Big Tobacco’s takeover of Vectura shows the holes on our Companies Act September 17, 2021 There’s little dispute that companies ought to aim to return money to shareholders. Dividends sustain our pension pots and are vital to keep our economy growing. But when this pursuit becomes single minded it fails even by its own logic. PMI’s takeover of Vectura will generate the greatest shareholder value in the short term, but [...]
BT to hire 1,000 staff outside of London as part of ‘levelling up agenda’ September 16, 2021 BT is set to hire around 1,000 new staff to fill the broadband giant’s flagship Birmingham office, its first major site outside of London. There are currently some 225 positions available, which will grow over the coming months and years, BT said in a statement. The FTSE 100 has been slowly introducing its workforce back [...]
Goldman Sachs’ CityFibre rallies £1.1bn in bid to muscle in on BT’s market share – CityAM : CityAM September 16, 2021 Challenger broadband firm CityFibre has rallied £1.1bn in fresh capital in its bid to muscle in on BT’s market share. The London-based company has sold off its £825m stake to Interogo Holdings, the Swiss-based firm that bankrolls Ikea and Abu Dhabi sovereign wealth fund Mubadala, according to The Telegraph. The figure also includes a £300m [...]
Mishcon de Reya launches new £150m litigation financing unit September 8, 2021 Law firm Mishcon de Reya has today announced plans to launch a new litigation funding unit with Harbour, one of the biggest litigation and arbitration funders in the world. The new venture, known as MDR Solutions I, will be used to assess and finance prospective litigation and arbitration cases originated by Mishcon de Reya clients [...]
Receding tapering fears propel FTSE 100 to three-week high September 6, 2021 Waning fears over central banks in developed economies scaling back monetary stimulus measures helped to propel London’s FTSE 100 to its highest level for three weeks today. The capital’s premier-index gained 0.71 per cent to hit 7,189.00 points heading into the final hour of trading. The blue-chip index was led higher by advertisers and broadcasters [...]
Serious Fraud Office probing O2 bribery allegations September 5, 2021 Telecoms giant O2 is being investigated Serious Fraud Office reportedly over allegations of bribery involving the company’s executives. The company revealed in a financial statement that it is cooperating with the SFO, following its merger with Virgin Media. O2’s recent £31bn merger with Virgin Media makes the new company the UK’s largest network, ahead of [...]
DAZN to quadruple prices for UK subscribers weeks after luring boxing promoter Matchroom from Sky in £100m deal August 31, 2021 Sports streaming service DAZN has announced a four-fold increase in its monthly subscription fee for UK users. The platform will increase in price to £7.99 per month from the end of September, it told customers today. DAZN, which owns premium boxing rights, launched in the UK at an introductory price of £1.99 eight months ago. [...]
Abu Dhabi fund set to take stake in broadband challenger Cityfibre August 24, 2021 A group of investors including Abu Dhabi’s sovereign wealth fund is said to be close to taking a stake in Cityfibre in a deal valuing the Goldman Sachs-backed broadband firm at around £2bn. Abu Dhabi’s Mubadala Investment Company and Interogo Holding — the investment arm of the group behind Ikea — are leading the swoop [...]
US stocks open higher to cancel out last week’s rout August 23, 2021 US stocks rose sharply today to help claw back sharp losses registered in last week’s deeply volatile trading environment. The blue-chip S&P 500 jumped 0.95 per cent to 4,483.95 points, while the Dow Jones climbed 0.72 per cent to 35,372.11 points. The tech-heavy Nasdaq was on track for another record high, surging 1.59 per cent [...]
WPP snaps up delivery tech firm Satalia in AI push August 23, 2021 WPP has snapped up a London-based tech firm specialising in home delivery services in a move that will boost the ad giant’s artificial intelligence offering. The FTSE media group today said it had acquired Satalia, which is one of the UK’s fastest-growing tech companies and serves major clients such as BT, Tesco and Unilever. Following [...]