UK tops global ranking for top investment destinations for first time April 15, 2019 The UK has been ranked as the top investment destination in the world, knocking the US off the top spot. It is the first time the UK has taken the top spot in the rankings by professional services firm EY in the survey’s 10-year history. In 2018 the UK accounted for 10 per cent of [...]
Provident Financial ‘astonished’ at admissions by suitor Non-Standard Finance that it broke company law April 14, 2019 Provident Financial said today it is “astonished” by suitor Non-Standard Finance’s (NSF) statement after trading ended on Friday which admitted it had broken company law with previous dividend payments. A spokesperson for Provident said: “We are astonished by NSF’s after hours announcement admitting, ten days after Provident questioned certain dividends and buy backs, an apparently wider [...]
Provident Financial blasts Non-Standard Finance over failure to respond to concerns April 12, 2019 Doorstep lender Provident Financial said today it remains “gravely concerned” that Non-Standard Finance (NSF) has failed to respond to questions it raised in relation to NSF’s takeover bid. NSF made a £1.3bn offer for struggling sub-prime lender Provident in February that was rejected by the company, but has continued its pursuit despite opposition from Provident’s [...]
UK set to give Murdoch the green light to merge the Times and Sunday Times April 11, 2019 Murdoch-owned newspapers The Times and The Sunday Times will be allowed to merge subject to governance changes, the government has ruled. Culture secretary Jeremy Wright today said he is “minded” to accept proposals put forward by Murdoch’s News UK empire to allow the two newspapers to share resources. Read more: Murdoch braced for verdict over [...]
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 [...]
Private equity investment bounces back at the beginning of 2019 April 9, 2019 Private equity investment in UK companies bounced back in the first three months of this year following a slump at the end of 2018, according to the latest data. Total deal value climbed from £6.1bn in the fourth quarter of 2018 to £8.9bn between January and March this year, a £3.9bn increase from the £5bn [...]
Hargreaves Lansdown and the Share Centre acquire £1.5bn of JP Morgan assets April 9, 2019 Hargreaves Lansdown and the Share Centre have agreed to buy £1.5bn in assets from JP Morgan Asset Management as the firm shifts its focus from direct-to-consumer to fund management. Read more: JP Morgan plans to cut hundreds of asset and wealth management jobs Hargreaves Lansdown has acquired up to 33,000 of JP Morgan’s retail managed fund [...]
Lloyds Bank private equity arm LDC invests £17.6m in recruitment services firm Amberjack April 7, 2019 LDC, the private equity arm of Lloyds Banking Group, has invested £17.6m in graduate recruitment services firm Amberjack to support a management buy-out. The company, which provides careers services and software to major employers such as Unilever, Network Rail and BP, will use the equity to improve its software and technology products and explore acquisitions. [...]
UK M&A slumps in first quarter as Brexit uncertainty lingers April 2, 2019 The value of UK M&A has slumped this quarter as Brexit uncertainty lingers, however, tech deals have grown to the highest year-to-date level in at least 18 years. A total of 27.4bn has been spent on UK assets so far this year, representing a 1.9 per cent decrease compared to the fourth quarter of 2018. [...]
Inmarsat prepares to leave stock market in $3.4bn private equity deal March 25, 2019 Private equity firms have sealed a $3.4bn (£2.58bn) deal for UK satellite operator Inmarsat, sending its shares up seven per cent in early morning trading. The agreement will see the successful bidders pay $7.21 (546p) per share for the firm, a premium on its Friday close price of 506.2p. Read more: Inmarsat shares jump 16 [...]