London gets another new private equity firm as Apiary Capital aims to raise £150m November 7, 2017 Another private equity firm is joining the melee of funds investing in the UK, as sources revealed that Apiary Capital is aiming to raise £150m to invest in lower mid-market companies. The firm, which is headed by former Bowmark Capital senior partner Mark Salter, is still in the early stages of fundraising, sources familiar with [...]
Revealed: Mayor’s plans to pedestrianise London’s Oxford Street next year November 6, 2017 Radical plans to pedestrianise Oxford Street are set to get underway next year to provide a traffic-free space in central London in time for the full launch of Elizabeth Line services. London mayor Sadiq Khan and the deputy leader of Westminster City Council Robert Davis, announced the plans this morning to banish buses and black [...]
Bollington and Wilsons insurance brokers merge as private equity firm Inflexion buys both November 6, 2017 Private equity firm Inflexion has boasted a double buyout this morning, as it announced the acquisition of Bollington Insurance Brokers and Wilsons Insurance Brokers. The UK-focused firm also added that it would merge the two companies to create Bollington Wilson Group, which will generate annual gross written premiums in excess of £120m. Both Bollington and [...]
Tube problems will “continue all day” after seven lines were suspended at rush hour November 6, 2017 Problems on at least one Tube line are set to continue for the rest of the day, after a nightmare rush hour in which seven Tube lines were hit by suspensions or delays. Nigel Holness the director of network operations at London Underground, apologised to customers, but said problems on the District Line are likely [...]
Bonfire Night 2017: British consumers spend £497m on fireworks night November 4, 2017 It's fireworks weekend, with the majority of Brits planning to either attend a display or host their own Bonfire Night celebration. But new research from Wonga has found that even in an environment where most consumers are spending less on leisure activities, many are willing to see their cash go up in smoke for the [...]
Let’s ‘take back control’ of immigration – and increase it November 3, 2017 Does “taking back control” of our borders mean reducing immigration? That’s a question that hasn’t been asked much over the last 16 months, even as Leavers and Remainers have locked horns over a host of other Brexit-related issues. In fact, when it comes to migration there seems to be a disconnect between what the two [...]
Editor’s Notes: The Russians swung the Brexit vote? Pull the other one, Legatum Institute experts on the theory of change and City A.M.’s 3,000th edition is coming soon November 3, 2017 We have a problem with the Russian state. Senior spooks say the Kremlin’s agents are more active in this country now than at any point since the height of the Cold War. Out of the shadows, Putin’s interference is brazen – including the Kremlin-funded ‘news’ outlets RT and Sputnik – home of conspiracy theorists, pro-Russia [...]
Every London borough ranked by house price growth in the next three years November 3, 2017 Despite doomsday predictions for house price growth in the capital, prices in Hackney will continue to keep growth strongly over the next three years, new research has suggested. Prices in Hackney are expected to grow more than five per cent in the years to 2020, followed by Westminster and Lewisham, which will both experience growth [...]
No monkey business: What the finance industry can learn by going back to basics November 2, 2017 There's a lot we can learn from our closest relatives. And no, I’m not talking about human relatives. I’m talking about those in the animal kingdom: monkeys. One thing monkeys can teach us about humankind is our predisposition to gamble. You’re probably wondering when you last saw a monkey in Paddy Power. And since when [...]
Wetherspoon’s releases Brexit beer mats… again November 1, 2017 JD Wetherspoon has today placed 500,000 new beer mats in its pubs, in an effort to persuade punters unilateral free trade is the best approach for the UK post-Brexit. Founder and chairman Tim Martin argued last month that unilateral free trade will reduce food and drink prices in the UK, allowing Wetherspoon's to make its [...]