Patisserie Valerie wins rescue backing from private equity firm February 14, 2019 Scandal-hit Patisserie Valerie has been rescued in a £13m management buyout backed by Irish private equity firm Causeway Capital Partners. The cake chain confirmed this morning that Causeway Capital Partners had struck a deal with Patisserie Valerie's administrators in a move that is set to save 2,000 jobs and 96 of the firm's remaining branches. Retail and [...]
Shares in medical device company Convatec fall 20 per cent on ‘disappointing’ results February 14, 2019 Shares in medical products company Convatec plunged 20 per cent this morning after it unveiled a “disappointing” set of 2018 results. Adjusted earnings before interest and taxes (Ebit) fell six per cent year-on-year to $429.4m (£334.5m), despite a 3.8 per cent increase of reported revenue to $1.832bn. Its Ebit margin was 23.4 per cent, down [...]
Eat’s owners Horizon Capital mull sale amid strain on high street food outlets February 13, 2019 The owners of sandwich chain Eat are planning to sell the business as it battles with growing competition in the crowded high street food market. Private equity firm Horizon Capital, which owns a major stake in the company, has appointed corporate advisory firm Spayne Lindsay to oversee a potential sale. Read more: EU competition watchdog [...]
Interserve rescue plan: Shareholder rebellion grows as dissenting hedge fund recruits another supporter February 12, 2019 The hedge fund trying to thwart Interserve's rescue deal designed to avoid it facing the same fate as Carillion has attracted the support of another major shareholder. Last week Coltrane Asset Management, a 27 per cent shareholder in the firm, launched a bid to oust all members of the outsourcer's board except chief executive Debbie [...]
London’s iconic department store Liberty ‘seeks £300m sale’ February 12, 2019 London retail landmark Liberty department store could be set for new ownership for the first time in nearly 10 years. Its largest shareholder, private equity firm Bluegem Capital Partners, has reportedly hired UBS to look into potential buyers for the business. Read more: West End property giant Shaftesbury posts 'resilient' retail demand The company, which [...]
The UK’s fintech sector hits record level of investment as startups turn into scale-ups February 12, 2019 Investment into the UK's blossoming fintech sector broke records last year, as the country's startups reached a new stage in their growth journey. Venture capital and private equity investment in British fintech rose to an all-time high of $3.3bn (£2.6bn), up 18 per cent compared to 2017's levels, according to data published today by Innovate Finance. [...]
UK private equity deal value plummets compared to Europe February 7, 2019 Private equity deal value in the UK plunged in 2018 compared to the rest of Europe as Brexit “began to bite”, according to a new report. Deal value was down 27.7 per cent in the UK, while the rest of Europe only saw deal value drop by 5.9 per cent last year. Read more: Private [...]
What do you want to know about big data & AI in investment management? February 7, 2019 | City Talk A technological advance can impact — even transform — the global economy let alone a particular sector. The steam engine in the first industrial revolution, electricity in the second, and internet technology in the third fundamentally changed human history. Today, big data and artificial intelligence (AI) have the same transformative potential. When it comes to [...]
President Trump to nominate World Bank critic David Malpass to lead the institution February 5, 2019 President Donald Trump is reportedly set to nominate an ally from the US Department of the Treasury to become president of the World Bank. The nomination of David Malpass would see an ardent critic of the World Bank put in line to lead the lending institution. Read more: Shutdown back down: Trump faces conservative backlash as [...]
Weathering the storm: City expects minimal Brexit impact on jobs February 5, 2019 The number of City jobs expected to move overseas in the event of a hard Brexit has fallen to just 2,000 – according to the latest survey of financial institutions. A Reuters study also suggests that investment banks are planning to increase their London headcount. In September, the Reuters survey showed that 5,766 jobs would [...]