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Financial Services 2006
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The information below comes from the UK Activity Report.
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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 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 KPMG is recruiting a further 60 staff in Scotland to handle tax returns for an unnamed financial services institution. 12-Dec-2006 HSBC is shedding about 130 jobs in its bond trading business, which will mainly affect offices in London, Hong Kong and the US. 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 Dresdner Kleinwort is to shed up to 125 of the 2,500 staff at its investment banking operations in London. 08-Dec-2006 Connexions Tees Valley is to close its Stockton headquarters in March 2007, with the loss of up to 48 support and management jobs. 04-Dec-2006 Shore Capital has raised £18m in a share placing to fund the expansion of its stockbroking services. 04-Dec-2006 Land Securities Trillium has let a 56,000 sq ft office at Queens Road in Reading to Visa. 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 American Express is considering the future of its account maintenance department in Brighton, prompting speculation that 38 jobs could be lost and the work moved abroad. 28-Nov-2006 Towergate is looking to spend up to £250m on acquisitions to expand its insurance broking business. 28-Nov-2006 Capital One is to restructure the personal loans department at its call centre in Nottingham, and most of the 40 staff are expected to be redeployed. 24-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 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 Goldman Sachs, the US investment bank, is planning to strengthen its executive office in London by providing administrative support functions. 20-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 Bristows, the law firm, is to take a 60,000 sq ft office at Victoria Embankment in London, and 15,000 sq ft will be sublet. 20-Nov-2006 HM Revenue & Customs is expected to close more than 200 offices and shed thousands of jobs by 2011, according to the Public & Commercial Services Union. 17-Nov-2006 Hansard Global, the Isle of Man-based wealth management company, is considering plans for a flotation next month with a valuation of up to £350m. 16-Nov-2006 Atlas Capital, the hedge funds company, is planning a management buy-out that will involve the separation of its London-based operation from its Swiss business. 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 Co-operative Insurance Society is to outsource administration and customer service work for 5m insurance policies to the Capita Group in 2007, with the transfer of up to 900 Manchester-based staff. 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 Medas is said to be considering plans to shed up to 200 jobs at its operation in Ealing in July 2007, having lost a finance outsourcing contract from the BBC. 09-Nov-2006 Axa Sun Life has announced plans to shed a further 200 of the 3,400 jobs in Bristol and Coventry in 2007. 08-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 Reed Smith, the law firm, is looking to consolidate its London offices onto a single site of up to 200,000 sq ft, following its recent merger with Richards Butler. 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 Liverpool Victoria is conducting a strategic review of its banking operations, which could lead to the business being sold for up to £100m. 06-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 Cambridgeshire County Council is considering plans to outsource some of its finance and administration work to Xansa, and will now undergo a three-month period of consultation with trade unions, staff and potential service providers. 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 Central Insurance Services is to relocate to a new 15,000 sq ft office at Westhill in Aberdeen in summer 2007. 01-Nov-2006 The Financial Services Authority is looking to shed about 300 jobs from its 2,800-strong staff by 2010, which will mostly be achieved by natural attrition. 31-Oct-2006 Just Retirement, the provider of financial services to the retirement market, is planning a flotation over the next few months with a valuation of about £200m. 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 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 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 Bank of Ireland is to close ten of its 21 UK bank branches, including sites in Leicester, Cardiff, Southampton and seven in London. 24-Oct-2006 Axiom Consulting, the insurance investigator valued at £50m, has been put up for sale by RJD Partners. 23-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 Xansa has won a £85m outsourcing contract to provide finance and accounting services to the BBC, which will involve transferring some of the work to India. 23-Oct-2006 Northamptonshire County Council is planning to shed up to 600 jobs at 300 locations over the next two years, in order to centralise administration in Northampton. 20-Oct-2006 St James's Place is to shed 99 mortgage advisers from its sales force and offer them jobs at the Home Choice mortgage network, as part of a strategy to focus on wealth management. 19-Oct-2006 Bluebay Asset Management is planning a flotation on the London Stock Exchange next month with a valuation of about £500m. 19-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 Man Group is considering plans to demerge its Man Financial brokerage business next year, in order to focus on hedge funds. 