Business briefs: Strategist joins Swip rates team | Prisons brawl for Serco and G4S

Published on 30/08/2012 00:00

SCOTTISH Widows Investment Partnership (Swip) has hired former UBS portfolio manager Alan Bridges to join its growing “global rates” team.

Bridges, who has also held senior positions at ABN Amro, Morley and Citibank, joins the Edinburgh-based group as investment director for UK rates. He will oversee management of gilt and index-linked bond funds and develop new investment strategies.

Prisons brawl for Serco and G4S

Outsourcing group Serco will square up to under-pressure G4S in a battle to run more UK prisons as part of its plans to seize on £31 billion of new opportunities around the globe.

The firm, which already runs six prisons and young offenders’ institutes, including Kilmarnock, said restructuring costs and difficult conditions in the US drove a 17 per cent fall in interim profits to £102.1 million.