legal recruitment company with offices in London, Bristol and Birmingham, for an initial £2m.
18-Dec-2006

Carole Nash, the motorcycle insurance company with 350 staff, is to be acquired by Groupama UK for an estimated £70m.
18-Dec-2006

Wise Speke, the stockbroker, is to set up a 40,000 sq ft office at the Time Central development in Newcastle-upon-Tyne.
18-Dec-2006

JP Morgan, the investment bank, is looking to set up a new 1m sq ft headquarters in London, having appointed DTZ to find a suitable site.
18-Dec-2006

Citigroup is to acquire Quilter, the wealth management company with 300 staff at ten offices, from Morgan Stanley for £230m.
15-Dec-2006

Royal Bank of Scotland is to relocate its global operations centre from London to Brampton Vale Gardens, Newcastle-under-Lyme, with the creation of up to 80 jobs.
14-Dec-2006

Plus Markets has raised £25m in a placing to fund the expansion of its electronic share trading market for small companies.
14-Dec-2006

Davenham has agreed a £300m funding package to expand its Manchester-based finance business, and will soon start looking for new city centre premises.
13-Dec-2006

DWF is planning to merge with Ricksons, the law firm with offices in Preston and Leeds, to create a combined group with about 800 staff.
12-Dec-2006

KPMG is recruiting a further 60 staff in Scotland to handle tax returns for an unnamed financial services institution.
12-Dec-2006

Blake Lapthorn Linnell has merged with Tarlo Lyons to create a combined law firm with more than 700 staff across London and the South East.
11-Dec-2006

Dickinson Dees is to merge with Philip Ashworth & Co, the York-based law firm with ten staff, and at least 50 jobs are expected to be created at a new office in York over the next three years.
11-Dec-2006

Maxwell Batley is to merge with Winward Fearon to create a combined London-based property law firm called Maxwell Winward with 90 staff.
11-Dec-2006

Macquarie, the Australian bank, is considering plans to double the size of its London office by 2011, which could involve a 200,000 sq ft relocation.
11-Dec-2006

The Home Office is to set up a 33,000 sq ft office at the Norwich Union building in Cardiff city centre in spring 2007.
11-Dec-2006

Anglo Irish Bank is planning to open a larger office in Glasgow, and is currently seeking a suitable site.
08-Dec-2006

Towergate Partnership has acquired THB Clowes and THB Financial Services from THB for up to £11m, including insurance, pensions and executive benefits offices in Warwick and Nottingham.
05-Dec-2006

Bank of New York is to acquire Mellon Financial of the US for £8.4bn, which could lead to the loss of more than 500 jobs at UK sites including London, Leeds, Edinburgh and Essex.
05-Dec-2006

Jelf Group is to acquire Haines Wallace Insurance Brokers of Plymouth, which will add about £4.5m to its gross written premium.
04-Dec-2006

Equity Insurance Group, the insurance broker, is to be acquired by IAG of Australia for £570m.
04-Dec-2006

Shore Capital has raised £18m in a share placing to fund the expansion of its stockbroking services.
04-Dec-2006

Paymentshield is to relocate its head office from Southport to the Gyle area of Edinburgh in January 2007, with the creation of about 40 jobs.
01-Dec-2006

IFG Group is to acquire Langtry Trust Company, the Jersey-based financial services company, for an initial £3.4m.
28-Nov-2006

Towergate is looking to spend up to £250m on acquisitions to expand its insurance broking business.
28-Nov-2006

BiB Group has acquired Scanlon Insurance Services of Bedale, North Yorkshire, and is now seeking further acquisitions in North East market towns.
24-Nov-2006

Alliance Trust has acquired Albany Ventures, the Edinburgh-based venture capital investment company with gross assets of £0.5m.
23-Nov-2006

EMAX Consulting is planning to expand the workforce at its new loyalty card call centre in North Shields from 11 to 160 by the end of 2007, and aims to employ 600 in a few years.
22-Nov-2006

Bollington Group has acquired TMIS, the motor trade insurance broker that trades as FM Green, for £5m.
22-Nov-2006

The Home Office is to deploy up to 800 additional enforcement officers across the country next year, in order to improve immigration controls.
21-Nov-2006

Barclays is to expand the 1,200-strong workforce at its wealth management division in Glasgow with 500 new jobs over the next three years.
21-Nov-2006

PricewaterhouseCoopers is to set up a number of new offices in London on five-year leases, in preparation for a permanent move, including 100,000 sq ft on Tooley Street, 20,000 sq ft on Hays Lane and 50,000 sq ft at Shell-Mex House.
20-Nov-2006

Diamond Lifestyle, the Cambridgeshire-based provider of advice and brokering finance to council house tenants with 80 staff, is to be acquired by Enterprise North for up to £9m.
17-Nov-2006

Atteys has merged with Taylors of Sheffield to create a combined legal firm with nine offices and more than 300 staff.
17-Nov-2006

Essentially Group has acquired Accounts Eight, the provider of financial management services to sports and media companies, for £1.5m.
16-Nov-2006

ProtectaGroup has acquired four Remax estate agency branches in Canton, Talbot Green, Tonypandy and Neath, and will increase the 15 jobs to 25.
15-Nov-2006

Yorkshire Bank is planning a £8m refurbishment at its headquarters in Leeds, in order to improve facilities and increase capacity in the four-storey building to about 700 staff.
14-Nov-2006

Money Debt & Credit is planning to raise £10m in a flotation on Aim to fund the expansion of its debt advice business.
14-Nov-2006

Towergate has acquired Paymentshield, the buildings and contents insurance company, for undisclosed terms, and the 300 Paymentshield staff will relocate to a new office in Southport in early 2007.
13-Nov-2006

Bank of America is to set up an additional 70,000 sq ft office at 5 Canada Square in London's Canary Wharf.
13-Nov-2006

