Private equity firms eye up challenger accountancy firm Cogital July 28, 2019 Several private equity groups are reportedly preparing bids on UK-based accounting firm Cogital, in a deal that could value the company at £1bn. European firms BC Partners, Permira, and PAI are preparing final bids alongside US-based Hellman & Freidman, according to the Financial Times Cogital was set up in 2016 by former Deloitte partner John [...]
HG Capital targets £80m fundraise June 10, 2019 HG Capital Trust plans to raise £80m through a share placing to fund opportunities in an “attractive proprietary pipeline”. The FTSE 250 investment trust will issue 37m new ordinary shares at 217.1p each, representing around 10 per cent of its current issued share capital. The trust said its partners and staff are expected to invest [...]
Kremlin says it hopes US investor Michael Calvey will be freed June 3, 2019 The Kremlin said it hopes US investor Michael Calvey, who is under house arrest in Russia, will be freed and able to attend an economic forum in St Petersburg this week. Calvey, who founded private equity group Baring Vostok, was detained in Russia in February over embezzlement charges. The businessman has denied wrongdoing and alleges that [...]
Square Mile gears up for luxury summer car show June 2, 2019 Thousands of City motorheads are gearing up for a luxury car show in the Square Mile later this week. FTSE bosses, top investors and even a mystery rockstar are on the guest list for this year’s London Concours event, where over a hundred iconic cars worth in excess of £70m will be on display. Read [...]
Rolex giant Watches of Switzerland begins London IPO debut with £650m valuation May 30, 2019 The UK’s largest seller of Rolex watches has begun life as a listed firm in the Square Mile today, having priced its shares towards the top end of the range it had targeted. Investors start trading in Watches of Switzerland on the London Stock Exchange today after the firm priced its shares at 270p, valuing [...]
T-Mobile and Sprint could sell Boost Mobile for up to $3bn May 29, 2019 Potential buyers are reportedly lining up bids to snap up pre-paid phone company Boost Mobile from T-Mobile and Sprint for as much as $3bn (£2.4bn). The planned sell-off comes a week after T-Mobile and Sprint won approval from the US federal communications commission for their $26bn merger. Read more: Firms forced to reveal cheapest phone, TV [...]
Top UK restaurants fall to £82m loss as casual dining sector feels the heat May 27, 2019 The UK’s top restaurant chains fell to a loss of £82m in the last year as they struggle to stay afloat in the increasingly competitive casual dining sector. The top 100 restaurant groups fell to the hefty loss in the year to the end of March, compared to a pre-tax profit of £102m the previous [...]
DEBATE: Does the Jamie’s Italian chain have only itself to blame for its demise? May 23, 2019 Does the Jamie’s Italian chain have only itself to blame for its demise? Patrick Clover, founder and chief executive of BLACKBX, says YES. It’s a sad story for all involved, not least the 1,000 workers made redundant, but to call Jamie’s Italian a victim of external forces is too simplistic. The climate for mid-market restaurants [...]
Small businesses will be collateral damage in Corbyn’s war against the rich May 23, 2019 A new word was coined earlier this month. Joining the terms “Brexit” and “omnishambles” in the English lexicon, we now have “Corbygeddon” to describe the abject fear of a hard-left Labour government led by Jeremy Corbyn, that’s set to drive the uber-wealthy (or at least a proportion of their assets) out of the country in [...]
Pret A Manger eats Eat but vows to go veggie in new stores May 22, 2019 Sandwich chain Pret A Manger said today it has agreed to buy rival British chain Eat. Pret plans to convert as many of Eat’s shops as possible to Pret stores serving vegetarian food in response to what it said was a growing consumer demand for more vegan and vegetarian options on the high street. Pret’s chief [...]