18-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 Prudential is looking into the possibility of transferring IT work offshore, which could affect up to 550 jobs at its Prutech operation, including 250 in Reading. 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 Leo Abse & Cohen is planning to shed about 20 jobs at its legal practices in Cardiff, Swansea and Newport. 11-Oct-2006 Morgan Stanley is planning to close its Goldfish call centre at Atlantic Quay in Glasgow with the loss of up to 80 jobs, in order to transfer the work to its site in Cumbernauld. 10-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 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 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 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 Aviva is to shed 4,000 jobs from its Norwich Union insurance business by 2008, affecting sites in Belfast, Glasgow, Stevenage, Norwich and Cambridge, in order to transfer work to India and outsource its IT operation. 15-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 Ashmore, the fund management company, is planning a £1.2bn flotation on the London Stock Exchange. 14-Sep-2006 The East of England Development Agency is to merge its six regional Business Links centres into a single organisation next year, with the loss of a number of administration jobs. 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 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 PricewaterhouseCoopers is considering two potential sites for its new 400,000 sq ft central London headquarters, including 201 Bishopsgate and More London. 11-Sep-2006 Wesleyan Assurance Society is to close its call centre in Colchester by the end of the year, with the loss of up to 83 jobs, but some staff will be offered relocation to Birmingham. 06-Sep-2006 Lloyds TSB has announced plans to close 19 bank branches across the South West and Wales. 06-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 Insight Investment is planning a £250m flotation for its property division, and the business will be named Invista Real Estate Investment Management. 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 Cheshire County Council is planning to shed hundreds of jobs from its 24,000-strong workforce, due to a £50m funding shortfall over the next four years. 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 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 Royal & Sun Alliance is to shed 50 jobs at its Motobility division in Liverpool, as part of a previously-announced nationwide cost-cutting programme. 21-Aug-2006 Cahoot is to shed a further 42 management and administration jobs at its internet banking operation in Coventry. 21-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 Prudential is to outsource 450 sales and administration call centre jobs in Belfast to Capita Group. 18-Aug-2006 DWF, the legal firm, is looking to consolidate its 350 Liverpool-based staff onto a single site, and has shortlisted two potential locations. 17-Aug-2006 Kent Reliance Building Society is planning to outsource more jobs to India, due to difficulties in recruiting suitable staff at its call centre in Chatham. 17-Aug-2006 HBOS is planning to consolidate its Glasgow-based corporate banking operations at the 94,000 sq ft former Bank of Scotland headquarters at 110 St Vincent Street. 16-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 Zurich Financial Services is planning to shed 500 jobs in Newcastle, 140 in Portsmouth and 86 in Cardiff in 2007, as part of the reorganisation of its insurance call centres. 09-Aug-2006 Moneyquest is to create a further 150 jobs at its new financial services centre in Glasgow. 07-Aug-2006 GMAC, the financial services company, is said to be planning to consolidate its Bracknell operations at a 92,000 sq ft office in Arlington Square. 04-Aug-2006 Aviva is to close a Norwich Union call centre in Liverpool with the loss of up to 321 jobs, while 17 jobs will be lost in Sheffield. 26-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 The National Audit Office is seeking a suitable 100,000 sq ft temporary office in London while its Buckingham Palace Road site is being refurbished. 17-Jul-2006 Custom House is to increase the workforce at its Peterborough-based foreign exchange business from 12 to 24. 14-Jul-2006 Swiss Re is planning to shed up to 2,000 jobs in its global insurance operations by the end of next year, and its London offices will be among the hardest hit. 12-Jul-2006 Campbell Dallas is to gain its first office in Aberdeen by merging with MacPherson & Co, the accountancy firm with ten staff. 11-Jul-2006 Axa is planning to close commercial insurance offices in Cardiff, Carlisle, Maidstone, Sheffield and Southampton with the loss of 200 jobs. 10-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 Swinton is to expand its insurance call centre in Halifax with the creation of 150 jobs. 06-Jul-2006 Barclays is to close two asset and sales finance centres in Birmingham and Hastings with the loss of up to 350 jobs, but 140 jobs will be created in Basingstoke. 06-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 Bishop Fleming is to relocate its Exeter-based accountancy and 200 staff to the Exeter Business Park early next year. 03-Jul-2006 Scottish Enterprise is to shed up to 100 jobs over the next two years, and has also announced details for next year's £550m spending plan. 30-Jun-2006 Moneysupermarket.com, the Chester-based personal finance company with an estimated valuation of more than £700m, is planning a flotation over the next six months. 