Brexit latest: City hits back against EU’s “improved equivalence” offer for financial services March 20, 2018 The City has hit back at suggestions that the EU is considering offering the UK "improved equivalence" as the basis of the future financial services relationship after Brexit. Until now the EU has insisted that financial services would not be included in any free trade deal, with both Donald Tusk and Michel Barnier making it [...]
Legal ranking firm Chambers and Partners scooped up by Virgin Experience Days owner Inflexion March 20, 2018 Legal rankings business Chambers and Partners came top of Inflexion's books today, as the private equity firm announced it had bought the business for an undisclosed price. Founded in 1990, Chambers is used by corporates to help them choose legal advisers and by law firms to help select individual lawyers to hire. City A.M. understands [...]
Full stream ahead: With Spotify opting for an unusual IPO route, should investors be wary? March 20, 2018 Spotify, the streaming giant that prides itself on helping people discover music, is about to go public. The company plans to list on the New York Stock Exchange on 2 April, but it’s doing things differently – opting for a direct listing instead. This means that, instead of issuing shares, the private investors and [...]
KPMG appointed to handle Mothercare refinancing March 20, 2018 Mothercare has called in KPMG to advise on a refinancing of the business, City A.M. can reveal. The retail chain is in talks with its lenders about raising money for a turnaround and has drafted in KPMG to advise on securing waivers to its financial covenants. Mothercare's share price fell by more than 10 per [...]
House prices continue to fall in London, with experts predicting muted growth until 2022 March 19, 2018 London house prices continued to fall last month as the capital's housing market cooled, with experts predicting price growth to remain subdued until 2022. Asking prices fell by 0.6 per cent year-on-year this month, according to figures published today by Rightmove. The average price for a property in London was £631,651. Read more: London house [...]
Sadiq Khan says London has hit “milestone” of 100 rapid charging points for electric vehicles across city March 19, 2018 London's mayor Sadiq Khan has today unveiled 100 rapid charging points for electric vehicles, as the capital moves closer to its target of becoming a zero-emissions city. Approximately 2,000 standard charge points are already installed across London, but the new launch will see taxis have access to 51 new rapid charging points across the city. [...]
Lucy Watson and Clive Watson discuss Tell Your Friends, London’s upcoming vegan foodie hotspot March 19, 2018 Growing up as the daughter of a man who has launched and sold several successful pub chains, Lucy Watson never thought she would launch her own hospitality business. “I always thought of it as quite a manly industry,” she says. Apart from sometimes working as a waitress in his pubs, her aspirations were fixed elsewhere. [...]
Made.com reveals £40m in fresh funding to boost European business March 18, 2018 High-end design brand Made.com has raised £40m of equity funding which it says will be used to fuel expansion into new European markets and boost its online presence. The funding round includes commitments from existing investors Partech Ventures, Level Equity and Eight Roads Ventures as well as a new, unnamed, "tier one global institutional investor". [...]
Former Deutsche Bank trader charged with Euribor rigging in SFO probe pleads guilty March 16, 2018 A former star trader who was once considered one of Deutsche Bank’s most successful bankers has pleaded guilty in a Serious Fraud Office (SFO) probe into Euribor manipulation. Christian Bittar, who was among six traders charged in the first SFO case that focused on the Brussels-based benchmark, pleaded guilty to the offence on 2 March. News [...]
Swingers crazy golf opens second site in former BHS on Oxford Street March 16, 2018 The former flagship site of collapsed retailer BHS on Oxford Street has gained another tenant in the form of crazy golf operator Swingers. The building is already host to Reserved, Poland's answer to H&M opened on the ground floor of the site last year. It will now be joined by Swingers on the first floor, [...]