The lamps go out: Start of First World War commemorated August 3, 2014 Today marks 100 years since Britain declared war on Germany and joined the hostilities of the First World War. Across London, tens of thousands of homes and businesses will mark the occasion by dimming their lights from 10pm until 11pm. It was 11pm on 4 August 1914 when the declaration of war was made. Some [...]
M&A volume at private UK firms dives to lowest level since 2007 August 3, 2014 BRITAIN’S private companies are holding off on mergers and acquisitions (M&A) as uncertainty around next year’s general election and a lack of sellers has sent deal volumes plunging to their lowest level since 2007, according to professional services giant BDO. Trade deals saw the sharpest fall with the number of completed transactions plummeted by 17 [...]
Keydata founder Stewart Ford to sue City regulator for £370m August 3, 2014 Stewart Ford, the founder of Keydata Investment Services which collapsed in 2009 after the City regulator said it was insolvent and had broken tax rules, is threatening to sue the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) for £371m. Ford wrote to the FCA last week, warning that he intended to begin legal action over the losses he [...]
Iliad in $15bn T-Mobile bid to shake up US mobile market July 31, 2014 Iliad, the disruptive French telecoms group founded by Le Monde co-owner Xavier Niel, last night made a $15bn (£11.9bn) takeover offer for US operator T-Mobile in a move that could shake up America’s telecoms market. The deal would give Iliad control of 56.6 per cent of T-Mobile’s shares, but Iliad said there was no certainty [...]
BT share price creeps up as demand for fibre drives growth July 31, 2014 BT posted better-than-expected first quarter results yesterday on the back of growing demand for fibre. However, it received a tepid 0.15 per cent share price rise as investors waited to see how the Bo bets on sport and mobile play out. Revenue at the group rose just 0.5 per cent on a like-for-like basis to [...]
Lake Capital in £100m deal for Engine Group July 30, 2014 The owner of PR firm MHP Communications and ad agency WCRS, The Engine Group, will today announce its takeover by US private equity firm Lake Capital. The deal, first reported by City A.M. last week, is understood to be worth around £100m and will see Lake Capital buy out existing private equity backer HIG, leaving [...]
Boris Johnson reveals £1.3 trillion plan to fix London’s water shortages July 30, 2014 As London races towards a record population size of 8.6m people next year, topping its previous population record in 1939, it could face daily water shortages of up to 60m litres, according to the latest figures from Thames Water. By 2050, as London reaches an expected population of 11.3m people in the capital, its daily [...]
Dazzling performance at World Cup boosts ITV’s bottom line July 30, 2014 Broadcaster ITV yesterday saw its profits rocket 40 per cent over the past six months, as the media giant was boosted by the World Cup and an uptick in advertising. ITV’s total revenue leapt six per cent to £1.38bn, helped by growth in broadcast and online advertising as well as original content sales from its [...]
Strike a light as BAT is pounded July 30, 2014 BRITISH American Tobacco (BAT) has become the latest UK company to have its performance hit by sterling’s rise in value as it reported a drop in revenue and profit during the six months to 30 June. Both the strength of the pound and a slight decline in volumes took a toll. Excluding the impact of [...]
Sky Europe fails to find support for takeover bid July 29, 2014 BSkyB could find itself struggling to persuade Sky Deutschland’s investors to tender their shares as part of its £4.9bn Sky Europe takeover deal, according to the German broadcaster’s largest independent shareholder. Crispin Odey, who controls an eight per cent stake in Sky Deutschland through his hedge fund Odey Asset Management, said he would not accept [...]