Royal Bank of Scotland is to relocate its commercial banking centre and 50 jobs from Southend to a new office in Basildon in February 2007.
10-Nov-2006

Lowell Group is planning to expand the workforce at its Leeds-based debt purchasing business from 190 to 250 by the end of the year, with a further 100 new jobs in 2007.
10-Nov-2006

HSBC is planning to open at least six bank branches in Scotland over the next 18 months, and 30 new jobs will be created when it opens a new main Edinburgh branch on Princes Street in early 2007.
09-Nov-2006

Ernst & Young is planning to create 90 new jobs at its accountancy office in Manchester over the next three years, to add to the existing 365 staff.
09-Nov-2006

DWF, the law firm, is looking to expand its staff in Manchester from 290 to at least 400 over the next three years, and also aims to establish a presence in Leeds.
09-Nov-2006

Burges Salmon, the law firm, is to relocate its Bristol offices to a 170,000 sq ft site at Temple Quay Central in 2010.
08-Nov-2006

Barclays is to acquire Indexchange, the German provider of exchange traded funds, for £161m, in order to expand its Barclays Global Investors business.
08-Nov-2006

KPMG has agreed a deal to relocate its London headquarters and up to 4,400 staff to a new 15-storey office block to be built at Canary Wharf by 2009.
07-Nov-2006

RSM Robson Rhodes, the accountancy firm, is to be acquired by its US partner RSM McGladrey.
07-Nov-2006

First Data is to create at least 450 jobs at a payment services centre in Glasgow.
06-Nov-2006

UBS, the investment bank, is to set up two new offices of 60,000 sq ft and 45,000 sq ft near its Broadgate headquarters in London.
06-Nov-2006

Taylor Wessing, the law firm, is to set up a 166,000 sq ft office at the New Street Square development on London's New Fetter Lane.
06-Nov-2006

Innovation Group is to acquire First Notice Systems, the US provider of claim-reporting outsourcing services to the property and casualty insurance market, for £27m.
03-Nov-2006

Hill Dickinson has merged with Hill Taylor Dickinson, creating a combined law firm with more than 900 staff at offices in the North West and London.
03-Nov-2006

Farley Group has acquired Calcutt Maclean Standen East Kent, the estate agent with offices in Canterbury and Wye, as well as the fine art auction house Calcutt Maclean Standen Fine Art.
02-Nov-2006

PayPoint is to acquire Metacharge, the internet payment processing company with offices in London and Bath, for £8.4m.
02-Nov-2006

Homeserve Emergency Services is planning to create 200 jobs at its recently-acquired Digital Insurance Services business in Norfolk over the next 18 months.
01-Nov-2006

Royal Bank of Scotland is to acquire GreatBanc, the US commercial bank operating in the Chicago area, for £95m.
01-Nov-2006

Greystone Financial Services, the independent financial advisors with 60 staff in Altrincham and London, has undergone a management buy-out.
01-Nov-2006

Central Insurance Services is to relocate to a new 15,000 sq ft office at Westhill in Aberdeen in summer 2007.
01-Nov-2006

Swinton has acquired Graysons Insurance Consultants, the taxi insurance broker based in Liverpool, Widnes and Wirral, for undisclosed terms.
31-Oct-2006

Catlin is to acquire Wellington Underwriting, the London-based insurance company, for £591m.
31-Oct-2006

Collins Stewart Tullett is to acquire Hawkpoint, the corporate advisory firm with 120 staff in London and France, for an estimated £130m, as well as Chapdelaine Corporate Securities of the US for £50m.
30-Oct-2006

HSBC is planning to set up five "megastore" bank branches, with the first 35,000 sq ft site opening on London's Brompton Road, as part of a £400m investment in new outlets.
30-Oct-2006

Homeserve has acquired Digital Insurance Services, the Great Yarmouth-based household insurance company with 45 staff, for an initial £3m.
27-Oct-2006

Citigroup is to expand its technology centre of excellence in Belfast with the creation of 185 jobs, having secured £3.6m of financial assistance from Invest NI.
27-Oct-2006

Townends Chartered Accountants of Goole has merged with Robinson & Co of York to create a combined accountancy group with more than 80 staff.
26-Oct-2006

Provident International, the finance company, is to set up a 38,000 sq ft office at Number Three Leeds City Office Park in Leeds.
25-Oct-2006

Phoenix Partners Group of the US is planning to create up to 28 jobs at its new inter-dealer broking office in London over the next two years.
23-Oct-2006

Bank of New York is planning to relocate about 200 Poole-based staff from its recently-acquired JP Morgan corporate trust business to a new office in the town centre early next year.
18-Oct-2006

Wilmington Group has acquired Mercia Group, the Leicester-based accountancy training company with 70 staff, for £7.1m.
17-Oct-2006

Parasol, the Warrington-based accountancy outsourcing company with 80 staff, has undergone a £24m management buy-out and plans to expand its workforce to 110 over the next few years.
16-Oct-2006

NM Rothschild is to submit plans to replace its London headquarters with a 15-storey tower in St Swithin's Lane, providing space for its 364 investment banking staff and up to 788 additional staff.
16-Oct-2006

Zurich Insurance is to set up a new 52,000 sq ft office at the Solent Business Park in Fareham.
16-Oct-2006

Babcock & Brown, the investment firm, is planning to relocate its London headquarters to a 70,000 sq ft office at 5 Aldermanbury Square.
16-Oct-2006

DTZ is considering plans to relocate many of its 950 staff from Curzon Street, and is seeking a site of up to 80,000 sq ft in the City of London.
16-Oct-2006

Debts.co.uk has acquired Neville Eckley & Co, the chartered accountancy with 18 staff at four offices in the South East, for an initial £0.3m.
13-Oct-2006

Charles Schwab of the US is planning to launch a private client stockbroking business in the UK, as part of its international expansion programme.
12-Oct-2006

