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BT chief set for exit amid deal whispers JESS JONES
‘TURNING POINT’ FOR SQUARE MILE HUNT REFORMS GO DOWN WELL WITH CITY GRANDEES
CHARLIE CONCHIE TOP CITY figures cheered last night as UK pension giants threw their weight behind a package of reforms that aim to unleash a £75bn wave of investment into Britain’s private companies. Aviva, L&G, Phoenix and Scottish Widows are among the names to back the new “Mansion House Compact” that will see them divert a minimum of five per cent of defined contribution (DC) pension cash into unlisted British companies by 2030.
Firms to back the commitment, which also include Aegon, Nest, Smart Pensions, M&G and Mercers, make up the majority of the UK’s £1.2 trillion DC workplace pensions market. The move comes after months of wrangling between City groups and the pension sector to try and get cash flowing into the so-called productive economy. Pension funds currently allocate a tiny chunk of their cash to private investment and have instead poured into FTSE 100 firms and safer bond holdings.
The Chancellor Jeremy Hunt unveiled the package at the annual Mansion House speech last night as part of a wider package of measures dubbed the Mansion House Reforms, which he said will boost returns for savers as well as fuel a new wave of British startups. The move was hailed as a “historic turning point” by the Lord Mayor of London Nicholas Lyons, who has spearheaded calls to get more pension investment in startups. The dearth of retiree cash flowing into private companies has spurred firms to
look to foreign investors and pension funds to raise capital. Sir John Symonds, chair of GSK, who helped draw up the plans, said the move would help firms “stay in this country as they scale to maturity”. Ministers will also look to push Local Government Pension Schemes toward greater consolidation to try and double existing investments in private equity to 10 per cent, which they claim could unlock a further £25bn by 2030. £ CONTINUED ON PAGE 2
BT ANNOUNCED yesterday its CEO Philip Jansen (pictured) would be exiting within the next year, amid whispers the telecoms giant could be a takeover target for German outfit Deutsche Telekom. Jansen will step down at an “appropriate moment”, the firm said, with most analysts tipping consumer boss Marc Allera as Jansen’s most likely internal successor. Deutsche Telekom holds a more than 10 per cent stake in BT and the latter’s dramatic share price tumble – down 45 per cent over the last five years – could potentially make for an appealing acquisition. Deutsche’s boss said earlier this year “I want my money back” after the stake he accrued in 2015 for £5.6bn shrunk by almost £4bn. “There will be a time when we will do a deal,” he said back then. BT chairman Adam Crozier said a nominations committee was going through a formal appointments process for the top job, with the firm hoping to update markets “over the course of the summer”. He thanked Jansen for beginning BT’s ‘transformation’, with a dramatic job cuts programme in its infancy.
Grounded: Newham blocks City Airport’s bid to expand numbers and flying hours GUY TAYLOR NEWHAM Council yesterday voted to block City Airport’s plans to expand its passenger capacity and flying hours – despite the promise of more than 2,000 additional jobs. The airport had submitted plans to remove restrictions which prevent takeoffs and landings between 1pm on
Saturday afternoons and 12:30am on Sundays, and to introduce three additional flights between 6:30 and 7am on weekdays. The airport also wanted to up a cap on passenger numbers from 5m to 9m. Robert Sinclair, London City Airport’s chief executive, argued the plans would have allowed
“airlines to serve the very significant demand for travel on weekends... giving more choice and more destinations”. However councillors, one of whom described the airport as a “blight” and an “inexcusable misuse of land”, voted against the proposals, citing concerns over noise pollution. London City said it was “disappointed with the decision”,
adding that its revised proposals would have created almost 2,200 jobs at the airport and contributed an extra £702m in GVA to London’s economy. Newham is one of the capital’s poorest boroughs. “If we’re asking the airport to not grow we’re essentially asking the airport to go backwards,” Lloyd Johnson, chair of the local chamber of commerce, said.
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