Westfield owner rejects €3.5bn rights issue after shareholder backlash November 10, 2020 Shareholders in the owner of Westfield shopping centres have voted against a controversial €3.5bn (£3.1bn) rights issue, the company said today. Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield said its proposals for a capital increase had failed to win the required two-thirds majority following a remote vote that closed yesterday. The Paris-headquartered company faced fierce opposition over the plans from a [...]
Softbank rides e-scooter wave with $250m Tier funding deal November 10, 2020 Softbank has jumped onto the booming e-scooter market, leading a $250m (£190m) investment round in Berlin-based Tier. Tier has grown rapidly since its inception in 2018, and now operates 60,000 e-scooters in more than 80 cities across 10 countries. The latest funding takes its valuation to just under $1bn unicorn status, the Financial Times reported, [...]
Direct Line premiums stabilise as insurance market climbs back November 10, 2020 Direct Line today posted flat trading for the third quarter as shopping habits began to recover after a decline sparked by the coronavirus outbreak. The insurance group said its total written premiums slipped a marginal 0.8 per cent to £851.5m in the three months to the end of September. The performance was primarily driven by [...]
BBC licence fee negotiations kick off as ministers ramp up pressure over funding November 10, 2020 The government today kicked off negotiations with the BBC over how much the TV licence will cost in the future, dialling up the pressure on the embattled public service broadcaster. The talks will determine the level of the licence fee, which is currently set at £157.50, for at least five years from 2022. Culture secretary [...]
Exclusive: Tories must be more business friendly, says ad guru Martin Sorrell November 9, 2020 The Tories must be more business friendly after failing to secure the support of the corporate world during the coronavirus crisis, ad veteran Sir Martin Sorrell has said. Speaking to City A.M., Sorrell said the government “went down the wrong direction” in its response to the pandemic earlier this year and had angered businesses with [...]
Social media firms to crack down on Covid-19 vaccine disinformation November 9, 2020 Major social media platforms have agreed a package of measures with the government in an effort to limit the spread of disinformation about any Covid-19 vaccine. Following a meeting with health secretary Matt Hancock and digital secretary Oliver Dowden, Facebook, Twitter and Google endorsed the principle that no company should profit from false or misleading [...]
Love at first sight? Kylie takes stake in UK music streamer Roxi November 9, 2020 Kylie Minogue has taken a stake in Roxi as the music streaming service plots an initial public offering in London. The Australian pop legend joins Robbie Williams, Alesha Dixon and Sheryl Crow as a major shareholder in the company, and will front its new TV advertising campaign. Roxi, which offers a fully-licensed music catalogue through [...]
Funeral firm Dignity posts rise in revenue amid Covid-19 crisis November 9, 2020 Funeral provider Dignity has posted higher revenue in the first nine months of the year following a sharp spike in deaths caused by the outbreak of coronavirus. The London-listed firm booked underlying revenue of £234.5m to 25 September, up four per cent on the same period last year. The figures reflected a higher number of [...]
Countrywide in takeover talks with rival estate agent Connells November 9, 2020 Countrywide is in talks with rival estate agency Connells over a potential takeover that would value the company at roughly £82m. The firm today said it had received an initial offer of 250p per share from Connells, well above its closing price of 145p last week. Countrywide said the offer was at an early stage [...]
S4 Capital revenue rises after bumper BMW account win November 9, 2020 S4 Capital has posted a double-digit rise in revenue and profit for the third quarter after it secured a lucrative new account from BMW and Mini. Sir Martin Sorrell’s advertising firm booked revenue of £86.4m in the three months to the end of September, up 13 per cent on the same period last year. Gross [...]
