Interserve chairman Glyn Barker prepares to step down June 17, 2019 Interserve chairman Glyn Barker is preparing to step down following deal that saw the struggling outsourcing firm taken over by a consortium of its lenders. The company is working with recruitment search firm Heidrick & Struggles to appoint a successor, Sky News reported. Read more: Interserve went into administration owing suppliers £100m Barker, who was [...]
Going, going, gone! Sotheby’s sold in $3.7bn deal with telecoms mogul June 17, 2019 Auctioneers Sotheby’s is being taken private, in a deal which values the business at $3.7bn (£2.9bn), the company said today. Patrick Drahi, the founder of telecoms giant Altice Europe, will pay $57 per share, a 61 per cent premium to the firm’s close on Friday. The billionaire art collector will take Sotheby’s into private ownership [...]
Jet Airways’ lenders start insolvency proceedings June 17, 2019 Lenders to stricken Indian airline Jet Airways have started insolvency proceedings, they said today. “After due deliberations, lenders have decided to seek resolution under IBC since only a conditional bid was received,” the lenders said, referring to India’s Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code. Jet Airways suspended flights in April after running out of money. The airline [...]
Caffeine buzz: Black Sheep coffee chain secures £13m funding for overseas plan June 17, 2019 Independent coffee shop chain Black Sheep has secured a £13m funding injection as it sets its sights on global expansion. The London-based barista group is looking to ramp up its footprint from 34 sites to 70 by the end of this year, as it eyes overseas growth in the US, Europe, UAE and Asia. Read [...]
UK tech firm Unily secures $68m investment June 17, 2019 Digital workplace platform Unily has secured $68m (£53.9m) growth investment from Silversmith Capital Partners and Farview Equity Partners. Unily, which counts McDonald’s, British Airways and Mars among its clients, intends to use the investment to “capture market share from more established providers”. Read more: Tech jobs in London rise by almost two thirds The British [...]
Stiglitz’s 2020 vision: Left-wing economist makes a pitch for the soul of the Democrats June 17, 2019 Who will take on Donald Trump in next year’s battle for the White House? At the time of writing, an absurdly long list of Democratic hopefuls is dominated by Joe Biden, the septuagenarian former vice president who currently enjoys a huge lead in the opinion polls. Read more: President Trump endorses Boris Johnson as next PM [...]
Deutsche Bank to create €50bn bad bank in radical overhaul June 17, 2019 Deutsche Bank has developed plans to create a ‘bad bank’ to hold up to €50bn (£44.6bn) of assets as part of a major overhaul of its trading operations. The bad bank, known internally as the non-core asset unit, would house or sell assets valued at up to €50bn after adjusting to risk – mainly made [...]
Next Prime Minister must drop Brexit backstop, says Sir Graham Brady June 17, 2019 The next Prime Minister must drop the backstop in Brexit negotiations as it threatens the Good Friday Agreement, according to senior Tory backbencher MP Sir Graham Brady. Removing the backstop and working on alternative arrangements is the only way the present Brexit deal can work, he argued. He said the new Prime Minister “must recognise [...]
RBS shares jump after Saudi bank merger boosts capital June 17, 2019 Royal Bank of Scotland shares have jumped this morning after the bank said a merger between two Saudi banks would boost its capital and reduce its risk weighted assets by £4.7bn. Saudi Arabia’s Alawwal Bank and rival Saudi British Bank (SABB) completed a merger yesterday, creating the third-biggest lender in the kingdom. Read more: Five [...]
Airbus wins orders over Boeing at Paris air show June 17, 2019 Airbus has picked up a number of orders at the Paris air show, capitalising on the troubles suffered by Boeing over its 737 jets. Airbus has won a $4.1bn (£3.2bn) order from Virgin Atlantic for 14 of its A330-900neo models, with an additional six as options, which it claims are the cleanest and greenest fleet [...]