Largest UK vet clinic chain Independent Vetcare Group to be put up for £1.5bn auction October 24, 2018 The UK's largest chain of veterinary surgeries, Independent Vetcare Group (IVC), is set to be put up for auction. Controlling shareholder, Swedish-based private equity house EQT Partners, has commissioned US investment bank Jefferies to launch an auction of IVC in the coming weeks, Sky News reports. Read more: What happens to our pets when we fly Insiders [...]
Finncap brushes off market negativity to launch surprise takeover of Cavendish October 24, 2018 City broker Finncap, chaired by veteran venture capitalist Jon Moulton, today confirmed it was taking over M&A sell-side advisory firm Cavendish. Finncap plans to raise £6m by floating the combined group on London's junior alternative investment market (Aim) in early December in a listing that will value it at £46m. Lord Leigh, former Conservative Party treasurer [...]
TSB’s prolonged IT crisis cost it 16,600 customers October 24, 2018 TSB lost more than 16,600 customers to rivals between April and June, after an IT fiasco prevented up to 1.9m people from accessing their bank accounts. The crisis led to TSB announcing a pre-tax loss of £107.4m during its half-year results in July, down from £108.3m profit in the same period last year. Read more: Investigation [...]
Hit the brakes: Watchdog bans adverts by Ford, Nissan and Fiat October 24, 2018 Ford, Nissan and Fiat have all had adverts banned today after the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) ruled that the three car manufacturers had run adverts that promoted dangerous driving. Ford was criticised for a cinema and online advert that featured quotes from a Dylan Thomas poem, saying: “Do not go gentle into that goodnight. Old [...]
Ranked: Sports Direct tops poll of UK’s most loathed brands October 23, 2018 House of Fraser owner Sports Direct is the UK’s most loathed brand, according to consumer finance website Money Saving Expert. However, billionaire Mike Ashley's bottom-placed retail giant may have been hurt by a social media campaign against the company, admitted the website, which asked 7,600 readers to rank 52 household name brands. Read more: Mike [...]
Asos appoints ex-Britvic finance chief as new CFO October 23, 2018 Asos today appointed Britvic chief financial officer Mathew Dunn as its new CFO. The exact start date is yet to be announced, though the online retailer has said that Dunn will join the firm in spring 2019, leaving Britvic to take on the role. Read more: Shares in Asos soar on news of boosted profits and revenue [...]
Dyson to manufacture its first electric car in Singapore October 23, 2018 British technology company Dyson has announced that it will set up a new site in Singapore for building its first electric car. The facility is expected to be completed by 2020, with the first cars being sold in 2021. Read more: Dyson plugs £200m into driverless cars UK technology campus Chief executive Jim Rowan said [...]
iPhone maker Apple named the UK’s top employer October 22, 2018 US tech giant Apple has been named the UK’s best employer by recruitment website, Indeed. The rankings assessed factors including career progression, flexible working opportunities and salary across millions of reviews. Read more: Apple finds a coffee cup that will track your caffeine intake Apple was commended by its employees for its good pay, positive [...]
Sony offers no concessions to EU regulators in $2.3bn EMI bid October 22, 2018 Sony has offered no concessions to the EU’s antitrust regulator in support of its $2.3bn (£1.8bn) bid for major record label EMI. Sony had not submitted any proposed concessions by last Friday’s deadline, the European Commission’s website showed today. Read more: EU sets October deadline to rule on Sony's takeover of EMI The Commission is [...]