Business committee writes to CMA over private equity takeover concerns July 1, 2021 A spate of recent private equity interest in the UK’s supermarkets has prompted the chair of the parliamentary business committee to question whether the competition watchdog has sharp enough teeth to deal with such bids. Over the weekend, buyout specialists Clayton, Dubilier & Rice made an unprompted £5.5bn offer for Morrisons, which rejected the bid. [...]
Gym Group eyes £31m of investor funding for 40 new sites July 1, 2021 The UK’s second-largest gym chain, Gym Group, aims to raise £31m from investors to fund an expansion with 40 new branches. The low-cost gym operator said it plans to open the new sites over the next 18 months as it continues its rapid rollout programme. It said the impact of Covid-19 on the commercial property [...]
Online brokerage Robinhood files paperwork for Nasdaq IPO July 1, 2021 Robinhood has disclosed paperwork for its IPO on the Nasdaq, setting the stage for one of the most hotly anticipated initial public offerings of the year. The online brokerage, which was at the centre of Wall Street’s retail trading frenzy at the start of the year, today filed the paperwork with the Securities and Exchange [...]
Twitter user to pay BBC journalist six-figure sum for defamatory actions July 1, 2021 A twitter ‘troll’ has apologised and agreed to pay a six-figure bill in damages after trying to damage the reputation of BBC radio and TV presenter Stephen Nolan. Nolan, a presenter on BBC Radio Ulster and BBC Radio 5 Live, said the user ran a “malicious campaign designed to undermine me and hinder my journalism” [...]
JD Sports director and remuneration chair Andrew Leslie ousted by shareholders July 1, 2021 JD Sports shareholders have ousted Andrew Leslie as a non-executive director at the retailer’s latest general meeting, but passed all resolutions relating to senior pay. In today’s annual meeting Leslie did not receive the required votes to maintain his position within the company, meaning JD Sports will now start looking for a successor. On the [...]
What are the UK-EU ‘sausage wars’ in Northern Ireland and are they over? July 1, 2021 Yesterday’s confirmation that Brussels and London have agreed a truce to the so-called sausage wars has, at least momentarily, eased UK-EU tensions about the implementation of the Northern Ireland Protocol. The EU agreed to delay the ban on Great British sausages being sent to Northern Ireland until the end of September, after threats from Boris [...]
Pinterest to ban all weight loss adverts from platform July 1, 2021 Pinterest will ban all ads with weight loss language and imagery, including ads that idealise or criticise certain body types. The digital pinboard site said it would also not allow ads with testimonials about weight loss or weight loss products, or ads referencing Body Mass Index (BMI) or similar indexes. “This stance makes Pinterest the [...]
FTSE 100 climbs as Sunak outlines post-Brexit financial services roadmap July 1, 2021 London’s FTSE 100 surged this afternoon as investors digested the Chancellor’s post-Brexit roadmap for the UK’s financial service industry. The capital’s premier index climbed 1.25 per cent in afternoon trading to reach 7,125. The rally came after Chancellor Rishi Sunak outlined plans to make the UK financial services industry more competitive on the global stage. [...]
British Council could cut 2000 jobs after budget slash July 1, 2021 The British Council has started planning a redundancy consultation, potentially resulting in 2000 jobs being cut. The action follows a drop in funding from the government. The public body announced last week it would have to cut 15-20 per cent from the organisation over the next two years due to the financial impact of the [...]
‘Busiest six months in 57 years’: Stamp duty holiday causes pandemonium in property sector July 1, 2021 The last week has seen chaos for buyers trying to beat the stamp duty holiday deadline, and long hours and stress for all other parties involved in the process. This week homebuyers were in a race against time to beat the deadline on the most generous stamp duty holiday, which ended at midnight last night. [...]
