Screenshot: Is Uber nearing the end of the road? February 26, 2021 This week **Media Moment of the Week: Boris’ career coaching **Is Uber nearing the end of the road? **Apple’s merger madness Media Moment of the Week: Boris’ career coaching Social media is a fickle beast, but if there’s one sure-fire way to generate outrage it’s to insult journalists. That’s what Boris Johnson did this week, [...]
Puppy love: Pets at Home hikes profit forecast as Brits splash out on furry friends February 26, 2021 Pets at Home has scrubbed up its profit expectations for the full year after continued demand for its animal offerings helped boost trading. The reptile and rabbit retailer said it now expected pre-tax profit for 2020 to hit £85m — ahead of its previous guidance of £77m. This includes a £28.9m repayment of business rates [...]
Gatwick crashes to £465.5m loss as passenger numbers collapse February 26, 2021 Gatwick Airport plunged to a £465.5m loss in 2020 as global air traffic and passenger numbers collapsed due to the Covid-19 pandemic. While the airport remained open throughout the pandemic, passenger numbers plunged 78 per cent as lockdowns and travel restrictions took their toll. Gatwick said all revenue streams were impacted and posted a loss [...]
Twitter shares take flight as it unveils plan to double revenue by 2023 February 25, 2021 Shares in Twitter pushed eight per cent higher this afternoon after the social media platform said it plans to double its annual revenue to at least $7.5bn (£5.3bn) over the next three years. Announcing a string of long-term goals ahead of its analyst day today, the company also said it aims to reach 315m monetisable [...]
Brits could receive £480m payout in Qualcomm smartphone legal case February 25, 2021 Roughly 29m Brits could be entitled to a £480m payout if a landmark legal claim against US chipmaker Qualcomm is successful. Consumer group Which is suing Qualcomm over claims it breached UK competition law by taking advantage of its dominance in the patent-licensing and chipset market. The lawsuit alleges that this enabled the chipmaker to [...]
Australia passes online news law after row with Facebook February 25, 2021 Australia has passed a landmark law that will force tech giants Facebook and Google to pay publishers for news content. The world-first legislation follows a bitter row with Facebook, which blocked access to news in the country in protest to the changes. Following tense negotiations the law today passed with amendments that will allow the [...]
Stocking up: Booze brand Virgin Wines confirms £110m London float February 25, 2021 Alcohol subscription service Virgin Wines today confirmed plans to list on the London Stock Exchange next week in a move that will value the company at £110m. The booze business, which has been a major lockdown winner, will debut on the Aim market on 2 March. Virgin Wines said it will place 6.6m new ordinary [...]
Standard Chartered to cut office space as dividend returns despite profit hit February 25, 2021 Standard Chartered will resume its dividend for the full year despite a sharp fall in profit due to the pandemic, as it unveiled plans to slash office space in the coming years. The London-based lender, which halted its payout last year at the request of the Bank of England, said it will pay a dividend [...]
Gambling giant Flutter taps Vice boss Nancy Dubuc in boardroom shake-up February 25, 2021 Flutter Entertainment has appointed Vice chief executive Nancy Dubuc as a non-executive director as part of a boardroom shake-up aimed at redressing the company’s gender balance. Dubuc, a media industry veteran, has led youth-oriented Vice Media since 2018. Prior to this she was chief executive of A&E Television Networks. Flutter, formerly known as Paddy Power [...]
O2’s £31bn Virgin Media merger ‘will help UK pandemic recovery’, says CEO February 25, 2021 O2’s proposed £31bn tie-up with Virgin Media will accelerate investment in telecoms infrastructure and bolster the UK’s post-pandemic recovery, the mobile network’s boss has said. The mega-merger, agreed last year by O2 owner Telefonica and Virgin Media parent Liberty Global, is facing an in-depth probe by regulators amid concerns it could harm competition. But O2 [...]