The Home Office is to relocate about 350 staff from its pay and pensions department in Bootle to a 36,000 sq ft office at the City Square development in Liverpool in February 2007.
06-Oct-2006

Barclays Bank is to sell some of its vendor finance operations in the UK and Germany to CIT Group of the US, including gross assets of £1.1bn.
03-Oct-2006

Hastings Insurance Services, the East Sussex-based car insurance broker with 1,400 staff, has been acquired by Insurance Australia Group for £140m.
03-Oct-2006

EFinancial Careers, the online recruitment company, has been acquired by Dice of the US for £48m.
03-Oct-2006

Seymour Pierce Ellis, the Crawley-based private client agency stockbroker with 21 staff, is to be acquired by Dowgate Capital for £4.6m.
02-Oct-2006

Lycetts is to acquire Hamilton & Partners, the Newmarket-based bloodstock insurance broker, increasing its workforce from 125 to 161.
02-Oct-2006

Statpro is to acquire FRI, the Canadian investment management company, for £25m.
28-Sep-2006

Vantis has acquired the non-audit business of Sharles Group of London for up to £2.5m, in order to expand its accounting and tax advisory business.
27-Sep-2006

Fidelity International is to set up a fund management office in Edinburgh next year, and is currently considering two or three potential locations.
26-Sep-2006

Oval Insurance has acquired Wilkinson Rogers, the Huddersfield-based commercial insurance broker with annual premiums of £7m.
26-Sep-2006

Swinton has secured a £70m refinancing package from Lloyds TSB Corporate Markets to fund the expansion of its Manchester-based insurance business and its nationwide network of 442 branches.
25-Sep-2006

GE Money, the loans and credit card company, is in negotiations to set up a 100,000 sq ft office at the Cobalt Business Park in Newcastle-upon-Tyne.
25-Sep-2006

Intrum Justitia, the credit management services firm, has sold its field services division to a management buy-out for undisclosed terms, with the transfer of 22 staff.
20-Sep-2006

Barclays Bank is to relocate four branches and 60 staff from Liverpool city centre to a new £2.5m site at the Grosvenor retail development next spring.
19-Sep-2006

Spectrum Financial Protection is to create 30 jobs at a new call centre in Keighley, and a further 30 jobs will be created in the second phase of the expansion.
19-Sep-2006

Farley Group has acquired Wright Todd Property Services of East Sussex and Kent for £1m, as well as Geoffrey Fitch & Company, the Cirencester-based estate agent, for up to £0.25m.
18-Sep-2006

Vertex is to create 300 new jobs at its call centre in Bolton, having won a contract from the Department of Work & Pensions.
15-Sep-2006

Direct Line has announced plans to expand the 950-strong workforce at its insurance operation in Glasgow with 160 new jobs over the next 12 months.
14-Sep-2006

Clydesdale Bank is to relocate its home loans centre and 146 jobs from central Glasgow to Clydebank, while 77 accounts jobs will relocate from Aberdeen to Clydebank.
14-Sep-2006

Nationwide is to acquire the Bournemouth-based Portman Building Society in a £1.2bn merger, creating a combined group with 827 branches.
13-Sep-2006

Teesland has acquired Partnership Incorporations, the operator of collective property investment schemes, for £2m.
13-Sep-2006

Cabot Financial is to set up a new 43,000 sq ft office at the Kings Hill business park in Kent in mid-2007.
12-Sep-2006

Sumus has acquired Financial Services Advice & Support, the Dunfermline-based independent financial advice network, for an initial £0.9m.
11-Sep-2006

Hat Pin has acquired Alexander Mann Financial Markets, the financial services executive search company with 42 staff in London and Hong Kong, for £7m.
11-Sep-2006

Reed Smith, the law firm, is setting up a new 20,000 sq ft office at the Blythe Valley Business Park in Birmingham to house its 50-strong Midlands team.
11-Sep-2006

Erinaceous has acquired Keelan Westall, the Hampshire-based property insurance broker, for about £19m.
11-Sep-2006

Liverpool Victoria has acquired ABC Insurance Solutions of Croydon for undisclosed terms, and is also looking to invest £150m in the expansion of its general insurance business with the creation of 500 jobs.
08-Sep-2006

City Invoice Finance, the Manchester-based finance company with 45 staff, has been acquired by Venture Finance, the Sussex-based division of ABN Amro, for undisclosed terms.
06-Sep-2006

Armstrong Watson is to merge with Manson & Partners, the Dumfries-based firm of chartered accountants with 35 staff.
05-Sep-2006

RAB Capital is to acquire Northwest Investment Management, the London-based hedge fund manager, for up to £20m.
05-Sep-2006

Resolution is planning to create 200 new jobs in Glasgow following the recent acquisition of Abbey's life funds business.
04-Sep-2006

Esure is looking to double the size of its insurance operations in Manchester over the next five years, with the creation of hundreds of jobs.
31-Aug-2006

Barclays Bank is seeking a suitable site in Dorset to relocate 2,500 staff from its existing 300,000 sq ft office in Poole.
30-Aug-2006

Barclays Bank is said to be looking into the possibility of setting up an 85,000 sq ft office in Glasgow, which could lead to the relocation of hundreds of jobs from England.
29-Aug-2006

Swansure Group has acquired Adminicle, the Cirencester-based insurance services outsourcing company with 25 staff, for undisclosed terms.
28-Aug-2006

HBOS is to set up a 47,000 sq ft office at the Forty Springardens building in Manchester next April.
28-Aug-2006

American Express is considering plans for a new office of up to 100,000 sq ft at Telecom House in Brighton, in order to relocate staff while its Edward Street site is being refurbished.
28-Aug-2006

Alexander Forbes is to sell its London-based international insurance broking business to Lockton of the US for £68m.
22-Aug-2006

