JD Sports buys American sportswear brand DTLR Villa February 1, 2021 JD Sports will buy American sportswear brand DTLR Villa, in a deal worth $495m. Based in Baltimore, Maryland, and currently majority owned by BRS & Co. and Goode Capital, DTLR was established in 1982 and is an athletic footwear and apparel streetwear retailer. Originally named Downtown Locker Room, the company later re-branded as DTLR and, [...]
Renewables firm Next Energy set for London IPO February 1, 2021 Renewables firm Next Energy has this morning announced that it will list on London’s main market. The company is seeking to raise £300m at an issue price of £1 per share. Founded in 2007, the investment company has around $2.3 in assets under management around the world. It invests both in established renewable energy sources [...]
City watchdog to crack down on ‘buy now pay later’ firms February 1, 2021 The City watchdog is preparing to move in on so-called buy now pay later firms such as Klarna following a review of the unsecured credit market. The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) will this morning publish a report by interim chief executive Chris Woolard recommending that the sector be brought under the regulator’s remit, Sky News [...]
Government should rethink rates holiday as economy kicks back into life February 1, 2021 John Webber is Head of Business Rates at Colliers International News that John Lewis is under pressure to hand back millions of pounds in business rates relief received in this year’s retail rates holiday shows that the Government must re-think the way it uses the rates system to hand out support to businesses.. Last year [...]
Cost of lost schooling could amount to £350bn in lost earnings February 1, 2021 The Prime Minister this week set out plans to keep children home for even longer and the cost of lost schooling is set to reach hundreds of billions in the long run. Research from the IFS has shown that early evidence is already suggesting that the loss of learning is contributing to educational progress and [...]
CBI calls for government to consult business more widely to draw up lockdown exit plan February 1, 2021 One of the UK’s mot influential business bodies has called on the government to reach out to the country’s private sector for advice on how to reopen the economy post-lockdown. The CBI has written to business secretary Kwasi Kwarteng to ask the government to outline six elements when drawing up its lockdown exit strategy, including [...]
Private equity deal activity bounces back in second half of 2020 February 1, 2021 Private equity activity in the UK bounced back in the second half of 2020, but the spring’s lockdown meant that the total number of deals fell to the lowest level in seven years. According to Big Four auditor KPMG, 889 deals were completed last year, with a total value of £87.2m. The figure is the [...]
Bill Browder: Navalny has sparked something – the West shouldn’t stand by January 31, 2021 Once the largest foreign investor in Russia through his Hermitage Fund, Bill Browder is now a global campaigner focussing the world’s attention on Vladimir Putin. His efforts have seen so-called ‘Magnitsky Acts’ placed on the statute book across the world, named after Browder’s former lawyer – who, most agree, was murdered in Russian custody as [...]
The City View with Bill Browder January 31, 2021 City A.M. Acting Editor Andy Silvester talks to investment fund manager turned global human rights campaigner Bill Browder. Bill has been a thorn in Vladimir Putin’s side ever since his lawyer Sergei Magnitsky was murdered in Russian custody after an attempt to expose widespread tax fraud. He talks to Andy about the protests in Russia [...]
Sir Tom Moore admitted to hospital with Covid-19 January 31, 2021 Beloved UK figure Captain Tom Moore has been admitted to hospital with Covid-19, after being treated for pneumonia. Moore, who captured the country’s heart by raising more than £30m for charity by doing laps around his garden, was admitted to hospital today and is not in intensive care. Moore’s daughter gave the update this evening [...]
