European direct lending investment on course for record year October 14, 2019 Investment by European direct – or non-bank – lenders is predicted to soar to record levels by the end of the year thanks to an increase in average loan sizes, but the number of deals struck is falling, new research has found. Direct lenders in Europe deployed €22.6bn (£20bn) in the first half of 2019, [...]
KKR acquires majority stake in broadband provider Hyperoptic in £500m deal October 14, 2019 Global investment firm KKR has acquired a majority stake in the UK’s largest residential gigabit broadband provider. KKR bought the stake from funds managed by investment firm Newlight Partners and Mubadala, the UAE sovereign wealth fund. The companies have not announced the details of the deal, but it is understood to be worth £500m. Read [...]
Softbank seeks control of Wework via financing package October 14, 2019 Softbank is reportedly preparing a financing package for Wework that would give it control over the cash-strapped shared office space company. The package would significantly increase the stake of Softbank, which already owns around a third of Wework, a source familiar with the matter told Reuters. This would further dilute the influence of Wework co-founder [...]
St James’s Place partners threaten rebellion over cancelled cruises October 13, 2019 Partners at wealth manager St James’s Place (SJP) have threatened to stop selling investments for the rest of the year unless they are offered compensation for the loss of their annual cruise holiday. Chief executive Andrew Croft promised to make changes to the lavish incentive scheme offered to SJP partners – which offered rewards ranging [...]
Merian Global agrees first acquisition since spinoff October 10, 2019 Merian Global Investors has agreed to acquire Kestrel Investment Partners’ multi-asset business, in its first acquisition since its management buyout from Old Mutual in June last year. The acquisition will boost Merian’s £26.4bn of funds under management with Kestrel’s $151m (£123m). Read more: Investment firm responsible for £1bn assets goes into special administration Kestrel’s entire [...]
Is Brexit making Britain a bargain for foreign investors? October 9, 2019 | City Talk The pound has been one of the biggest casualties of Brexit so far. Sterling has lost around 10 per cent of its value against the US dollar and the euro since the UK voted to leave the EU in June 2016 and shed 5 per cent versus the yen. It has lost over 16 per [...]
Investment firm responsible for £1bn assets goes into special administration October 9, 2019 Reyker Securities, an investment management firm responsible for £1bn of assets, has entered special administration amid “financial difficulties” following a failed attempt to sell the firm. The company, which has around 15,000 clients, had been pursuing an accelerated sales process, but the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) confirmed this fell through. Read more: UK fund outflows [...]
Saving early in life – you must be joking! October 9, 2019 | City Talk As adults, we all wish we had saved and invested more, especially earlier on in life. How much easier retirement would be for most of us had we only paid in an extra few pounds a month into the retirement pot. The wisdom of age is a wonderful thing, but in reality, the young do [...]
Why your ethical fund may not be so ethical after all October 9, 2019 The launch of an ethical investment fund used to be a far rarer occasion than it is today. Around 21 ethical funds have been launched in the UK already this year, according to exclusive figures given to City A.M. by research house FE. Compare this to 2014, when just seven ethical funds were launched all [...]
Softbank executive suggests Wework should stay private until it can ‘demonstrate cash flow’ October 8, 2019 The tech world has been rocked by a string of disappointing or cancelled IPOs this year, as companies failed to convert huge private valuations into success on public exchanges. One Softbank executive has suggested a novel solution: firms should wait until they can demonstrate suitable levels of cash flow before listing publicly. Asked about the [...]