Axa Insurance is to set up two offices of 41,000 sq ft and 29,000 sq ft at the Middlebrook business park in Bolton, and 450 staff will relocate from the town centre next spring.
21-Aug-2006

Tenon has sold its accountancy operations in the South West to a management buy-out operating under the name of The Old Mill Group.
17-Aug-2006

Swinton has acquired the Budget Group's high street insurance intermediary business, taking its nationwide branch network to 442.
15-Aug-2006

Camellia is planning to acquire Hill Martin, the financial planning company, for an initial £4.2m, in order to expand its Duncan Lawrie subsidiary.
14-Aug-2006

General Capital Group, the financial services company with offices in London, Ipswich and Lowestoft, is to undergo a £13m reverse takeover by cash shell Clan Homes.
14-Aug-2006

Edeus is planning to create 250 jobs at its Wolverhampton-based mortgage lending business over the next five years.
14-Aug-2006

Fortis Bank is to relocate its London headquarters to a 156,000 sq ft office at Aldermanbury Square.
14-Aug-2006

Royal Bank of Scotland is to relocate its Rotherham-based Lombard asset finance business to a 70,000 sq ft office at the Think Cyan development in the Dearne Valley.
14-Aug-2006

Wake Smith has merged with Benson Clegg Solicitors, creating a combined Sheffield-based legal firm with more than 180 staff.
10-Aug-2006

Moneyquest is to create a further 150 jobs at its new financial services centre in Glasgow.
07-Aug-2006

Mitchell Charlesworth has merged with Tollit & Stockton of Chester to create a combined accountancy business with more than 130 staff.
07-Aug-2006

Lloyds TSB Insurance has acquired the general insurance business of Pearl Group, including gross assets of almost £60m.
07-Aug-2006

City Index is to acquire IFX, the financial spread betting company, for £58m.
04-Aug-2006

Accuma is to expand its personal debt advice business with the acquisition of Byrom & Keeley Financial Services for £5.8m and Loan Line for £10m.
28-Jul-2006

Misys is to sell Apollo, its French asset management business, to Atos Euronext Market Solutions for £1.6m.
19-Jul-2006

Yorkshire Bank has agreed terms with Frontier Estates to set up a 7,000 sq ft office at the Temple Point scheme in Birmingham.
19-Jul-2006

Skipton Building Society has acquired a 90% stake in Sterling International Brokers, the London-based provider of money broking services, for £4.7m.
14-Jul-2006

Aviva is to acquire AmerUs Group, the US-based life insurance company, for £1.6bn.
14-Jul-2006

Custom House is to increase the workforce at its Peterborough-based foreign exchange business from 12 to 24.
14-Jul-2006

Leeds Building Society has won approval to merge with Mercantile, the Wallsend-based building society with 12 branches.
14-Jul-2006

One Advice Group, the Sale-based consumer debt company with 212 staff, is planning to raise up to £27m in a share placing, and has also announced the £3m acquisition of Sale-based Abacus Financial Consultants.
14-Jul-2006

Park Group is to sell its unsecured home collected loan portfolio to CL Finance for £8m.
13-Jul-2006

Giles Insurance Brokers, the Glasgow-based insurance company with 17 branches and 300 staff, has undergone a £45m management buy-out backed by private equity firm Gresham.
12-Jul-2006

Abbey National has sold part of its James Hay pensions administration business to a management buy-out for undisclosed terms.
12-Jul-2006

CBG Group has acquired ET Knagg, the general insurance broker with offices in Poulton-le-Fylde and Blackpool, for £1.3m.
11-Jul-2006

Millfield Connect has been bought out of administration by The Money Portal, securing more than 100 jobs at its Hull-based financial advice call centre.
11-Jul-2006

Harris Allday, the Birmingham-based stockbroker, is to be acquired by EFG International of Switzerland for undisclosed terms.
11-Jul-2006

Bear Stearns, the US investment bank, is in negotiations to set up a 200,000 sq ft office at the proposed 5 Churchill Place tower at London's Canary Wharf.
10-Jul-2006

HBOS has expressed an interest in acquiring up to 40 Woolwich branches from Barclays, as part of its £100m expansion programme.
10-Jul-2006

Yes Loans of Cwmbran is looking to expand the workforce at its loans call centre from about 350 to more than 1,000.
07-Jul-2006

Buller Jeffries is to acquire Dawkins & Grey, the Birmingham-based legal firm with six staff.
07-Jul-2006

Swinton is to expand its insurance call centre in Halifax with the creation of 150 jobs.
06-Jul-2006

Brodies is to merge with Bishops Solicitors of Glasgow, creating a combined legal firm with more than 360 staff.
06-Jul-2006

Accuma Group has acquired Thomas Charles & Co, the London-based consumer debt advice company with 19 staff, for an initial £2m.
04-Jul-2006

Jelf Group has acquired Auto Business Solutions, the Chippenham-based asset finance broker with five staff, for undisclosed terms.
04-Jul-2006

Perella Weinberg Partners, the corporate advisory and investment management company, is setting up a 22,000 sq ft European headquarters at 20 Grafton Street, London W1.
04-Jul-2006

ILX Group is to acquire The Corporate Training Group, the London-based financial training company with 16 staff, for an initial £7m.
03-Jul-2006

Bishop Fleming is to relocate its Exeter-based accountancy and 200 staff to the Exeter Business Park early next year.
03-Jul-2006

Homeserve Claims Management is planning to create a further 400 jobs at its call centre in Preston, having just secured planning permission for a new three-storey office block.
28-Jun-2006

Murgitroyd is to acquire Fitzpatricks Group, the Glasgow-based provider of patent and trade mark services, for an initial £1.3m.
26-Jun-2006

Bcwgroup is planning to create 150 new jobs at its credit management business in Glasgow, and is currently negotiating the £30m sale to management of its Rutherglen-based outsourcing operation.
26-Jun-2006

