Editorial: The activists are a welcome sign of faith in the City’s future January 31, 2022 The City is not always portrayed well in the wider media, but a certain kind of Square Mile institution was rather effectively deployed at the beginning of Monty Python’s The Meaning of Life. The Crimson Permanent Assurance, a “once proud family firm fallen on hard times,” fights back against its new ownership by the Very [...]
DARPA exec Highnam set to lead Cummings’ £800m research agency ARIA January 31, 2022 Peter Highnam is set to become the new chief executive of the Advanced Research and Invention Agency, the UK’s new pioneering research body and the brainchild of Dominic Cummings. Dr Highnam is currently working as the deputy director of the US Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), and an official announcement is expected this week [...]
Even at seven times their income, single homebuyers are priced out of the market by £24,000 January 31, 2022 Despite many lenders relaxing their loan to income criteria, the average UK homebuyer is still priced out of the market unless purchasing with a partner. The current average loan to value, or the multiple of salary that a lender will loan to a buyer, has increased from 3.87 to 4.12 in the last ten years [...]
UK tech IPOs raise record £6.6bn last year doubling 2020 figures January 31, 2022 UK tech IPOs raise record £6.6bn last year doubling 2020 figures
Frank Lampard confirmed as new Everton manager January 31, 2022 Everton have confirmed the appointment of former Chelsea and Derby County manager Frank Lampard on a two-and-a-half year contract. Lampard succeeds Rafael Benitez, who was sacked after just half a season earlier this month. “It is a huge honour for me to represent and manage a club the size and tradition of Everton Football Club,” [...]
The New State of M&A: EMEA January 31, 2022 | City Talk What does the M&A process look like for practitioners today and in the future, and how much of it can and should be automated and in what areas? These are some of the key questions we asked 860 EMEA-based M&A practitioners from corporates, private equity firms, investments banks, law and professional services firms for their [...]
EMEA 2022 M&A Outlook: What will drive deals? January 31, 2022 | City Talk M&A hit all-time highs in EMEA in 2021 and it seems activity is unlikely to slow in 2022. Deal value in the region for the year to end-Q3 2021 came in at €980bn, 100% up on the same period last year, with deal volumes climbing 49% to 7,545. Will the pace and level of M&A [...]
EU Sustainability Taxonomy: It’s not easy being green, or is it? January 31, 2022 | City Talk In the ongoing debate around environmental, social and governance (ESG) issues and rising demand for sustainable investments, one major topic of conversation has been taxonomy – defining what does and does not qualify as ‘sustainable’ or ‘green’ investing. Classification to help investor confidenceRegulators in Europe have been at the vanguard for many ESG-related matters and [...]
ESG: A dealbreaker but not a board priority in the UK in 2022 January 31, 2022 | City Talk Environmental, social and governance (ESG) issues aren’t expected to be prioritised by boards in 2022, even though half of M&A deals in 2021 didn’t progress due to ESG concerns, according to a survey of 200 UK dealmakers by Datasite. According to the results, over half (52%) of UK dealmakers said ESG credential concerns impacted M&A [...]
Data suggests foreign firms are responsible for almost a third of underpaid tax January 31, 2022 New analysis released today has revealed that foreign companies are responsible for almost a third of underpaid tax in the UK according to HMRC, with large US-owned businesses making up the highest percentage.