Financial Conduct Authority looking into Muddy Waters short attack on Burford Capital August 12, 2019 The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has said it is making “wide-ranging enquiries” into the circumstances surrounding the publication of a shortselling report on Burford Capital by Muddy Waters. US shortseller Muddy Waters launched a short attack on the litigation finance company last week, tweeting that it would shortly be announcing a new short position before [...]
Lib Dem mayoral hopeful Siobhan Benita: ‘We can win this’ August 12, 2019 Siobhan Benita, the Liberal Democrats’ London mayoral hopeful, arrives for our interview just two days before the crucial Brecon and Radnorshire MP by-election, where the pollsters’ predictions of a Lib Dem win proved to be right on the money: the party took just over 43 per cent of the vote, overturning a Tory majority and [...]
Shares rise as Tullow Oil sees great start to Guyana drilling campaign August 12, 2019 Tullow Oil today hailed an “excellent start” to a South American drilling campaign as the company made a major discovery off the coast of Guyana. The discovery shows that the Jethro-1 well will likely hold over 100m barrels of oil, chief executive PaulMcDade said. The discovery is ahead of expectations. Read more: Tullow facing delays [...]
Coalition of women touted to stop no-deal Brexit August 12, 2019 A coalition of women, headed by Green MP Caroline Lucas, is bandying together to lead parliament if MPs go against Boris Johnson in a no-confidence vote. Writing in the Guardian, Lucas said she had “reached out” to 10 female colleagues, including members for the Conservatives, Liberal Democrats, Labour, SNP, Plaid Cymru and Independent Group for [...]
Deloitte sued for £20m over collapse of storage firm August 11, 2019 A Yorkshire-based businessman is suing big four accountant Deloitte and international law firm Clyde & Co over allegations that Barclays bank exerted “informal control” over the financial giants during the winding down of his firm. Jason Schofield, a businessman who ran Leeds’ based storage firm Rhino Enterprises, is suing two joint administrators at Deloitte and [...]
Southeastern among franchises placed on public takeover watch list August 11, 2019 The Southeastern franchise is one of six that could go the way of LNER and be taken over by the government as sources warned there was little time for a new operator to be appointed by April next year. The bidding competition for the Southeastern franchise, which runs services between London, Kent and parts of [...]
British Steel: Turkish military pension fund ‘planning nearly £1bn investment’ August 11, 2019 The Turkish military pension fund which hopes to buy stricken industrial firm British Steel is said to be gearing up to invest nearly £1bn in the company. Ataer Holding is a front runner out of a handful of potential buyers still being considered by the government’s Official Receiver (OR), which also includes industrial conglomerate Liberty [...]
Boris Johnson accepts Irish invitation to break Brexit deadlock August 11, 2019 Boris Johnson has reportedly accepted an invitation to meet his Irish counterpart, Leo Varadkar, to break the Brexit deadlock over the Irish backstop. Sterling will begin this week trading at near-decade lows against the euro and US dollar as investors and traders increasingly see a no-deal Brexit as more than likely. Johnson has insisted that [...]
Chinese government gives nod for SDIC plans to float in London August 11, 2019 A Chinese state-backed energy group is pressing ahead with an initial public offering (IPO) in London after being given the green light by its goverment. China’s State Development and Investment Corp (SDIC) is set to issue 10 per cent of its share capital as Global Depositary Receipts (GDRs) on the London Stock Exchange, giving the [...]
The Spa at South Lodge review: How a £15m spa transformed this traditional country-house into a cutting-edge hotel August 9, 2019 When you arrive at South Lodge, on the edge of the South Downs, it is exactly what you’d expect from a country house hotel: pretty grounds, a honey-coloured stone exterior and a crunchy gravel drive give you a warm welcome. While you can certainly decamp here for an enjoyable weekend away, with some stellar food [...]