Aviva’s profit soars ahead of merger with Direct Line August 14, 2025 Aviva posted a profit jump for the first half of the year after strong growth across its wealth and insurance divisions. The company’s operating profit climbed 22 per cent to just north of £1bn – topping the £875m netted in the first half of 2024. This comes after Aviva completed its £3.7bn takeover of rival [...]
Breadmakers Hovis and Kingsmill butter up £75m merger July 26, 2025 Bread producers Hovis and Kingsmill are set for a historic merger with their owners expected to ink an agreement after months of discussion. Kingsmill, whose immediate parent Allied Bakeries is owned by London-listed Associated British Foods (ABF), and Hovis could benefit from up to £50m of annual cost savings from a merger. The proposed agreement, [...]
Santander snaps up TSB Bank for £2.9bn July 1, 2025 Santander UK has acquired high street bank TSB in a landmark £2.9bn deal that will significantly beef up the lender’s market share. The bank’s bid for an all-cash takeover from its Spanish peer Banco Sabadell values TSB at five times its expected 2026 net income. TSB will add five million customers, £34bn in mortgages and [...]
Aviva’s £3.7bn takeover of Direct Line approved by UK watchdog July 1, 2025 Aviva’s acquisition of smaller insurance peer Direct Line has been approved by the competitions watchdog, paving the way for the formation of Britain’s biggest home and motor insurer. The £3.7bn takeover will not be subject to a phase-two investigation, the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) said on Tuesday, after a preliminary probe to assess whether [...]
Getty Images’ £3bn Shutterstock merger captures watchdog’s eye June 23, 2025 The $3.7bn (£2.9bn) merger between Getty images and Shutterstock has caught the attention of the UK’s competition watchdog. The deal, which was first announced in January, has the potential to monopolise the stock image market for creative, media and advertising industries. At the time of the announcement, Getty Images said the merger was expected to [...]
Wowcher: Profit slashed after huge refund over pressure selling tactics June 17, 2025 Profit at Wowcher has been slashed after the UK’s competition watchdog scored a major victory against the e-commerce giant. The London-based business promised the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) in July last year that it would change its online selling practices and hand 870,000 customers a share of more than £4m in refunds. The move came [...]
Wincanton: Losses double as GXO takeover decision drags on June 12, 2025 Losses at Wincanton have doubled after leaving the London Stock Exchange as a decision over its acquisition by GXO has still yet to be made. The Wiltshire-headquartered business slipped into the red for the first time in more than 20 years in the year to 31 March, 2024 – posting a pre-tax loss of £44.9m. [...]
Businesses told to watch out as CMA complaints spike ahead of new powers March 26, 2025 Complaints to the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) have jumped by almost a quarter in the year leading to the watchdog being handed more power. According to research commissioned by law firm Pinsent Masons, concerns raised about competition and consumer law surged by 23 per cent from 4,728 to 5,823 in the year to 30 [...]
The Co-op admits blocking rivals from opening competing stores March 5, 2025 The Co-op has become the latest major UK supermarket to fall foul of a targeted campaign by the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) to stop the use of ‘unlawful land agreements’ in grocery retailing. The group has admitted to 107 breaches of an order to stop supermarkets imposing restrictions that block rivals from opening competing [...]
Probe launched into £2.1bn takeover of Electricity North West by ScottishPower owner January 29, 2025 The competition watchdog has launched a probe into a £2.1bn deal to takeover Electricity North West by the owner of ScottishPower. The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) is looking into the deal which was first announced by Iberdrola in August last year. The watchdog said it was investigating whether the deal may affect competition in [...]