Education group Pearson rakes in over £160m from EU deals June 7, 2022 Education group Pearson is set to sell its K12 Courseware businesses in Italy and Germany for £163m, after several years of intermittent online learning. The deal, cut with Finland-based Sanoma Corporation, will also see Pearson share its English language teaching products in Italy. The disposals are hoped to have unlocked around £15m to £20m for Pearson’s adjusted operating profit. [...]
Biffa shares soar 25 per cent on £1.4bn takeover bid by US private equity firm June 7, 2022 Biffa has received a takeover offer of around £1.36bn by a US private equity firm today, which sent shares in the waste management giant flying. Biffa shares surged more than 27 per cent to 415p per share by close of play, just 30p shy of the offers stock value – and its highest since its float [...]
Rutherford Health collapses in another blow for Woodford’s failed investment empire June 7, 2022 Rutherford Health collapsed in administration yesterday, in yet another blow for Neil Woodford’s failed investment empire. The private oncology provider had thrown more than £240m at developing four therapy centres between 2015 and 2019, in what managers have now called a “flawed expansion strategy” which contributed to “unsustainable cash burn” and ultimately its financial downfall. [...]
Chancerygate to plot £32m new industrial site near London June 6, 2022 One of the UK’s largest industrial developers Chancerygate has lined up a string of sites in Leatherhead for a £32m development, as the logistics sector looks set to become the country’s largest employer. A raft of property firms, including British Land, LondonMetric and BMO Commercial Property Trust have turned their focus to logistics real estate [...]
Rutherford Health collapses as managers admit to ‘unsustainable cash burn’ June 6, 2022 Rutherford Health has collapsed today, as the board look to wind-up the £23m company and appoint a liquidator. The private oncology provider had thrown more than £240m at developing four therapy centres between 2015 and 2019, in what managers have now called a “flawed expansion strategy” which contributed to “unsustainable cash burn” and ultimately its [...]
Metro Bank faces legal battle over coin-counting software June 6, 2022 Metro Bank is reportedly facing a legal battle in the High Court, following claims by a US software company that it leaked its software to a rival firm. US software company Arkeyo, which is suing for damages, claimed that it created the software for Metro’s “magic money machines” more than a decade ago before it was given [...]
Virgin Atlantic flies above aviation’s staff shortages in post-Covid re-hiring spree June 5, 2022 The boss of Virgin Atlantic has suggested the reason it has been left out of recent airport chaos is because it has been re-hiring at ease amid industry-wide staff shortages. Virgin Atlantic has been absent from half-term holiday headlines detailing long queues and cancelled flights, which chief executive Shai Weiss put down to its success [...]
Schroders opposes £1.2bn takeover of railway giant FirstGroup by US private equity firm June 5, 2022 Transport giant FirstGroup is facing a shareholder rebellion from Schroders over a proposed £1.2bn takeover bid from a US private equity firm. Schroders, FirstGroup’s biggest shareholder with a nearly 18 per cent stake, called I Squared Capital’s offer “unattractive”, adding that the figure failed to reflect FirstGroup’s weight in the UK’s railway sector. FirstGroup [...]
RMT strikes again: London transport faces ‘severe disruption’ tomorrow June 5, 2022 Transport for London (TfL) has warned of “severe disruption” beginning tomorrow, as 4,000 Tube staff walk out and commercial leaders warn of “damaging” impacts to London’s recovery. Tube services are expected to be crippled well into Tuesday morning, TfL has cautioned, amid planned industrial action from the Rail, Maritime and Transport union (RMT). Many stations [...]
Business of Space: A peak at NASA’s increasingly lucrative commercial deals June 3, 2022 City A.M.’s Millie Turner offers up a roundup of the most important news across the space industry, every Friday. Next generation spacesuits SpaceX vs Boeing This weekend’s launches Next generation spacesuits Axiom Space and Collins Aerospace have been tasked with building the next generation of spacesuits for NASA, as the US agency looks to get boots on the Moon. The [...]