Arthur J Gallagher, the insurance broker, is looking to relocate its London headquarters to a 100,000 sq ft site in the EC3 area, having appointed Drivers Jonas to search for suitable locations.
26-Jun-2006

Man Group is considering plans to relocate the London headquarters of its hedge fund management business to a 292,000 sq ft site on Upper Thames Street.
26-Jun-2006

Barclays is to acquire HomEq Servicing, the US mortgage servicing company, for £256m.
26-Jun-2006

Experian is to acquire Eiger Systems, the Rugby-based provider of bank account validation and payment processing systems with 80 staff.
23-Jun-2006

Charles Taylor Consulting has acquired MGI Loss Adjusters of Canada for up to £2.2m.
22-Jun-2006

Brabners Chaffe Street, the law firm, is to relocate 200 staff from two sites in Liverpool to a 41,000 sq ft office at the Exchange Flags complex in July 2007.
21-Jun-2006

Abbey is to expand its premium banking call centre in Belfast, with the creation of 180 jobs by the end of the year.
20-Jun-2006

Capita Group is to acquire Sinclair Henderson, the Exeter-based investment fund administration business with 90 staff, from Iimia Investment Group for an initial £10m.
19-Jun-2006

Debtmatters is to acquire Loanmakers, the Bolton-based secured loans broker, for an initial £10m.
19-Jun-2006

Oxford Property Consultants has agreed to sell its fund management business to CBRE Investors for an estimated £4m.
19-Jun-2006

Barclays Private Equity is set to acquire Blemain Group, the loans company, for about £350m.
19-Jun-2006

Thomson Financial of the US is considering plans to relocate its London headquarters from Aldgate High Street to a 170,000 sq ft office at Moor Lane, EC2.
19-Jun-2006

KPMG, the accountancy firm, is to relocate its Birmingham operation to a 130,000 sq ft office at Ballymore's Snow Hill scheme in 2009.
16-Jun-2006

Begbies Traynor has acquired Wilson Pitts, the Leeds-based corporate and personal insolvency firm with 17 staff, for an initial £1.1m.
15-Jun-2006

Axa is to acquire Winterthur, the Swiss insurance company with an office in Basingstoke, from Credit Suisse for £5.4bn.
15-Jun-2006

West Bromwich Building Society has unveiled plans to double its membership and create 500 jobs over the next ten years, which could involve relocating from its current headquarters in West Bromwich.
14-Jun-2006

Goy Harris Cartwright has acquired Berkeley Fund Managers of Coventry for undisclosed terms, with the transfer of nine staff.
12-Jun-2006

Barclays is considering plans to open more high street bank branches in prime locations, cut the number of UK processing centres and transfer more work offshore.
12-Jun-2006

Shaheen Business & Investment Group of Jordan is to transfer its headquarters to London later this year, with the creation of up to 200 jobs, and there will be a 25,000 sq ft office at Hammersmith and an 8,000 sq ft office at Berkeley Square.
12-Jun-2006

Arden Partners is planning to raise £12m in a flotation on Aim to fund the expansion of its stockbroking business.
12-Jun-2006

Resolution is to acquire the closed life funds of Abbey for £3.6bn, but its Albert Dock site in Liverpool will close with the loss of 120 jobs.
09-Jun-2006

The National Audit Office is to set up a second office in Newcastle-upon-Tyne in September, with the creation of an initial 35 jobs.
09-Jun-2006

Invocas has acquired Wilson & Co, the Edinburgh-based insolvency practice, for £0.1m.
08-Jun-2006

Principality Building Society has raised £120m in a subordinated debt issue to fund the expansion of its residential, commercial and secured lending operations.
08-Jun-2006

Co-operative Bank is to set up 12 new corporate banking centres over the next three years, with the first opening in Liverpool next month.
08-Jun-2006

Friends Provident is to set up an office in Singapore later this year, in order to expand its life and pensions products into Thailand, Indonesia and Malaysia.
08-Jun-2006

Yorkshire Building Society is to acquire Abbey National's Sharesave business for undisclosed terms.
07-Jun-2006

Moneysupermarket.com is to recruit 20 new graduates at its Chester-based financial services business, in addition to the previously-announced 100 IT staff.
07-Jun-2006

Evolution Group is to acquire Williams de Broe, the investment bank with 250 staff, from ING Group for £15m.
05-Jun-2006

Broker Network Holdings is to acquire the general insurance business of Towry Law for £12m, creating a new subsidiary with offices in Birmingham, Bracknell, Glasgow, Leeds, Leominster and London.
02-Jun-2006

Jelf Group has acquired Cherwell Insurance Management, the Oxfordshire-based general insurance broker with 11 staff, for undisclosed terms.
02-Jun-2006

Insure & Go Insurance is to relocate its travel insurance business and 140 jobs from Braintree to its site in Southend.
30-May-2006

BMW is to expand its financial services business in the UK by offering credit cards, savings products and insurance, in a series of partnerships with American Express, Newcastle Building Society and Royal Bank of Scotland.
30-May-2006

Gartmore, the investment bank, is to be sold by Nationwide Mutual of the US to a management buy-out and Hellman & Friedman for about £500m.
29-May-2006

ANZ, the Australian bank, is to relocate its London headquarters to a 40,000 sq ft office at Canary Wharf.
29-May-2006

Compass Finance is to create 100 new jobs at its recently-acquired Debt Advisor business in Manchester.
26-May-2006

Newcastle Building Society is to acquire Universal, its smaller local rival with 130 staff, and four Universal branches are expected to close.
26-May-2006

Alpha Strategic is to acquire Winton Advisors from Winton Capital Management of London for £0.3m.
24-May-2006

Homeserve has confirmed plans to develop a £10m household emergencies insurance call centre next to its existing site in Walsall by April 2007, with the creation of 600 jobs.
24-May-2006

