City lawyer in the running to head competition watchdog October 12, 2022 The UK's competition watchdog could be closing in on a new boss, with a leading city lawyer tipped as a major contender for the hot seat.
CMA and food safety regulators ‘struggling to recruit’ post-Brexit, says MPs October 12, 2022 British food safety and competition regulators are “struggling to recruit and retain the skills they need to regulate effectively” post-Brexit, according to a Westminster committee of MPs. A new report from the cross-party Public Accounts Committee (PAC) today said some regulators need more staff post-Brexit to handle new responsibilities, leading to labour shortages. This has [...]
City minister defends ‘safety valve’ call-in power over financial regulators October 11, 2022 A proposed new power that allows Whitehall to overrule financial regulators will only be a “safety valve”, City minister Andrew Griffith has said. Griffith told a Westminster committee today that the new call-in power would only be used “sparingly” in the face of concerns that it will reduce the independence of the UK’s regulators. The [...]
Morrisons one step closer to watchdog green light for McColl’s takeover October 10, 2022 The competition watchdog has said it is minded to accept proposals from Morrisons that would alleviate any concerns over higher prices for consumers amid its takeover of McColl’s. The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) had raised competition concerns regarding a small number of areas amid the supermarket’s £190m takeover of the beleaguered convenience store chain. [...]
Viasat and Inmarsat $7.3bn merger could choke competition in wifi market, says CMA October 6, 2022 Viasat and Inmarsat’s $7.3bn (£6.4bn) merger faces further scrutiny from the UK’s competition watchdog over concerns it will choke competition in the aviation sector’s on-board wifi market. The Competition and Markets Authority said today that with both companies having a strong presence in the aviation market, the deal would remove a significant element of competition [...]
Mark Kleinman: Vodafone pressure, steel woes and a new business boss October 6, 2022 Mark Kleinman is the man the City reads – and in his fortnightly column for City A.M., he shares his insight and analysis. Vodafone boss hopes deal eases the pressure At last, an engaged tone. Two months after I wrote in this column that Nick Read, the Vodafone chief executive, was looking nervously over his [...]
Half of UK logistics firms to make acquisitions despite volatile market October 5, 2022 Almost half of UK logistics firms is set to make an acquisition in the next year despite challenging market conditions. Data published today by Barclays Corporate Banking reported that 45 per cent of UK businesses were considering the move as a way to achieve economies of scale and expand services. This is the highest figure [...]
Connecting? Vodafone confirms merger talks with Three UK October 3, 2022 Vodafone confirmed it was in merger talks with Three UK this morning, setting the scene to become the largest mobile telecoms supplier in Britain. The FTSE 100 firm said it was in discussions with CK Hutchison, Three’s Hong-Kong parent company, with the view of combining the two UK arms, with Vodafone owning 51 per cent [...]
Rees-Mogg hints government will merge financial services regulators October 2, 2022 Jacob Rees-Mogg has hinted the government will merge the UK’s financial services regulators, after the Prime Minister’s team spoke about the move during summer. It was reported during the Tory leadership contest that Truss wanted to roll the Financial Conduct Authority, the Bank of England’s Prudential Regulation Authority and Payment Systems Regulator into one body. [...]
Not a good look: PIRC advisory group scrutinises JD Sports boss’ multi-million pound exit deal October 2, 2022 An influential shareholder advisory group has said JD’s payout to former boss Peter Cowgill is “not a good look” for the sportswear retailer. Former JD Sports’ boss Peter Cowgill is set to receive a multi-million pound payout after making his departure from the sneaker seller. Exit terms include a £3.5m payment over two years for [...]