
BP appoints former CRH boss Albert Manifold as new chairman
Mr Lund had announced plans in April to step down 'in due course', but the group said it would probably take until 2026 to find his successor.
Albert Manifold (Niall Carson/PA)
Shares in BP lifted 1% in early morning trading.
Aviva chief executive Dame Amanda Blanc, BP's senior independent director who led the hunt for Mr Lund's successor, said Mr Manifold was 'the ideal candidate to oversee BP's next chapter'.
She said: 'Albert has a relentless focus on performance which is well suited to BP's needs now and into the future.
'He transformed and refocused CRH into a global leader.'
CRH, which has its headquarters in Ireland, switched its stock market listing from London to New York in 2023 and has since seen its share price rocket by 74%.
Speculation has swirled over whether BP will move its London listing to Wall Street after activist investor Elliott Management built up a stake in the group.
But BP chief executive Murray Auchincloss has previously dismissed the rumours, saying in April the group had no plans to change its listing.
Mr Lund has been chairman since 2019, but he has presided over a more challenging past few years for the firm.
He oversaw the hiring of former chief executive Bernard Looney, who quit in September 2023 after failing to disclose his past relationships with company colleagues.
Mr Lund also played a key part in overseeing the group setting its net zero agenda, but the firm has since rowed back on the shift towards green energy.
BP bowed to pressure from shareholders by vowing to accelerate investment in oil and gas while slashing renewable spending by nearly three-quarters.
In a major rebuttal for a FTSE 100 company, Mr Lund received a near 25% vote against his re-election at the firm's annual general meeting in April.
Ahead of the AGM, a group of 48 institutional investors had criticised the board for not offering a direct vote on the oil major's revised strategy, while environmental groups fiercely criticised the climate row-back.
The vote was largely seen as a protest, as Mr Lund had already announced his departure at the time of the AGM.

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles


Daily Mail
3 minutes ago
- Daily Mail
Barclays sees profits soar thanks to Trump tariffs trading frenzy
Barclays' profits beat expectations in the first half of the year as the banking giant's markets business was boosted by a surge in trading activity in the wake of US tariff announcements. The FTSE 100 lender saw pre-tax profits rocket 23 per cent to £5.2billion for the six months to 30 June, surpassing analyst forecasts of £4.96billion. Total income within its global markets business soared 21 per cent to just under £5billion over the period, with strong demand within equities, and its fixed income, commodity and currency unit. Net interest income – the difference between what a bank pays and receives in interest – also beat forecasts after jumping to more than £7billion from £6.1billion last year. In the UK, income jumped 12 per cent in the second quarter thanks to higher structural hedge income and the Tesco Bank acquisition earlier in the year. However, the takeover combined with 'elevated US macroeconomic uncertainty' contributed to impairments rising to around £1.1billion for the first half. Tariff trading frenzy: Barclays' global markets business was boosted by higher trading activity in the second quarter In addition, Barclays told shareholders the appreciation of sterling against the US dollar since the start of the year had 'negatively impacted income and profits'. Strong profit growth was also achieved despite group operating costs increasing by 5 per cent to £8.4billion, partially offset by roughly £350million of efficiency savings. Barclays chief executive C.S. Venkatakrishnan said: 'We remain on track to achieve the objectives of our three-year plan, delivering structurally higher and more stable returns for our investors.' The result follows forecast-beating performance figures published by London-listed rivals Lloyds and NatWest last week, as well as a strong US earnings season. Barclays on Tuesday also announced a £1billion share buyback and a half year dividend of 3p per share, equating to £1.4billion of payouts for the first half of 2025 - a 21 per cent increase year-on-year. Barclays shares were up 0.5 per cent to 363p in early trading, having added 35 per cent since the start of the year. Victoria Scholar, head of investment at Interactive Investor, said: 'Like its Wall Street counterparts, Barclays' investment banking division saw income increase by 10 per cent in the second quarter, thanks to the tariff frenzy with volatile market conditions boosting trading activity 'However unlike in the US where dealmaking made a comeback, Barclays' investment banking income suffered on the back of a slowdown in the M&A and IPO space.'


Reuters
15 hours ago
- Reuters
Industrial stocks drag UK equities, investors assess US-EU trade deal
July 28 (Reuters) - London's main stock indexes closed lower on Monday, pressured by industrial shares, while investors assessed a U.S.-EU trade deal along with economic data. The blue-chip FTSE 100 (.FTSE), opens new tab reversed earlier gains with a 0.4% fall, while the domestically focused midcap FTSE 250 index (.FTMC), opens new tab fell 0.8%. The U.S. struck a framework trade agreement with the EU on Sunday, which imposes a 15% tariff on most EU goods and requires the bloc to invest around $600 billion in the United States. However, some European capitals complained it was lopsided in favour of Washington. Meanwhile, data showed on Monday a downturn in British retail sales extended into its tenth month in July as rising prices weighed on consumers, although the pace of the fall was less severe than in June. Also on Monday, the U.S. and China met in Stockholm to resume talks to resolve longstanding economic disputes at the centre of a trade war between the world's top two economies, aiming to extend a truce by three months. In the market, the industrial subindex (.FTNMX502050), opens new tab led the broader sectoral decline, down 1.6%, with RS Group (RS1R.L), opens new tab falling 3.1%. Precious (.FTNMX551030), opens new tab and industrial (.FTNMX551020), opens new tab metal miners fell nearly 1% and 0.9% respectively, tracking lower gold and metal prices. Conversely, energy stocks (.FTNMX601010), opens new tab rose 1.2% as oil prices rose. Heavyweight BP (BP.L), opens new tab gained the most in the FTSE 100, up 2.2%. Among individual stocks, Ocean Wilsons Holdings (OCN.L), opens new tab slipped more than 14% after the British investment holding company agreed to an all-share merger with Hansa Investment (HAN.L), opens new tab, creating a £900 million ($1.21 billion) diversified investment firm. The Bank of England is expected to slow the pace soon at which it shrinks its 558 billion-pound ($754 billion) holdings of government bonds, with economists hoping for some clarity next week on the central bank's longer-term goals for the stockpile. Traders are currently pricing in an 86.5% chance of a 25 basis point BoE interest rate cut on August 7, according to data compiled by LSEG.


The Independent
a day ago
- The Independent
Business news live: FTSE 100 to open near record high and latest bitcoin price after fall
The FTSE 100 rose to new highs once again last week, tipping the scales well above 9,100 points after a particularly strong day on Thursday which saw the likes of BT Group rise ten per cent. The British companies index is up more than 11 per cent this year, outpacing the key US benchmarks. Meanwhile, key upcoming UK economy data this week includes mortgage approvals and the Nationwide House Price Index. Additionally, there is likely to be more news emerging on how the government may tackle pension reform, amid debate over what age the state pension should be and whether the tax relief rate on pension contributions may be altered. In other markets, bitcoin fell towards the end of last week, from the highs above $123,000 down to around $115,000, with gold also retreating as investors took a risk-on approach once more.