Dickinson Dees, the law firm with offices in Newcastle and Stockton, is planning to expand its residential property department with the creation of about 30 jobs.
23-May-2006

Walter Scott & Partners, the Edinburgh-based fund management company, is to be acquired by Mellon Financial of the US for undisclosed terms.
19-May-2006

UNW is planning to double the size of its Newcastle-based chartered accountancy over the next two years, with the creation of 50 jobs.
15-May-2006

Abbey is planning to expand its chain of 714 bank branches with between 60 and 100 new sites, and some branches are likely to be relocated.
15-May-2006

Compass Finance is to acquire Debt Advisor, the debt advisory firm, for £2m, and is also raising £4m in a share placing to expand its IVAs business.
15-May-2006

Farley Group is to acquire CJ Hole Country, the Somerset-based chain of estate agents and surveyors, and the 12 offices will be converted to the Humberts brand.
11-May-2006

Experian has acquired Backgroundchecking, the Marlow-based company that checks the background of job candidates, for undisclosed terms.
10-May-2006

Jelf Group has acquired Brian D Thomas Insurance Services, the insurance company with 30 staff in Swansea, Cardiff and Bridgend, for undisclosed terms.
09-May-2006

Broker Network Holdings has acquired Adam & Gaskell, the commercial insurance broker with offices in Lancaster, Garstang and Carnforth, for undisclosed terms.
09-May-2006

Kaupthing of Iceland is planning to expand its investment banking operations in the UK, and services will include corporate finance, research and market-making.
09-May-2006

DataCash is to acquire ProcCyber Services, the payment service provider with 233 staff in South Africa and London, for £61m.
09-May-2006

Larking Gowen has acquired Manning & Girling, the Ipswich-based accountancy firm with 18 staff.
08-May-2006

Shoosmiths is to relocate its Reading-based legal department and 100 staff from Crown Street to Apex Plaza this month.
08-May-2006

Telecom Service Centres has acquired Outsourced Credit Management, the Halifax-based debt collection and credit management company with 40 staff, for undisclosed terms.
08-May-2006

Land Registry and TNT Express Services have created 40 jobs in Coventry, having agreed a five-year contract that will involve TNT processing information for homes sold in the Midlands.
05-May-2006

Begbies Traynor has acquired the Salisbury and Southampton accountancy offices of Middleton Partners for an initial £1m, with the transfer of 16 staff.
04-May-2006

Tata Consultancy Services of India is to create up to 1,500 jobs at its Diligenta subsidiary in Peterborough over the next three years, in order to provide administration services for Pearl Group and other life assurance companies.
04-May-2006

Activpayroll, the Aberdeen-based payroll services company, is looking to open new offices in Edinburgh and Canada and expand the 70-strong workforce.
04-May-2006

Syndicate Asset Management has acquired LAinvest, the Bournemouth-based fund management and financial services company, for £1.4m.
03-May-2006

Corum is planning to expand its Glasgow-based chain of six estate agencies with four new outlets over the next two years, and the workforce will rise from 42 to 62.
03-May-2006

Debt Free Direct is to set up a new 31,000 sq ft office at the former AMEC site in Adlington, near Chorley, by October, and plans to recruit 150 additional staff over the next 12 months.
03-May-2006

Foothold Group is to create 45 new jobs in Carmarthenshire, in order to expand its social enterprise venture and encourage an entrepreneurial culture.
28-Apr-2006

Eversheds, the law firm, is planning to relocate its London headquarters to a new 165,000 sq ft office at One Wood Street by 2008.
27-Apr-2006

HBOS is to relocate 60 jobs in its payment and international services department from Halifax to Glasgow later this year.
27-Apr-2006

Irwin Mitchell is to merge with Alexander Harris of Altrincham to create a combined law firm with 1,860 staff throughout the UK and Spain.
27-Apr-2006

WILink, the online investor relations company, is to be acquired by SV Investment Partners of the US for £26m.
27-Apr-2006

Prudential is to close its former Holborn Bar head office in London, as well as sites in Belfast and Bristol, in order to relocate 700 jobs to India and other parts of the UK.
27-Apr-2006

Reed Managed Services is planning a £10m expansion at its human resources agency in Belfast, with the creation of 200 jobs.
26-Apr-2006

Vantis has acquired the non-audit business of Buckinghamshire-based Rouse & Co for an initial £1.9m.
25-Apr-2006

Co-operative Group is to set up a new Co-operative Legal Services business in Bristol, with the creation of 150 jobs over the next five years.
25-Apr-2006

Nanotech Energy is to acquire Impact Funding UK, the personal loans company, in a £3.2m reverse takeover.
24-Apr-2006

IQ-Ludorum is to acquire First Pay, the online payments company specialising in integrated debit card solutions, for £3m.
20-Apr-2006

Keyworld Investments has bought Goldshore, the provider of employee benefit and reward schemes, out of liquidation, and has also announced plans to relocate to a new office in central Milton Keynes.
20-Apr-2006

Target Group is planning to set up a new office in Cwmbran to provide loan administration services to the consumer lending sector, with the creation of up to 225 jobs over the next five years.
20-Apr-2006

Moneyquest is to relocate its Glasgow-based mortgage, insurance and loans business to St Vincent Street next month, which will lead to the creation of 100 new jobs.
19-Apr-2006

Incisive Media is to acquire CIFT, the London-based provider of financial training services to banks and other financial institutions, for an initial £3m.
18-Apr-2006

Jigsaw Insurance Marketing is setting up an 11,000 sq ft call centre in Bridgend, with the creation of 100 jobs by the end of the year.
12-Apr-2006

Wylie & Bisset has acquired John Gray & Co of Port Glasgow, creating a combined accountancy group with more than 100 staff.
11-Apr-2006

Cabot Financial, the debt purchasing company with more than 300 staff, has been acquired by Nikko Principal Investments for £275m.
11-Apr-2006

