‘Come to London’: FCA eyes up capital markets reform with 12 month plan to woo world listings back to the City April 5, 2023 The Financial Conduct Authority has laid out plans to “make the UK a more attractive place for business” today after a flurry of firms have ditched the UK in favour of foreign markets in recent months.
CBI in crisis: Treasury ‘pauses’ all engagement with Britain’s biggest business body April 5, 2023 The Treasury has placed on pause all engagement with the CBI, Britain’s biggest business body, after a string of sexual misconduct allegations, City A.M. understands. The CBI regularly meets with ministers to discuss economic policy and is regularly consulted by officials on changes to the business landscape. However in light of allegations which have surfaced [...]
Home REIT: Embattled social housing investor looks to offload properties and ‘stabilise’ portfolio April 5, 2023 Scandal stricken social housing investor Home REIT said it is looking to offload some properties today as it scrambles to raise cash and “stabilise” its portfolio ahead of the appointment of a new investment adviser. In a statement this morning, bosses said the former FTSE 250 firm “continues to explore all available options” as it [...]
Ladbrokes owner gambles on media expansion, buying 365scores for £128m April 5, 2023 Entain has bought 365scores in a deal worth up to $160m (£128m) as the betting giant hopes to expand its global reach. The Ladbrokes owner will pay $150m plus contingent payments of up to $10m for the Israeli sports media company. 365scores has 15m active users and a “fast growing” audience. It provides sports information, [...]
Meet the KPMG dealmaker putting the Big 4 firm in the green energy mix April 5, 2023 Hardly a week goes by without a new survey showing the slump in M&A activity in 2022. By some estimates M&A dropped 18 per cent after the flurry in 2021. However, looking a little closer reveals a more nuanced picture. Mid-level M&A remained fairly consistent while certain sectors saw continued growth. One of the most [...]
The host with the most: Airbnb’s Catherine Powell on surviving the pandemic, disciplined decision making and playing by the rules April 5, 2023 When Catherine Powell made the jump from the magic of Disney to Airbnb in January 2020, she couldn’t have predicted the nightmare of a global pandemic for the travel and tourism industry. But just three months after she joined as head of experiences she was thrown in at the deep end. “The pandemic hit and [...]
Over half of businesses confident turnover will rise in the next year despite current stagnant sales April 4, 2023 Most firms have seen no boost to sales this quarter despite rising levels of confidence, a key economic report has revealed, as inflation remains the key concern for business. The British Chamber of Commerce’s (BCC) quarterly economic survey (QES) found in spite of rising optimism, only a third of firms saw sales increase in the [...]
Aviva completes £400m bulk annuity deal with Deutsche Bank April 4, 2023 Aviva has completed a £400 million bulk purchase annuity buy-in transaction with the trustees of the Deutsche Bank (UK) Pension Scheme. Aviva will insure the defined benefit pension liabilities for nearly 1,300 members, removing the investmentand longevity risk of these members from the scheme. Aviva said members would experience no change in the amount of [...]
Gupta-linked bank Wyelands escapes £8.5m fine for series of failures April 4, 2023 The Bank of England has said it would have fined Sanjeev Gupta-connected bank Wyelands more than £8.5 million for a plethora of failures at the winding-down lender. Wyelands was far too exposed to just one client in the form of Gupta’s group of companies – which bought the bank in 2016 – the Bank of [...]
CBI: Business group postpones all external events after fresh sexual misconduct claims April 4, 2023 The Confederation of British Industry (CBI), one of the UK’s biggest business groups, has postponed all external events after fresh allegations over sexual misconduct. The group will postpone events including its annual dinner, which is regularly attended by the Chancellor and was due to host Bank of England governor Andrew Bailey this year. It had [...]