Vodafone sues KPN for £83m for “anti-competitive” behaviour December 10, 2015 Vodafone has filed a lawsuit against KPN for alleged anti-competitive behaviour, seeking €115m (£83m) in damages from the leading Dutch telco firm. Vodafone claims that its launch of combined TV, broadband and telephone services was delayed for three years, due to the former state monopoly not supplying the necessary technology. Rob Shuter, chief executive of [...]
AB InBev chief executive Carlos Brito defends “beerhemoth” SABMiller merger to Senate Committee sceptics December 8, 2015 Anheuser Busch InBev chief executive Carlos Brito was put through his paces yesterday as members of the US Senate Judiciary Committee voiced concerns that the £71bn merger between the world’s two largest brewers AB InBev and SABMiller, would harm consumers and competitors in the US. Brito was appearing in front of the Committee with Molson [...]
Competition and Markets Authority flags concerns in North Sea oil and gas December 7, 2015 The UK's competition watchdog has written to the government flagging competition concerns in the UK's north sea oil and gas industry. The Competition Markets Authority said government plans to establish the Oil and Gas Authority as an independent regulator for the North Sea oil and gas market could facilitate information exchanges which would ultimately harm competition with the [...]
How to overcome the SME alt fi knowledge gap December 3, 2015 There has been much talk about the dearth of traditional bank loans to SMEs since the credit crunch, with the conventional narrative increasingly detached from reality as market confidence and conditions improve. But this jaded dialogue has disguised another issue: the rapid and seemingly unrelenting decline of the small business overdraft. In fact, a [...]
London taxi drivers and Uber battling to win support with just 20 days left for TfL consultation December 3, 2015 Taxi drivers and Uber are gearing up for the final stretch in a race for support ahead of a crunch consultation that will decide the newcomer’s fate in the capital. Transport for London’s (TfL) consultation on whether to bring in further rules and regulations has just 20 days to run. Uber was given a boost [...]
Bookie Ladbrokes loses £54m gamble on tax avoidance scheme, as tribunal finds in favour of HMRC December 2, 2015 HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) announced today that it had won a tax avoidance case worth £54m against Ladbrokes. The ruling at the first-tier tribunal prevents the bookmakers from reclaiming £54m in tax, and the tax authority has said it has another three similar cases in the pipeline worth £112m. “Avoidance just doesn’t pay – we [...]
Uber vs TfL: CMA regulator backs Uber calling new Transport for London rules anti-competitive December 2, 2015 The UK's market watchdog has thrown its weight behind Uber in a showdown between the Taxi startup and Transport for London (TfL), calling plans to curb the business anti-competitive. Responding to proposed new rules which seek a five-minute waiting time after ordering an Uber among other restrictions, the Competitions and Markets Authority (CMA) has warned the plans may "excessively and "unnecessarily weaken competition" and [...]
Tandem digital bank granted licence by the Bank of England November 30, 2015 Another digital bank is has been granted a licence to operate in the UK. Tandem, a digital retail bank, has been given its licence by the Bank of England and will now begin the process of constructing its technology platform and meeting capital requirements. Ricky Knox, co-founder of Tandem, said: “We are very excited to [...]
Pension providers in survival of the fittest showdown as market merges, with a small number of players controlling most of the total assets under management by 2020 November 30, 2015 The market for auto-enrolment scheme providers will be dominated by a handful of major players by 2020. According to a report released today by the Pensions Institute at Cass Business School, fewer than 10 organisations will form a premier league of providers, controlling 90 per cent of total assets under management. “By 2020 several well-known [...]
Chancellor George Osborne and business secretary Sajid Javid vow to boost competition in 11 sectors including banking, broadband and energy November 30, 2015 British families could save £470 a year thanks to a new government plan to boost market competition, chancellor George Osborne and business secretary Sajid Javid have said. In a joint announcement today, Osborne and Javid will reveal a new, 25-page document intended to create more competitive business conditions – something they say will bring down [...]