Barclays is planning to invest up to £375m in the expansion of its wealth management business over the next three years, including new staff and technology.
10-Apr-2006

Towergate Partnership is to set up a 24,000 sq ft insurance call centre at the Octagon building in Colchester, with the creation of up to 100 jobs.
07-Apr-2006

Hunters, the York-based estate agency, is to set up a new headquarters at the Helmsley Group office development in Heworth Green next year, with the creation of 150 new jobs over the next five years.
07-Apr-2006

Dial is creating 100 new jobs at its call centre in Cwmbran, having secured its future through the recent acquisition by Yes Loans.
06-Apr-2006

Morgan Stanley has announced plans to create 300 new jobs at its credit card division in Glasgow, having secured a £3.2m regional assistance grant from the Scottish Executive.
05-Apr-2006

Mayer Brown Rowe & Maw, the law firm, is to set up an 11,000 sq ft office for its insurance team at St Mary Axe in London, and is still seeking a 150,000 sq ft site for a headquarters.
05-Apr-2006

Barclays is planning to set up a chain of 35 bank branches in Italy by the end of next year, at a cost of about £50m, and is also expanding in Portugal.
03-Apr-2006

Accuma Group is planning to expand the workforce at its Manchester-based consumer debt business from 141 to 300 over the next two years.
30-Mar-2006

KPMG is said to be considering plans to set up a 400,000 sq ft headquarters at Canary Wharf in London in 2009.
30-Mar-2006

Moneysupermarket.com is to create 100 new jobs in IT, web development, programming, marketing, sales and administration at its financial services business in Chester.
28-Mar-2006

Ace Group, the commercial property and casualty insurance group, is considering plans to set up a 44,000 sq ft office at the 200 Broomielaw site in Glasgow, which could house up to 400 staff.
22-Mar-2006

Arbuthnot Banking Group is to raise £4m in a share placing to fund the creation of an offshore private banking operation in Switzerland.
22-Mar-2006

Barclays is to invest £86m in the expansion of its investment banking operations in India.
22-Mar-2006

RB Solutions is planning to create 25 new jobs at its housing benefit and payment processing centre in Ashton under Lyne over the next few months.
21-Mar-2006

Vertex is to set up a call centre for up to 120 staff at the Chester Business Park, having won a £45m mortgage contract from Deutsche Bank, and will also relocate its headquarters and 160 staff from south Manchester to Kings Business Park in Prescot.
16-Mar-2006

Oval Insurance has acquired CWB of Dunton Bassett and Malyon Lestrange of Broxbourne, as part of a strategy to expand its regional insurance broking business.
16-Mar-2006

HM Revenue & Customs is to relocate 42 Exeter-based VAT staff from Exe Bridges to its office in Longbrook Street by October.
14-Mar-2006

Lloyds TSB is to move 200 C&G mortgage advisers into its Lloyds TSB bank branches, as part of a strategy to expand its own-branded mortgages business.
13-Mar-2006

Francis Clark of Exeter is to merge with Whites of Taunton, creating a combined accountancy group with 26 partners and more than 230 staff.
10-Mar-2006

Scottish Widows is looking to expand the 350-strong workforce at its banking operations in Edinburgh by 10% a year.
10-Mar-2006

HM Revenue & Customs is planning to relocate 114 Aberdeen-based staff from Guild Street to Ruby House over the next financial year.
09-Mar-2006

Northern Bank has sold its mortgage, deposit and current account operations in the Isle of Man to the Isle of Man Bank for undisclosed terms.
08-Mar-2006

Portman Building Society has agreed to acquire the Lambeth Building Society, which has 130 staff at nine southern branches.
08-Mar-2006

Berkeley Berry Birch has sold Berkeley Independent Advisers and Berry Birch Noble Financial Planning to Tenet Group of Leeds for up to £2.3m.
08-Mar-2006

HSBC is to invest £400m in the expansion of its network of 1,528 bank branches this year, including 50 new sites and 200 refurbishments.
07-Mar-2006

BNP Paribas of France is looking to expand its UK banking operations and increase the workforce at its London office by 40%.
07-Mar-2006

Alliance & Leicester Commercial Bank is opening a new business centre at The Plaza in Liverpool, and plans to open further centres in 2006.
06-Mar-2006

Duncan & Toplis, the legal practice, is to relocate its Lincoln office and about 12 staff to a new 10,000 sq ft site in Doddington Road later this year.
06-Mar-2006

The Home Office is to set up a 120,00 sq ft office at the Riverside Exchange in Sheffield.
06-Mar-2006

American Express is said to be planning to set up a 131,000 sq ft office at Belgrave House, London SW1.
06-Mar-2006

CBG Group has acquired Spencer Lavery Associates, the insurance broker, for £0.6m, and will relocate the business to its Manchester office.
03-Mar-2006

Barclays is to create 100 new jobs at its Firstplus secured loans call centre in Cardiff over the next few months, and is seeking a suitable site for a new headquarters to house up to 550 staff.
02-Mar-2006

Facilitators UK has acquired Quality Management Scotland, the Perth-based business support consultancy, for undisclosed terms.
02-Mar-2006

HBOS is to invest £100m opening 100 new bank branches over the next five years, with the creation of up to 1,500 jobs.
02-Mar-2006

CBG Group has acquired Swinburne James, the insurance broker with offices in Manchester, Liverpool and Burnley, for up to £1.2m.
24-Feb-2006

Picture Financial is to invest £2m in the expansion of its debt consolidation business in Newport this year, with the creation of 120 jobs.
24-Feb-2006

Lloyds TSB has sold its banking operations in Paraguay to HSBC for £8.6m, which will involve the transfer of 200 staff at six branches.
23-Feb-2006

Aon, the insurance broker, is considering plans to relocate its London headquarters from Devonshire Square to a 255,000 sq ft office in Canary Wharf.
23-Feb-2006

