Private Covid travel tests: Overpriced, unavailable and unaccredited? August 4, 2021 Private Covid PCR test providers will come under investigation from the UK’s advertising watchdog and the government for their hugely variable pricing, while only a fraction can claim to be fully accredited. Government health officials are to carry out an audit of the 420 listed PCR test providers on the gov.uk website and plan to [...]
Number of holidaymakers on Ryanair flights doubles in July to 9.3m August 4, 2021 Budget carrier Ryanair reported flight traffic statistics on Wednesday that showed UK holidaymakers seized the opportunity to fly abroad in the last month as travel restrictions eased. The total number of passengers taking Ryanair flights in July double to 9.3m, up from 4.4m in June. In a sign that the air carrier deemed flights safer, [...]
Toyota drives operating profit up to record $9.2bn as sales make strong recovery August 4, 2021 Toyota posted a record Q1 operating profit of 997.49bn yen, or $9.15bn (£6.5bn), on Wednesday but did not alter its annual forecast, as sales recovered from pandemic lows but the carmaker cited “uncertainties” ahead. The Japanese carmaker weathered the global chip supply shortage better than many rivals, and sprinted past analysts’ average expectations of a [...]
PE firm TriSpan acquires Pho restaurants after Gresham House Ventures exit August 3, 2021 TriSpan has acquired a significant majority stake in UK Vietnamese restaurant group Pho, after Gresham House Ventures exited its investment in the chain on Monday. The global PE firm has invested in Pho through its dedicated restaurant fund Rising Stars. It represents the fund’s third investment in the UK, following Rosa’s Thai Café and Thunderbird [...]
Goldman Sachs boosts junior bankers’ pay to over $110k after 95-hour work week complaints August 3, 2021 Goldman Sachs has become the last of the Wall Street banking giants to bump up pay for its junior investment bankers, after analysts at the bank sent a presentation to management revealing colossal workloads. First-year analysts at the bank will now make between $110,000 and $150,000. Upon their second year at the bank, analysts’ base [...]
Kick in the teeth: Gopher ‘highly disappointed’ as Playtech rebukes Finalto offer August 3, 2021 Gopher Investments this morning expressed extreme disappointment in the board of Playtech’s decision to reject its offer for Finalto and recommend a lower offer from a consortium of Israeli investors. Gopher, which owns a 4.97 per cent stake in online gaming and gambling software provider Playtech, said it was “highly disappointed” in the Playtech board’s [...]
Wave of dealmaking sees private equity investment in UK soar to highest level in five years August 3, 2021 Private equity deal value and volumes in the first half of the year rose to levels not seen since 2017, as investors gained confidence in post-pandemic recovery. There was a marked interest in mid-market private equity dealmaking, as funds competed for quality assets and completed 377 deals in the first six months of the year, [...]
BP’s dividend edges up as profit beats estimates on climbing oil prices August 3, 2021 BP this morning said it will increase its dividend by 4 per cent and will kick off $1.4bn worth of share buybacks after its profit sprinted past estimates and rose to $28bn in the second quarter, buoyed by higher oil and gas prices. The oil giant raised its dividend to 5.46 cents, beating analysts’ expectations [...]
Rishi Sunak: For young people, working from home is no substitute for office August 3, 2021 Rishi Sunak has said that working from home is not nearly as “valuable” for young people’s career progression as going into the office, after the government changed its guidance. “The mentors I found when I first started my job I still talk to and they have been helpful to me even after we have gone [...]
Michael Spencer-backed fund raises $130m for B2B fintech push August 2, 2021 Fintech-focused venture capital firm Element Ventures has announced a $130m (£93.5m) fund to invest in b2b financial enterprise technology businesses. Michael Spencer, City grandee and founder of interdealer broker Icap, was the fund’s cornerstone investor. It comes after Spencer contributed at least £25m to the fund upon launching last year, via his investment vehicle IPGL. [...]