Permira prepares to appoint bankers to oversee sale or US IPO of British footwear brand Dr Martens April 10, 2019 Private equity firm Permira is planning a sale or US flotation of iconic British footwear brand Dr Martens. Permira, which bought Dr Martens for £300m in 2014, is preparing to hire bankers to review potential options for the company, Sky News reported. Read more: Rathbones and Tilney owner Permira sniff around Speirs & Jeffery Bankers [...]
BAE Systems evacuates workers at nuclear submarine site after bomb scare April 10, 2019 Hundreds of workers at a BAE Systems nuclear submarines shipyard in northern England were evacuated this afternoon after a warning about a bomb on one of the ships. The defence giant, which runs the yard at Barrow-in-Furness, said it had been closed and staff evacuated. Local newspaper the Mail reported that staff had been evacuated. Ambulances [...]
Two-thirds of hotel websites leave guests’ personal data exposed to hackers April 10, 2019 Two-thirds of hotel websites inadvertently leak guests’ personal data to third-party companies and leave customers vulnerable to hackers, a new report has revealed. Research by cyber security firm Symantec has found the majority of hotels use booking systems that could allow scammers to access information such as mobile phone numbers and passport details. Read more: [...]
Barclays boss Jes Staley says Bramson board bid ‘doesn’t make sense’ due to £500m ‘short’ position April 10, 2019 Barclays boss Jes Staley has said activist investor Ed Bramson’s board bid “just doesn’t make sense” as he effectively holds a £500m short position against the bank. Speaking on CNBC, Staley delivered another comprehensive rejection of the US-based investor’s efforts to win a seat on the board. Read more: Activist investor Ed Bramson ramps up [...]
Rolls-Royce to bring forward inspections after engine problems come back to haunt engineer April 10, 2019 Rolls-Royce has agreed to inspect its troublesome Trent 1000 engines sooner than planned, after a problem re-emerged in which parts deteriorate faster than expected. The blue chip manufacturer said it had agreed a new health check regime for the engines with Europe’s aviation regulator (EASA), after Singapore Airlines grounded two jets last week because of [...]
Angela Merkel calls for Brexit delay of ‘several months’ April 10, 2019 Angela Merkel has seemingly rejected Theresa May’s call for short delay to Brexit as she talked up an an extension of “several months”. The German chancellor told her country’s lower parliament that she hoped the EU would back a plan that would see the Article 50 process extended beyond 30 June – the date which [...]
The euro falls as ECB chief Draghi delivers pessimistic verdict on Eurozone economy April 10, 2019 The European Central Bank (ECB) kept up recent tradition today when it announced it would hold interest rates at record low levels and reaffirmed that it will not raise them before the end of 2019. Read more: US threatens tariffs on $11bn of EU goods ECB boss Mario Draghi struck a more pessimistic tone than [...]
Digital wealth management firm Yieldstreet buys Athena Art Finance from Carlyle in $170m deal April 10, 2019 A wealth management firm backed by billionaire George Soros has bought art collector lender Athena from Carlyle, the US private equity giant, for $170m (£130m). The deal is digital wealth management platform Yieldstreet’s first corporate acquisition following its recent $62m Series B funding round, which received backing from Soros Fund Management. Read more: Private equity investment bounces back [...]
Scientists capture the very first image of a black hole April 10, 2019 The very first image of a black hole was published today after scientists across the world worked together to capture a picture of the celestial object from which no light can escape. Read more: Back to the future: UK scientists build an AI-powered driverless Mars robot The milestone means the world finally has visual evidence [...]
Tesco doubles dividend as profits surge 30 per cent after turnaround success April 10, 2019 Tesco boosted profits by almost 30 per cent in 2018 as it beat expectations, leading the supermarket to almost double its dividend as its chief executive revealed the supermarket has met the “vast majority” of its turnaround goals since its 2014 accounting scandal. The figures Pre-tax profits rose 28.8 per cent year on year to [...]