Why does no one want to buy Costa Coffee? January 15, 2026 The coffee’s gone cold and the milk has soured for the once dominant high street staple Costa, as owner Coca-Cola struggles to find a buyer to take the chain off its hands. The US beverage giant suspended talks with remaining bidders earlier this week, blaming the decision on low offers, bringing the months-long auction process [...]
Oxford Biomedica share prices jumps after takeover talks January 15, 2026 Oxford Biomedica’s share price has rocketed in early morning trading after Swedish private equity firm EQT entered takeover talks for the gene and cell therapy group. Shares jumped 10.65 per cent to 889 pence, with shares rocketing 121.4 per cent over the past year. The FTSE 250 company said it has received an unsolicited approach [...]
Coca-Cola abandons Costa Coffee sale plans as Asda owner bids low January 14, 2026 US beverage giant Coca-Cola has reportedly scrapped plans to sell the world’s second-largest coffee chain after offers from private equity firms came in below expectations. The company brought talks with remaining bidders for Costa Coffee to a halt in December, ending an auction process which had lasted several months, according to the Financial Times. Sources [...]
Scottish higher earners at risk of being hammered with more tax January 13, 2026 Higher earners in Scotland could pay over £1,000 more in extra tax, as the Scottish Finance Secretary copies Rachel Reeves’ Autumn Budget playbook. Finance Secretary Shona Robison opted to raise the tax threshold for both basic and intermediate tax payers, but left the higher rate unchanged, which is likely to drag more earners into higher [...]
BVCA unveils rebrand to mark private equity shift January 13, 2026 The British Private Equity and Venture Capital Association (BVCA) is rebranding to UK Private Capital, to reflect the shifting UK investment landscape. The lobby group said the change, which is subject to final approval by its members later this week, is to adapt to the growth and evolution of the UK’s private capital industry, spanning [...]
The 100 most at risk pubs in London – is your local under threat? January 13, 2026 The most at risk pubs in London have been revealed by a new website that calculates how proposed changes to rates could affect the hospitality industry. New website ismypubfucked.com uses official data from the Valuation Office Agency (VOA) to identify which pubs will be most affected by the proposed increases to the business rates. The [...]
Whitbread offloads £89m worth of Premier Inns to Londonmetric January 13, 2026 Hospitality giant Whitbread has offloaded a number of its Premier Inn hotels to property group Londonmetric for £89m as it looks to boost profits. The group sold nine South Eastern hotels to the group, ranging from Southampton Airport to Warwick, as part of its plan to reuse £250m-£300m of property proceeds for growth opportunities, including [...]
HENRYs set for further Budget blow as more dragged into £100K tax trap January 13, 2026 Thousands more UK workers are set to be pulled into the £100,000 tax trap as high earners brace for a further financial squeeze. The number of Brits earning six-figure salaries is set to surpass two million for the first time according to estimates from HMRC obtained by Rathbones, leaving more high earners to face the [...]
London families to shoulder nearly a quarter of all inheritance tax bills January 13, 2026 Families in London and the South East coughed up nearly half of all UK inheritance tax receipts, amid a continued climb in property prices. Londoners paid the greatest share of the unpopular levy, at 23 per cent, narrowly ahead of the South East at 22 per cent. This was followed by the South West, but [...]
Hargreaves Lansdown swipes new chief executive from Vanguard January 12, 2026 Britain’s biggest investment platform has poached a senior member of tracker funds giant Vanguard to be its new chief executive. Hargreaves Lansdown has appointed Matt Benchener as chief executive officer from July 2026, subject to regulatory approval. Benchener runs Vanguard’s personal investment business in the US, which has several million clients, and will join the [...]