NMC Health hires former FBI director to probe short attack allegations January 17, 2020 NMC Health has appointed former FBI director Louis Freeh to look into allegations of financial wrongdoing by the company made by US short-seller Muddy Waters. The hospital operator’s shares have plummeted 44 per cent since Muddy Waters published a report raising “serious doubts” about the company’s finances and asset valuations on 17 December. NMC Health [...]
Revealed: This was the best performing UK stock of the last decade January 17, 2020 Ashtead Group, an industrial equipment rental firm, was the best performing UK stock on the UK’s FTSE 350 over the last decade, data firm Refinitiv said today, with a compound annual growth rate of over 40 per cent. A £1,000 investment 10 years ago in Ashtead, which was founded in Surrey and is now City-based, [...]
German government agrees €40bn deal for coal power exit January 16, 2020 The German government has agreed to a €40bn (£34.2bn) deal to help workers and companies as part of plans to end the use of brown coal power plants by 2038. The deal, which was announced by economic minister Peter Altmaier today, is part of a package of measures which will enable Europe’s largest economy to [...]
Smart meter firm Calisen confirms £1.5bn float plans January 16, 2020 Smart meter firm Calisen today confirmed its intention to float on the London Stock Exchange next month with the goal of raising £300m. The float will value the company at around £1.5bn. The energy company, which is backed by private equity firm KKR, said it would use the funds to pay down debt, support future [...]
Value of UK deals almost doubled in ‘spectacular’ end to 2019 January 16, 2020 The value of UK private equity and venture capital deals almost doubled in the last quarter of 2019, boosted by a spate of mega-buyouts worth over €1bn (£854m). Although the total number of deals fell during the three months to 31 December, six mega-buyouts helped propel overall UK deal value to €27bn — an 80 [...]
Louis Vuitton to make jewellery from the world’s second biggest diamond January 16, 2020 Louis Vuitton has entered into a partnership with Canadian corporation Lucara to make jewellery from the second largest rough diamond ever mined, in a sign of its growing ambitions in the high-end jewellery market. The Sewelô diamond, which was found in Botswana in April 2019, clocks in at 1,758 carats, second only to the legendary [...]
FSCS says it is ‘too early to predict’ London Capital & Finance compensation levels January 16, 2020 The financial services lifeboat said today it was “too early to predict” how much it would have to pay out in compensation to investors in collapsed mini-bond firm London Capital & Finance (LCF). Last week, the Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS) said it would protect 159 LCF bondholders who switched from stocks and shares ISAs [...]
Lekoil fraud scandal firm says it will help investigation January 16, 2020 The consultancy which is alleged to have brokered Lekoil’s loan deal with a Qatari wealth fund has issued a statement announcing its own investigation into the matter. Seawave Invest, which West African oil explorer said it had paid $600,000 for introducing it to the individuals “purporting to be the [representatives] of the Qatar Investment Authority (QIA)” [...]
European Investment Bank backs Uber rival Bolt with €50m January 16, 2020 The European Investment Bank (EIB) is to provide Bolt with €50m (£43m) financing to the help ride-hailing app develop its technologies. The financing, supported by the European Fund for Strategic Investments (EFSI), is to boost Bolt’s product development in areas where technology can improve the safety, reliability and sustainability of its services. Read more: Bolt [...]
FTSE 100 falters after signing of phase one US-China trade deal January 16, 2020 The FTSE 100 got off to a weak start on Thursday morning, with global markets mixed overnight following the signing of a phase one trade deal between the US and China. Britain’s blue-chip index opened almost flat, and was trading around 0.05 per cent down by 9am, lagging behind its European peers. Germany’s Dax and [...]