Jelf Group has acquired Goss Group, the insurance broker with 170 staff in Reading, Guildford, Cheltenham, Newton Abbot and Taunton, for an initial £6.3m.
22-Feb-2006

Schroders is to acquire NewFinance Capital, the London-based hedge funds company, for £58m.
22-Feb-2006

The Student Loans Company is to create 40 new jobs at its call centre and loan processing operation in Darlington.
20-Feb-2006

Interregnum has acquired Quayside Corporate Services, the business restructuring specialist, and has also announced a £10m share placing.
20-Feb-2006

P&MM has acquired The Voucher Shop, the operator of employee flexible benefit and incentive programmes, from the administrators of FHSC.
17-Feb-2006

Merrill Lynch and BlackRock are expected to announce plans to expand their joint fund management operations in London and Edinburgh later this year.
16-Feb-2006

Zeus Capital has acquired Catalyst Securities, the Manchester-based provider of bridging loans, for £25m.
15-Feb-2006

HSBC is to expand its fund management operations in Edinburgh, with the creation of 247 jobs.
14-Feb-2006

Rensburg Sheppards is to create up to 70 jobs at its investment management office in Liverpool, having decided to transfer its central administration from London.
14-Feb-2006

Farley is to acquire Burrough & Company, the estate agents with offices in Hungerford and Newbury, and the business will be rebranded as Humberts.
13-Feb-2006

West Bromwich Building Society is to create 100 new mortgage processing jobs in the West Midlands over the next 12 months.
13-Feb-2006

Moorhouse has acquired Shakespeare Underwriting & Commercial, the house and motor insurance company with offices in Caerphilly and Romford, out of administration for undisclosed terms.
10-Feb-2006

Travellers Protection Services, the Norwich-based travel insurance company with 90 staff, has been acquired by Bermuda-based Primary Group for undisclosed terms.
10-Feb-2006

Dial, the Cwmbran-based call centre with about 200 staff, is expected to be acquired by Yes Loans.
09-Feb-2006

Gurr Johns is to acquire Tyler & Co, the French fine art loss adjuster, for less than £2m.
09-Feb-2006

Key Retirement Solutions is to create 40 new mortgage advice jobs at its financial services business in Preston over the next six months.
07-Feb-2006

Langdowns DFK is to merge with CW Fellowes to create a combined Hampshire-based accountancy group with 100 staff called Langdowns Fellowes DFK.
02-Feb-2006

Mattioli Woods has acquired Suffolk Life Trustee Company from Suffolk Life for an initial £0.7m, in order to expand its pensions consultancy.
31-Jan-2006

Morgan Stanley is said to be planning to create 200 extra jobs at its finance administration and operations centre in Glasgow.
31-Jan-2006

Hunters is planning to franchise its York-based estate agency chain into a nationwide business, which could create up to 200 sales and support jobs in York over the next five years.
27-Jan-2006

Pinsent Masons, the law firm, is to relocate its London headquarters to a 41,000 sq ft office at CityPoint on Ropemaker Street, EC2.
25-Jan-2006

HBOS, the bank, is in negotiations to set up a 47,000 sq ft office at Forty Springardens in Manchester.
25-Jan-2006

JP Morgan, the US-based finance company, has shortlisted three contractors to build a £45m data centre in Basingstoke.
25-Jan-2006

Berkeley Berry Birch has sold the current client bank of its Private Insurance Portfolio division to a management buy-out for £0.3m.
23-Jan-2006

Innovation Group is to acquire Servicekonzept, the German supplier of damage assessment services to the household insurance industry, for £9.6m.
23-Jan-2006

International Asset Management of London is to be acquired by the asset management division of ABN Amro for undisclosed terms.
23-Jan-2006

Legal & General is looking into the possibility of relocating 2,000 staff to a new building in Cardiff, as the lease on its two existing sites have break clauses in 2008 and 2010.
19-Jan-2006

Connexions Cornwall & Devon is creating 70 new jobs, having won a £12m government contract to pilot two schemes to reduce the number of unemployed young people.
18-Jan-2006

Tilney is to acquire Clydesdale Bank's £300m discretionary investment management business for undisclosed terms, which could involve the transfer of up to 40 Glasgow-based staff.
18-Jan-2006

WH Ireland is to acquire the Leeds-based institutional stockbroking business of TD Waterhouse, including a team of eleven that specialises in the leisure, retail, support services and transport sectors.
17-Jan-2006

Robert Muckle, the law firm, is planning to relocate about 120 staff to a new 44,000 sq ft office being built on Gallowgate in Newcastle-upon-Tyne in early 2008.
17-Jan-2006

McClure Naismith, the law firm, is planning to relocate both its Edinburgh and London offices over the next few months.
17-Jan-2006

Rathbone Brothers is to acquire the UK-based private banking business of Dexia for up to £14m, and the deal includes Ely Fund Managers.
16-Jan-2006

Blue Motor Finance is planning to expand its Warrington-based motor finance business with the creation of up to 150 jobs over the next four years.
12-Jan-2006

State Bank of India is to open a branch in Manchester in the first quarter of this year, its first UK site outside London.
11-Jan-2006

Debt Free Direct is looking to expand the 209-strong workforce at its Chorley-based debt management business, with a number of sales and customer service vacancies at its contact centre.
11-Jan-2006

HBOS is planning to set up a network of 46 bank branches in Ireland over the next 14 months, mainly by overhauling sites recently acquired from the Irish Electricity Supply Board.
11-Jan-2006

Sage has acquired Verus Financial Management, the US credit card and cheque processing company, for £184m.
10-Jan-2006

Dipford Group has acquired Bruce & Co, the Scottish business broker, for up to £3.6m.
09-Jan-2006

Hughes & Company, the insurance broker, is planning to open three additional offices in Northern Ireland over the next six months.
06-Jan-2006