Investor row erupts over Loungers private equity bid December 1, 2024 An investor battle has erupted over a private equity bid for Cosy Club and Brightside operator Loungers, with some “furious” over the perceived low offer. On Thursday, the Loungers board backed a £338m takeover offer from Fortress Investment Group, a 30 per cent to its share price. Despite the board accepting the offer, various shareholders [...]
Tensions flair at Direct Line following Aviva takeover bid December 1, 2024 A battle is brewing over Direct Line about whether to accept any further takeover bids from Aviva, as its CEO seeks more time to turn the business around. Talking to the Sunday Times following the rejected £3.3bn bid from Aviva last week, Direct Line CEO Adam Winslow urged shareholders to back his turnaround plan over [...]
UK business leader confidence nosedives towards pandemic lows December 1, 2024 Confidence among business leaders in the prospects for the UK economy nosedived towards levels not seen since the coronavirus pandemic during November, as fears over rising national insurance bills plague firms. The Institute of Director’s monthly Economic Confidence index fell to -65 in November, down from -52 during October in its fourth consecutive monthly fall. [...]
UK companies are struggling to keep up with peers on growth November 28, 2024 UK companies are failing to keep up with international peers on sustained growth, data from Panmure Liberum has revealed. While practically all companies manage to create strong growth on occasional years, few companies have managed to keep growth going every year, noted Joachim Klement, investment strategist at Panmure Liberum. The longest streak on record for [...]
Renewi: Share price rockets on £700m Macquarie takeover offer November 28, 2024 Australian asset management giant Macquarie has made an offer to buy FTSE 250 waste disposal company Renewi for $887m (£701m). In a stock exchange notice, Renewi said the two firms had “reached preliminary agreement on the financial terms of a potential acquisition”, with the board recommending the price to investors, if a firm offer under [...]
Neobrokers take aim at Hargreaves Lansdown and AJ Bell November 27, 2024 A crop of neobrokers are ramping up their challenges to the industry’s dominant players in what experts say could reshape Britain’s retail investment scene.
Just Eat delisting ‘blow to the City’ and setback for Reeves November 27, 2024 Just Eat Takeaway abandoning the London Stock Exchange “highlights a troubling trend” for UK markets as the government struggles to keep companies listed in Britain. The takeaway delivery company cited low liquidity, burdensome regulatory requirements, and high costs as key reasons for its move, which analysts said underscored the uncompetitiveness of London’s equity markets. “If [...]
How this stockpicker helped triple the value of Funding Circle November 27, 2024 Funding Circle has been through a rough few years. After floating with a value of close to £1.5bn in 2018, share prices rapidly declined, with its market cap reaching as low as £125m in January of this year. That was when Richard Staveley, portfolio manager of Rockwood Strategic Investment Trust, began looking at the company, [...]
St James’s Place shutters property funds amid sector downturn November 27, 2024 St James’s Place has begun to wind down its three property funds as the sector struggles to make it past the blows it sustained during the coronavirus pandemic. The three funds, which operate as unit trusts, pension and life funds, will shutter over the next two years, with regular payouts to investors in the funds. [...]
Pennon water flips to a loss after parasite outbreak November 27, 2024 Losses at water company Pennon widened significantly as the group struggled to pay millions to fix a parasite outbreak that led to diarrhoea. Today, the South West Water owner said its underlying profit before tax had jumped from £19.1m in profit the first half of last year to £18.6m in losses. The results were in [...]
