Insurance broker Hastings Direct has unveiled plans to create 200 jobs over the next 12 months to meet growing demand for its services.
The firm, based in East Sussex, specialises in car and motorbike insurance and said it has sold a policy every 27 seconds during the past year, taking the total to more than a million. It is aiming to attract another three million customers by 2020.
HR director Amanda Menahem said: “We are introducing our first fast-track graduate intake this September and urgently need to recruit even more talent to achieve our ambitious goals.”
Trouble looms for Superdry owner
The owner of the Superdry clothing label is expected to come under fire over director pay packages when shareholders gather this week.
Concerns have been raised by shareholder groups ahead of SuperGroup’s annual general meeting on Thursday, with the pay deal for new chief operating officer Susanne Given in particular coming under scrutiny.
It is thought the Association of British Insurers has put an “amber alert” on the group’s remuneration report, while shareholder body Pirc has recommended investors vote against the pay proposals.
Emaar plans new hotel in Dubai
Emaar Properties, developer of the world’s tallest tower in Dubai, plans to build a new hotel in the city, its first major hotel project since the emirate’s property crisis erupted in 2009.
The company, which had skirted clear of its home market in the aftermath of the debt crisis, said the construction of the five-star hotel would be financed mainly through pre-sales of serviced apartments.
Dubai’s property market is slowly stabilising after home prices slumped by more than 60 per cent from their peak in 2008. Emaar reported in July that its second-quarter profits had more than doubled.