29-Jun-2006 Barclays is to close three back-office centres in Dudley, Clacton and Bexleyheath by 2008 with the possible loss of up to 1,200 jobs, and is also planning to close up to 200 bank branches and rebrand its 373 Woolwich sites. 29-Jun-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 Millfield is seeking a buyer for its business following the collapse of a proposed rescue package, casting doubt on the future of 107 jobs at its financial advice call centre in Hull. 27-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 Dresdner Bank is expected to shed up to 100 jobs in London and close its equities proprietary trading desk, as part of a cost-cutting strategy announced by German parent company Allianz. 26-Jun-2006 Evolution Group is to shed 80 of the 200 jobs at its recently-acquired Williams de Broe investment bank. 26-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 Old Mutual is to shed 600 jobs in the UK over the next three years, which will mainly affect its Skandia office in Southampton. 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 The British Council is to close offices in Birmingham, Bristol, Cambridge, Leeds, Newcastle, Nottingham and Reading, in order to transfer 35 jobs to Manchester and London. 20-Jun-2006 Royal & Sun Alliance is planning to shed 1,000 jobs at insurance offices across the country, as part of a strategy to reduce annual costs by £130m over the next two years. 20-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 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 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 Smith & Williamson, the private banking and fund management group, has appointed Hawkpoint to conduct a strategic review, which could lead to a sale or flotation. 12-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 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 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 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 Barclays is considering plans to sell off its vendor finance business, which has assets valued at more than £1bn. 30-May-2006 Lloyds TSB is to outsource 150 human resources jobs to Xansa, affecting staff at sites in Bristol, Telford and Cardiff. 29-May-2006 Orrick Herrington & Sutcliffe, the US law firm, is seeking a suitable site for a new 45,000 sq ft office in London. 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 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 Norwich Union is to close an insurance call centre in Bristol in November, with the loss of 120 jobs, in order to transfer the work to Birmingham and Leeds. 18-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 Calyon is planning to shed almost 30 of the 90 jobs at its Cheuvreux broking business in London, in order to reduce its equities research. 11-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 Shoosmiths is to relocate its Reading-based legal department and 100 staff from Crown Street to Apex Plaza this month. 08-May-2006 Debtcare, the Chesterfield-based debt management company, is to raise £8m in a flotation on Aim next month. 08-May-2006 Cenkos, the stockbroker with 40 staff, is planning to raise up to £20m to fund an acquisition, and is also looking to float on Aim this autumn with a valuation of up to £250m. 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 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 Braveheart Ventures, the Perth-based syndicate of business angels, is planning to raise up to £20m in a flotation on Aim. 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 Experian is to end its credit card and store card processing work by 2009, and most of the 200 Nottingham-based staff will be redeployed. 02-May-2006 Cardpoint, the cash machine operator, has received a takeover approach from an unnamed company. 02-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 ABN Amro, the Dutch bank, is to shed 2,400 back-office jobs worldwide, with the UK being one of the countries hardest hit, in order to transfer work to India and elsewhere. 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 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 The Department for Constitutional Affairs and the Courts Service are planning to shed about 1,300 jobs. 26-Apr-2006 HBOS is said to be considering plans to consolidate hundreds of staff at its Glasgow-based retail and corporate banking operation onto a single site. 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 Interregnum is to change its name to The Parkmead Group, as part of a restructuring programme that will focus the company on business turnround and corporate finance. 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 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 Cheltenham & Gloucester is to transfer the running of its savings operation to parent company Lloyds TSB early next year, casting doubt on the future of 140 jobs at Segensworth, near Fareham. 12-Apr-2006 London Scottish Bank has received a £164m takeover approach from Promethean Investments. 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 Cahoot is to shed 94 jobs at its internet banking office in Coventry, as parent company Abbey is transferring some back-office functions to Bradford. 31-Mar-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 Cazenove is planning to spin off its private equity business through a merger with Prelude Ventures, creating a £100m fund to be invested over the next 12 months. 28-Mar-2006 The Financial Services Authority is to spend £20m on financial education in workplaces, schools and colleges over the next two years. 