UK private equity investment sinks to five-year low August 5, 2019 Private equity investment in the UK has fallen to its lowest level in over five years, as continued economic and geopolitical uncertainty leaves vendors too nervous to put assets up for sale. A study of UK transactions involving private equity investors during the first half of the year showed that both deal volumes and deal [...]
Titanic shipyard Harland and Wolff sinks into administration August 5, 2019 Historic Belfast shipyard Harland and Wolff is expected to enter administration later today, putting 130 jobs at risk. The company’s owner, Norwegian firm Dolphin Drilling, had filed for bankruptcy in June and put the yard up for sale, but no buyer has been found. Read more: UK manufacturing sector records worst month in six years [...]
Seven ‘football fans’ arrested after brawl on Tube before Community Shield August 5, 2019 Seven men, thought to be football fans, have been arrested after a large fight broke out on a central London Tube train yesterday. The brawl took place at 2pm while the train was at Great Portland Street station, ahead of a match between Manchester City and Liverpool at Wembley. All seven men are being held [...]
Quilter to sell life assurance arm for £425m as it reports operating loss August 5, 2019 Asset managers Quilter Plc has announced that it intends to offload its life assurance business to ReAssure for £425m, as it reports a £40m operating loss. The figuresQuilter reported a first-half operating loss of £40m, but said adjusted pre-tax profits rose 5 per cent to £115m. £26m of Quilter’s profits came from Quilter Life Assurance [...]
Two thirds of adults fear AI will take jobs August 2, 2019 The public is concerned about the impact of artificial intelligence on their jobs and personal data, while some fear the technology could ultimately be responsible for the end of humankind, a new survey has revealed. 67 per cent of UK adults worry that AI will result in machines taking peoples’ jobs, according to a study [...]
Losses widen at Seedrs as deal sizes continue to grow August 2, 2019 Equity crowdfunding platform Seedrs has reported a record operating loss as it focuses on expansion, but saw a significant increase in average deal size over the past year. 2018 saw Seedrs’ net operating losses climb to £4.33m, a 12 per cent increase on the previous year. This marks a return to increasing losses after the [...]
UK bonds bounce back in June as equity funds lose out August 1, 2019 Bonds are back in favour with UK investors but equities have continued to struggle amid ongoing political uncertainty. £2.4bn flowed into bonds during June – taking this year’s total inflows to almost £6bn – according to figures released by the Investment Association (IA). This included net retail sales of £1.1bn for UK Strategic Bond funds [...]
Rio Tinto announces $1bn special dividend as profits fall August 1, 2019 Rio Tinto has announced a bumper dividend of $1bn (£825m) after reporting a drop in first-half pre-tax profits, despite red-hot iron ore prices. The Anglo-Australian mining firm’s pre-tax profits for the first half of the year were almost $5.2bn, a 23 per cent drop from the same period in 2018. Iron ore prices have risen [...]
UK leads EU venture capital, but Brexit could threaten its dominance July 31, 2019 The UK is continuing to dominate European venture capital (VC) deals thanks to a rise in mega rounds but uncertainty over the movement of talent post-Brexit could hit the sector hard, a new report has cautioned. UK VCs totalled 63 per cent of Europe-wide deals during the first half of the year, driven by a [...]
Jupiter’s assets up under new boss as outflows begin to slow July 30, 2019 Jupiter Fund Management has seen a modest first-half improvement under new chief executive Andrew Formica, but the company is still recovering from the loss of a star fund manager earlier in the year. The company’s half year results showed an 8 per cent increase in assets under management, but outflows of client cash continued in [...]
