British tower giant Arqiva looks to shed broadcast and smart meter businesses August 13, 2021 British tower owning firm Arqiva is looking to sell off its broadcasting and smart meter operations, according to reports, which could result in a £2.5bn payday. It follows the sales of its UK telecom masts in another £2bn deal with Cellnex Telecom SA in 2019. The firm’s remaining businesses could be worth around £2.5bn, Bloomberg [...]
Disney emerges as streaming rival, elevating revenue above expectations August 13, 2021 Disney’s streaming service has emerged as a strong rival in the Netflix dominated sector, which has in turn elevated the group’s revenue above expectations. Revenue was up 45 per cent to £12.3bn in its third quarter – inching past analyst forecasts of £12.14bn. The entertainment giant pulled in £664m in net income in the three [...]
Pandemic space race: Flats are back but prices are slow to catch up with detached homes August 12, 2021 The average price of a flat has climbed just one per cent since the start of the pandemic, while detached homes have jumped by 10 per cent, according to the latest data. The data, from property website Rightmove, suggests that Brits’ property choices have been permanently changed by the pandemic. When Covid-19 brought three national [...]
Hostelworld revenue dives against restrictions but travellers begin to return August 11, 2021 Online travel agent Hostelworld has had its revenue plummet 76 per cent in the past six months, as the group was significantly bruised by Covid-19 travel restrictions. Net revenue fell from €12m in the first half of last year to just €2.9m this year. Total bookings have also sunk by 73 per cent from a [...]
Brits still spooked over public transport as spending lies well below pre-Covid levels August 11, 2021 Covid-19 still has Brits spooked about public transport, despite the UK lifting restrictions, as cash dished out on trains and buses remains well behind pre-pandemic spending. Consumer spending across public transport sits 30 per cent below figures seen in 2019, according to new data from moneysaving app Snoop. Meanwhile, petrol has enjoyed a 90 per [...]
Amazon transfers £8.2bn of UK revenue to Luxembourg, report says August 11, 2021 Amazon has shifted some £8.2bn worth of UK revenues to European tax haven Luxembourg, a new report has claimed, as the ecommerce giant bats off calls for a tax inquiry. The retail heavyweight declared £13.7bn in UK revenues in 2019, however, filings for its UK-based companies said it only reported £5.5bn in sales. The report, [...]
City Moves: Who’s switching jobs in the Square Mile this week? August 11, 2021 City A.M.’s Millie Turner provides a roundup of the most important hires and job moves across the City, every Wednesday afternoon. Email citymoves@cityam.com to be featured. Former Tesco director joins London’s Interpath as special advisor London-headquartered firm Interpath Advisory has appointed former Tesco director and retail veteran Christine Cross as a special advisor for the business. Cross’ extensive non-executive and advisory board [...]
Russia launches criminal probe into two allies of Kremlin critic Navalny August 10, 2021 Russian authorities have launched a criminal investigation into two top allies of Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny, for raising money for his political network – which has been labelled extremist. Allies Leonid Volkov and Ivan Zhdanov, who have already been exiled from the country, are at the centre of the investigation which was opened after a [...]
Abrdn bags AI wealth management firm in first acquisition post-revamp August 10, 2021 Abrdn has snapped up AI wealth management firm Exo for a not-yet-disclosed price, as the revamped investment company makes headway on its three-year plan. The deal, expected to be completed in the final quarter of this year, will allow abrdn to offer wealth management via an app. The investment group’s fee based revenue lifted by [...]
Flutter Entertainment doubles revenue, sending shares rising 8.8 per cent August 10, 2021 Revenue at sports gaming group Flutter Entertainment has rocketed 99 per cent in the past six months, scoring double the cash it recorded in the first half of 2020. The upbeat results sent shares jumping 8.85 per cent to a total share price of 14,085.00. The sports entertainment group, which owns Paddy Power and Betfair, [...]
