Business news in brief: Glasgow Airport | JP Morgan

Travel disruption caused by snow and poor visibility at other airports has been blamed for a fall in passenger numbers at Glasgow airport last month.

Parent company Heathrow, formerly BAA, said the number of travellers dipped 1.2 per cent to 411,500 in January, although Aberdeen airport recorded a year-on-year increase of 0.6 per cent to 228,900.

At the firm’s flagship Heathrow airport, passenger numbers grew 0.3 per cent to 5.18 million – a record for the month – as a 5.8 per cent fall in domestic traffic was offset by increased demand from North America and the Middle East.

JP Morgan expands UK wealth division

JP Morgan has appointed seven bankers to the UK division of its private wealth business, poaching five from rivals.

Executive directors Richard Cockburn, James Drace-Francis and Stefano Ferraiolo join from Societe Generale, UBS and Credit Suisse respectively.

Francesca Hall joins from Coutts, the private banking arm of Royal Bank of Scotland, as a vice-president.

Three of the appointments – executive director Aaron Georghiades and vice-presidents Bambos Charalambous and Cliadhna Law – are internal.

Appointments at Alexander Sloan

Accountancy firm Alexander Sloan, based in Edinburgh, has recruited a partner and promoted four of its team.

The firm has promoted Phil Morrice, Steven Cunningham and Allison Devine from associates to partner level while David Jeffcoat has been promoted to associate.

Kevin Booth has joined the firm as partner after 14 years with another medium-sized accountancy firm in Glasgow.

The appointments mean the 50-strong firm now has nine partners at its offices in Edinburgh and Glasgow.

LSE takes majority stake in GATElab

THE London Stock Exchange has acquired a 67 per cent stake in GATElab, a UK/Italian software company that specialises in high frequency trading.

Antoine Shagoury, LSE group chief operating officer, said: “We are confident that GATElab’s technology and innovative approach will be of great benefit to the group.”

Ferdinando La Posta, GATElab’s chief executive, said: “Our search for a supportive partner committed to further develop our R&D program and the growth of our business, could not have resulted in a better choice.”