Hipgnosis takes majority stake in Mark Ronson’s publishing catalogue April 23, 2020 Music royalties investment firm Hipgnosis today said it has acquired the majority of the publishing catalogue of prolific songwriter and producer Mark Ronson. Hipgnosis has taken control of 70 per cent of the 315-song portfolio, which includes more than 83 number one hits and two songs that have been streamed more than 1bn times on [...]
Robbie Gibb consortium wins last-minute bid for Jewish Chronicle after dramatic row April 23, 2020 A consortium led by former Downing Street spin doctor Robbie Gibb is set to take control of the Jewish Chronicle after its dramatic last-minute bid for the collapsed newspaper was accepted. The London weekly last week announced it was seeking a creditors’ voluntary liquidation alongside the Jewish News, with which it had agreed to merge. [...]
Credit Suisse posts surge in profit but warns on coronavirus loss April 23, 2020 Credit Suisse today posted a sharp rise in profit for the first quarter but warned of potential loan losses caused by the coronavirus crisis. The bank reported a 13 per cent rise in pre-tax profit of 1.2bn Swiss francs (£1bn) in the first three months of the year, while net profit surged 75 per cent [...]
Exclusive: UK tech startup confidence slumps amid Covid-19 crisis April 22, 2020 Confidence levels among tech startups have slumped since the start of the year as the coronavirus crisis takes its toll on the UK’s thriving tech sector. Just 32 per cent of businesses are confident or very confident that their turnover will increase in the year ahead, City A.M. can reveal. This marks a quarterly drop [...]
Coronavirus: Banks team up with mobile industry to tackle text scams April 22, 2020 The UK’s banking and mobile industries have partnered with spy chiefs to crack down on text message scams linked to the Covid-19 crisis. The new campaign is aimed at tackling so-called spoofing techniques, where cyber criminals mimic legitimate businesses or organisations to trick unsuspecting victims into handing over sensitive information. Many scammers have attempted to [...]
Arqiva’s £2bn telecoms takeover cleared by competition watchdog April 22, 2020 A £2bn takeover of Arqiva’s telecoms infrastructure division by Spanish rival Cellnex has been cleared by the competition watchdog. The merger, which agreed in October, will make Cellnex the largest independent operator of mobile masts in the UK, adding roughly 7,400 sites to its portfolio. The deal will also give the Spanish firm rights to [...]
BeIN Sports urges Premier League to block Saudi bid for Newcastle April 22, 2020 Broadcasting giant BeIN Media has urged the Premier League to block a proposed £300m Saudi takeover of Newcastle United amid concerns about “industrial scale” piracy. Newcastle owner Mike Ashley is said to be on the brink of accepting a takeover offer from a consortium backed by Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund. However, the chief executive [...]
Snapchat shares jump as coronavirus lockdown boosts user numbers April 22, 2020 Snapchat has reported a sharp spike in user numbers during the first quarter as millions of people turned to the social media app during the coronavirus lockdown. Parent company Snap said daily active users rose 20 per cent year on year to 229m in the first three months of 2020. Revenue also grew 44 per [...]
Former Channel 4 executive launches flexible working creative agency Soursop April 22, 2020 A former Channel 4 and Vice executive has today launched a new creative agency built on a model of flexible and remote working. Soursop will hire staff around the world to work on projects for brands across editorial, advertising, film and TV. The company has secured Samsung and Nike as founding clients and has already [...]
Boohoo suffers coronavirus sales hit after bumper year April 22, 2020 Boohoo Group today posted a huge surge in revenue and profit for the full year but warned the outbreak of coronavirus had hit growth in March. The figures Boohoo’s revenue rose 44 per cent to £1.2bn in the year to the end of February 2020. Pre-tax profit jumped 54 per cent to £92.2m. Net cash [...]
