Tesco unveils £3.7bn merger with Budgens and Londis owner Booker January 27, 2017 Supermarket Tesco has reached a deal to merge with wholesaler Booker, owner of Budgens and Londis, with both firms stating an ambition to create the UK's leading food company. The groups will combine in a share and cash deal worth £3.7bn, after discussing a combination for almost a year. They said today that there are [...]
Behind the deal: These are the bankers and advisers working on the £3.7bn Tesco-Booker tie-up January 27, 2017 Tesco’s £3.7bn deal for wholesaler Booker is an early boost for the UK’s 2017 M&A market, following a rather subdued 2016. Below are details of the bankers and advisers behind the deal. Tesco advisers It’s increasingly difficult to find a big UK deal without a boutique investment bank at its centre. And this £3.7bn merger proved [...]
London’s first-ever prosecco festival is happening this year January 27, 2017 Here's something worth popping your cork for: someone in the capital has managed to entice eight of Italy's best prosecco producers, meaning London's first-ever prosecco festival is happening in May. The three-day Prosecco Springs festival will take place in Oval Space in Hackney, and will feature both prosecco producers and creators of Italian delicacies such as [...]
Donald Trump’s wall prompts investor stampede for infrastructure January 27, 2017 Donald Trump’s promises to build a massive wall with Mexico as well as to revive oil pipelines have prompted an investor rush to gain exposure to infrastructure assets. Inflows into funds focused on investments in the infrastructure sector surged in the last week, according to data provider EPFR. On assuming the US presidency, Trump signed [...]
London City Airport toasts craft beer popularity with the launch of Truman’s brewery branch January 27, 2017 Truman's brewery has launched a new cafe-bar called Brick Lane Brews at London City Airport. It will offer "a quintessentially East End London menu" throughout the day, serving up everything from salt beef to muffins to sausage rolls – and beer, obviously. It's cold – it's started snowing – you need a Classic Salt Beef Beigel & Truman's [...]
A bird’s eye view of the Elizabeth Line stations taking shape January 27, 2017 The Crossrail rail project has released a batch of new images to give us a bird's eye view of how the new Elizabeth Line stations are shaping up. There are 10 new stations being built across the capital and in the tunnels, over three-quarters of the permanent track has been laid. Simon Wright, Crossrail programme director, [...]
Here’s what analysts are saying about the Tesco-Booker merger January 27, 2017 Tesco's share price has jumped seven per cent at the open after announcing a £3.7bn merger with wholesaler Booker Group. Booker Group's share price jumped 14 per cent. Read more: French Connection boss signals two non-executive directors will step down Analysts are calling the merger between the two food giant a "game changer". However, the [...]
Profits down, but UBS beats expectations and is optimistic for 2017 January 27, 2017 UBS has beaten expectations with its fourth-quarter results and said improved investor confidence should benefit its wealth management business. The figures The Swiss bank this morning reported a 47 per cent fall in full-year net profits to 3.3bnSFr (£2.6bn), down from 6.2bnSFr in 2015. In its fourth quarter, net profit came in at 738mSFr, while diluted [...]
BT “overshadowed” by Italy accounting scandal as it takes profit hit January 27, 2017 BT has announced a profit slump in the third quarter to the 31 December, after revealing earlier this week that it was forced to write down the value of its Italian unit by £530m after years of "inappropriate behaviour". Read more: BT Europe boss Corrado Sciolla leaves after accounting scandal The figures Pre-tax profits fell 37 per cent to [...]
BT Europe boss Corrado Sciolla steps down following Italy accounting scandal January 27, 2017 BT's head of continental Europe, Corrado Sciolla, has stepped down from his role following the discovery of an accounting scandal at its Italian operation. Reuters reported the company as saying: "Corrado is leaving the business, this happened on his watch." Read more: BT hit by key cut by credit agency BT revealed earlier this week [...]