Greenergy in sale talks with Brookfield December 4, 2016 Fuel supplier Greenergy is in advanced talks to sell a stake to Canadian giant Brookfield. Greenergy, which claims to transport a quarter of the road fuel used in the UK at around 18bn litres each year, has been locked in negotiations with the infrastructure group for several months, it was first reported by Sky News. It’s [...]
Digital defence school to bolster UK’s cyber ranks December 4, 2016 Bletchley Park will again house the nation’s top talent as cyber security threats soar, writes Billy Bambrough Over 70 years since Alan Turing and his Bletchley Park colleagues made history during World War II by figuring out the Nazis’ enigma machine, code breakers are set to return to the now famous site. The National College [...]
Four Seasons facing rising bills as hedge funds jostle for control December 4, 2016 Unsustainable debt and a looming £26m interest payment have thrown the future of care home operator Four Seasons in to doubt. Last week it was revealed Four Seasons lost £27.4m in the three months to the end of September but must pay £52m interest on its debt every year. It currently has cash reserves of just £51.3m [...]
Austrian election: Independent Van der Bellen victorious as far-right’s Hofer concedes defeat December 4, 2016 Austrian independent candidate and former Greens leader Alexander Van der Bellen has won the country's presidential race after far-right candidate Norbert Hofer conceded defeat. Initial projections showed Van der Bellen with an unassailable lead of around 54 per cent to Hofer's 46 per cent. Herbert Kickl, Hofer's campaign manager told the state-backed broadcaster ORF: The bottom line [...]
Ski season triggers rush to book private jet mountain getaways December 2, 2016 Private charter airlines are cashing in on Brits jetting off for the start of the ski season. So far this ski season there has been a 46 per cent increase in bookings from the UK to charter jets to airports with transfers to some of Europe’s most expensive and popular ski resorts such as Verbier [...]
CHI & Partners boss named as advertising trade group leader December 2, 2016 The chief executive and partner of advertising agency CHI & Partners has been named as the new president of trade body the Institute of Practitioners in Advertising (IPA). Sarah Golding – who has worked with the likes of Orange, Reebok, British Gas, Argos and NewsUK during her career – has been nominated by IPA council members [...]
UK pension funding deficits remain at nearly one-third of UK GDP, despite recovery of £50bn in November December 1, 2016 A £50bn improvement in the deficit of defined benefit pension funds in November 2016 failed to offset declines earlier in the year, leaving the total deficit at £580bn. The deficit is still over £100bn higher since the start of the year, according to PwC’s Skyval Index. Deficits have leapt since Spring after asset value growth failed to [...]
Barclays teams up with Creative England on new tech accelerator December 1, 2016 Barclays is teaming up with non-profit entrepreneurial support group Creative England on a new accelerator. The programme is aimed at companies working to apply the likes of gamification, the Internet of Things, and 3D modelling to other sectors that may not be seen as traditionally digital, like healthcare or tourism. The moves comes amid growing [...]
AstraZeneca and Abpro join up on cancer research November 30, 2016 AstraZeneca's biological arm MedImmune and US life sciences group Abpro have joined forces on a new research collaboration that will be spunout as a new company. Called AbMed, it will hold the development and commercialization rights while MedImmune gets a minority stake and a slate of unspecified milestones. Pharma firms are rushing to team up on [...]
Biotechs ink gene therapy deal to treat inherited and rare diseases November 30, 2016 Oxford BioMedica has teamed up with fellow UK biotech firm Orchard Therapeutics to develop gene therapies for rare diseases. Orchard will lead the global clinical development and commercialisation of these collaboration programmes in Europe and the US. Oxford BioMedica has picked up a 1.95 per cent equity stake in Orchard in return and also stands [...]
