Sir Philip Green has conceded to hand over £363mln to prop up the BHS pension pot, in an agreement with the British Pensions Regulator.
As a result, it is reported that BHS workers will get the same starting pension as previously anticipated.
It comes after the pensions regulator advanced with an enforcement against the former BHS boss.
Nathan Long, senior pension analyst at Hargreaves Lansdown, in a note, said: “After months of uncertainty, most members can now look forward to having higher pensions than under the safety net of the Pension Protection Fund.
“This includes an element of inflation proofing on their pension accrued before 1997, it will now increase at 1.8% per annum where as there are no increases under the PPF compensation.”
Long adds, however, that the deal is “not without challenges” as he says members will have to elect to transfer to the new scheme to get the better benefits.
He also notes that there will likely be a delay of several months to set up the new pension scheme.
12:53 - Not everyone is high on the Hogg
Coo! Another woman has been appointed as deputy governor of the Bank of England (BoE).
The BoE’s chief operating officer (COO), Charlotte Hogg, will replace Minouche Shafik – she is moving on to become director of the London School of Economics.
OK, as daughter of former cabinet member Douglas Hogg, granddaughter of former cabinet member Quintin Hogg and great-granddaughter of former Lord Chancellor, Douglas Hogg, the first Viscount Hailsham, she’s not exactly scrapped her way up from Tuffoopnorth Comprehensive via Scumbag University.
Her mother, Sarah Hogg, was the first woman to chair a FTSE 100 company, so breaking the glass ceiling runs in the family.
Or should we call it moat jumping? After all, for all his public service her father will probably best be known for submitting an expenses claim while an MP that included £2,200 for cleaning the moat at the family residence.
Lord Douglas Hogg, claimed more than £2,000 in expenses to clean the moat on his country estate and employ a mole catcher. #Expensesleak
— Fuad Alakbarov (@DrAlakbarov) July 31, 2016
It’s not just her forebears who were well-connected; her brother James Hogg is a big wheel at Barclays, where he is part of the bank’s strategic planning group.
Some, such as MP Andrew Tyrie, have suggested this could make life awkward for her when she sits on the Prudential Regulation Committee (PRC).
“I haven’t sat on the PRC yet. I think it is certainly a possibility that I could recuse myself, but I wouldn't do it without discussing it with the chairman, and I am happy to do that,” MS Hogg said, when challenged by Tyrie whether she would recuse herself from any discussions on Barclays that take place in PRC meetings.
Only after prompting from Tyrie did BoE's Charlotte Hogg say she may need to recuse herself from @Barclays regulation due to brother's role
— Ian Fraser (@Ian_Fraser) February 28, 2017
Sticking with the theme of Conservative politicians, former chancellor of the exchequer and son of a baronet (I’ve no idea whether that outranks a viscount), George Osborne, is trending on Twitter.
He lost his job when his old mucker, David “call me Dave” Cameron – no peers, hereditary or otherwise in his family so far as I know – gambled both their jobs on winning the Brexit referendum.
Having nailed his colours to the “remain” mast, Osborne evidently has not changed his views. He’s created a stir by claiming that withdrawing from the Single Market would be the biggest “single act of protectionism in the UK’s history”.
RT Hon George Osborne speaking on the panel at @britishchambers #BCCConf 2017 pic.twitter.com/7O7f084kxd
— Moneycorp Midlands (@moneycorpmids) February 28, 2017
Not everyone agrees with Osborne’s view (on anything, in some cases) it would seem.
@BBCNormanS @bbclaurak @George_Osborne credibility blown, negative legacy, next expert please
— Pat Pending (@profpatpending) February 28, 2017
Say what you like about George Osborne, but he did a lot for the house building sector with his “Help to Sell” scheme [I think that should be “Help to Buy” – Ed.].
We had another house building company – Taylor Wimpey PLC (LON:TW.) – declaring sharply increased profits today.
Housebuilder Taylor Wimpey posts solid 2016 results, says 2017 trading 'robust' https://t.co/ehRNThDLSL
— Ruth Gemmell (@ruth_proactive) February 28, 2017
I appear to be not the only one who suspects that Osborne’s scheme seems to have been more beneficial for those selling houses than those wanting to buy them, though hopefully it has helped the latter as well.
39% of Taylor Wimpey sales used Help to Buy in 2016.#ukhousing pic.twitter.com/iAU94K54Oe
— Noble Francis (@NobleFrancis) February 28, 2017
It’s Shrove Tuesday, or Pancake Day as it is usually called in the UK. That makes me wonder whether stodgy snacks seller Greggs plc (LON:GRG) deliberately timed the release of its results to coincide with it.
Seeing as the date of Shrove Tuesday moves around like a difficult to mark “false number nine” in football, it would be an impressive piece of scheduling by the company’s investor relations department were it so.
Greggs said it had improved its product range, extending choices in hot drinks, hot food and healthy options over the period.
That bit about the healthy options may be so, but what sort of snack features on Proactive Investors’ coverage? Is that some sort of savoury pancake?
#GRG Greggs is offering more healthy options but I bet we're not the only ones to use a photo of a fatty snack :) https://t.co/jMZDFlTKxs
— John Harrington (@JournoJohnH) February 28, 2017