Canada finance minister: UK and Canada should aim for better trade deal than Ceta March 12, 2018 Canada and the UK should aim for a post-Brexit trade deal which is better than the current arrangement, according to finance minister Bill Morneau. Morneau said the deal agreed in late 2016 with the EU, the Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (Ceta), will be the model for “replication” with the UK once it leaves, but [...]
Melrose has just announced a final offer for GKN of £8.1bn and warns against “hasty fire-sale” of GKN businesses March 12, 2018 Melrose confirmed this morning it has increased its offer for FTSE 100 giant GKN to £8.1bn. It said this will be a final offer of 467p per share and would mean GKN shareholders would own 60 per cent of Melrose – up from 57 per cent, and receive £1.4bn in cash. Shares in GKN were [...]
Tech friend or foe? Sadiq on why going up against Uber isn’t bad for London’s business March 12, 2018 Sadiq Khan pledged to be the most “business-friendly” mayor to lead London when he was elected almost two years ago. But in September last year, he shocked the business community by backing Transport for London’s (TfL) decision to revoke Uber’s licence. Uber is not known for its good corporate governance, but Khan was criticised for [...]
Buyers sought for hotels at centre of dispute between Hilton and Vincent Tchenguiz March 11, 2018 Ten hotels at the centre of a dispute between Hilton and a property tycoonare to be put up for sale again. The string of hotels previously owned by Vincent Tchenguiz are poised for new ownership, as administrator AlixPartners appointed agencies to find buyers according to The Sunday Times. JLL and Savills have been selected to [...]
Peer-to-peer platform Funding Circle appoints bankers ahead of potential float March 11, 2018 British unicorn Funding Circle has appointed bankers to lead an initial public offering (IPO) which will likely value it at more than £1.5bn, according to reports. The peer-to-peer lending platform has appointed Bank of America Merrill Lynch, Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley and London-headquartered Numis Securities to broker the deal, according to Sky News and Bloomberg. [...]
Sir Nick Clegg has become chairman at on-demand social care startup Cera March 10, 2018 Sir Nick Clegg has been appointed chairman of the advisory board of a homecare startup founded by a former NHS doctor. Clegg joins the board of Cera, which was started by Mahiben Maruthappu in an effort to help tackle the social care crisis. Read more: Nick Clegg admits "soft Brexit" hopes are dead The startup, [...]
IEA poaches Legatum’s top Brexit adviser Shanker Singham and team March 9, 2018 Free market think tank the Institute of Economic Affairs (IEA) has poached Shanker Singham and three of his team from rival firm Legatum. Singham, who is widely seen as one of the top Brexit policy advisers and has played a key role in guiding the government's thinking on the issue, will head up the IEA's [...]
Woodford suffers a £1bn blow as flagship fund hit by 10-figure drop in first few weeks of 2018 March 8, 2018 Neil Woodford’s crown as Britain’s best-loved money manager is under scrutiny after his flagship fund shrivelled by over £1bn in the first five weeks of this year. Assets held by Woodford’s Equity Income fund, one of Britain’s biggest retail offerings, fell from £8.2bn at the start of the year to under £7.2bn on Tuesday. A [...]
John Lewis’ staff bonus has fallen again after a weak performance in 2017 March 8, 2018 The company which owns John Lewis and Waitrose has cut its staff bonus to five per cent of salary this year, after a disappointing performance in 2017. The bonus, which is given out to all staff of the John Lewis Partnership under its employee-owned model, was six per cent last year, down from 10 per [...]
The EU’s Italy calamity is the UK’s big Brexit opportunity March 8, 2018 One problem with Britain’s domestic focus on Brexit is that we tend not to consider, never mind discuss in any depth, what issues and conflicts currently beset the EU that could encourage its leadership to settle for a new relationship of the type the UK is proposing. The EU faces serious problems in managing its [...]