Not to be sneezed at

While I hear Chinese investors might be being politely asked to steer clear of their schemes in London because of the coronavirus, a Preston sheet piling specialist has donated 2,000 surgical masks to former suppliers in China. Because of the impact of the virus, it is becoming harder to get hold of the masks and the country has made an appeal to firms across the globe to supply them. The firm’s managing director Andrew Cotton adds: “This has been hugely appreciated and we would urge others to do the same.”

No fool her

Persimmon, the under-fire but still hugely profitable housebuilder, has gone and hired itself a new non-exec director in the form of Joanna Place, latterly the former chief operating officer of the Bank of England. She joins on 1 April, chairing its corporate responsibility committee and sitting on its remuneration committee. Given her 30 years of experience in areas such as finance, regulation, property and procurement, I’m guessing she’ll be keeping a tight rein on bonuses.

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