28-Mar-2006 Bridgewell, the stockbroker, is considering plans for a flotation that could value the business at up to £100m. 27-Mar-2006 ING is considering plans to sell off its Williams de Broe stockbroking business, having been approached by a number of potential bidders. 27-Mar-2006 Scottish Enterprise is considering plans to shed up to 130 management jobs at its Glasgow headquarters and at 12 local enterprise companies across Scotland. 23-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 Collins Stewart Tullett is planning to separate its investment banking and inter-dealer broker operations into two separate quoted companies by the end of the year. 21-Mar-2006 Aviva has made a £17bn takeover approach for rival insurance company Prudential. 20-Mar-2006 Axa Sun Life is to shed 350 jobs at its insurance, pensions and investments operations in Bristol and Coventry. 17-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 Lloyds TSB is to close administration centres in Glasgow, Newton Aycliffe and Chorley and reduce the workload in Tonbridge and London, with the loss of up to 500 jobs. 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 European Islamic Investment Bank is planning to raise £200m in a flotation on Aim and is due to start operating in the UK next month. 13-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 Prudential has announced plans to shed up to 80 jobs at finance offices in Stirling and Reading. 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 Nymex is to close its energy futures pit-trading floor in London and replace it with electronic trade. 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 Charlemagne Capital, the London-based fund management company, is planning a flotation on Aim next month with an expected valuation of £350m. 06-Mar-2006 Highlands & Islands Enterprise is to shed 40 of its 555 jobs over the next two years, as part of a reorganisation that will cut the number of local enterprise companies from 10 to nine. 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 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 Cashbox, the operator of 900 cash machines with 22 staff, is planning a flotation on Aim next month. 27-Feb-2006 Lloyds TSB is looking to improve its procurement and back office operations, in order to reduce costs by £275m a year. 27-Feb-2006 Siemens is looking to base about 500 of the 1,800 staff working on its National Savings administration contract in India. 27-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 Oval Insurance, the Wakefield-based insurance broker, has secured a £53m investment from Barclays Leveraged Finance and Lloyds TSB Corporate Acquisition Finance to fund acquisitions. 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 Haines Watts is to float its Scottish business recovery and insolvency division under the name of Invocas this spring, in order to raise £5.5m to fund a new helpline and acquisitions. 21-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 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 Unilever is expected to award a £500m global outsourcing contract to Accenture, covering human resources and payroll. 14-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 West Bromwich Building Society is to create 100 new mortgage processing jobs in the West Midlands over the next 12 months. 13-Feb-2006 Abbey National is looking to shed between 1,000 and 2,000 jobs in its mortgage lending business this year, as part of an efficiency drive. 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 Morgan Stanley is said to be planning to create 200 extra jobs at its finance administration and operations centre in Glasgow. 31-Jan-2006 Alliance & Leicester is to shed 350 administration jobs at the former Girobank site in Bootle. 27-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 Hull City Council is to shed about 500 jobs a year for the next four years, which will involve a review of back office administration jobs across all departments. 24-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 Fortis Bank of Belgium is seeking a suitable site for a new 150,000 sq ft headquarters in the City of London. 18-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 Citibank is considering plans to shed almost 50 of the 500 jobs at its site in Salford Quays, in order to transfer its Citi Cards customer services operation to India or another UK site. 16-Jan-2006 Barclays Stockbrokers is planning to shed an estimated 60 of the 200 jobs at its call centre in Glasgow. 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 Norwich Union is planning to shed an unspecified number of its 1,560 support services staff in Norwich and York. 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 MBNA is to shed up to 400 of the 4,000 jobs at its Chester-based banking business, including 250 vacant positions that will not be filled. 09-Jan-2006 Savoy Asset Management, the money manager with a market capitalisation of about £18m, has received a takeover approach from an unnamed company. 09-Jan-2006 The Valuation Office Agency is planning to shed up to 600 permanent jobs and 400 temporary jobs from its 5,500-strong workforce, following the government decision to postpone the revaluation of homes for council tax purposes. 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 Hogg Robinson, the business travel and corporate services group, is considering plans for a £700m flotation. 04-Jan-2006 The information below comes from the UK Activity Report. 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