The Original Bowling Company strikes to take over Bowlplex April 22, 2015 THE ORIGINAL Bowling Company yesterday announced it will take over rival Bowlplex in a deal funded by its private equity owner. Electra Partners, which invested £51m in The Original Bowling Company (TOBC) last September, said it will buy Bowlplex, for an unspecified sum, subject to approval from the Competition and Markets Authority. TOBC operates under [...]
Pork Farms and Kerry Foods’ merger cleared April 21, 2015 THE COMPETITION watchdog said yesterday it has provisionally cleared Pork Farms’ acquisition of rival Kerry Foods’ chilled savoury pastry business after threatening to carry out an in-depth probe over competition fears. Pork Farms, maker of scotch eggs and sausage rolls for supermarkets like Marks & Spencer, bought Kerry Foods’ chilled savoury pastry business last summer, [...]
Payday lender Wonga slips into the red as regulatory crackdowns take their toll April 21, 2015 The figures Things aren't looking good for much-maligned payday lender Wonga. Figures posted today showed it slipped into a pre-tax loss in 2014, to the tune of £37.3m, down from a profit of £39.7m this time last year, as various regulatory crackdowns took their toll on its figures. That pushed it to a net loss [...]
Retailers slammed for “dodgy” discounting practices in super-complaint to CMA April 21, 2015 Retailers could face an investigation into their discounts and promotional activity after consumer campaigning group Which filed a “super-complaint” to the Competition and Markets Authority. Which claims retailers are “confusing consumers with tactics that exaggerate discounts and manipulate shoppers”, arguing they create “the illusion of savings that don't exist”. The complaint comes on the [...]
Vince Cable warns of potential hiccup in Lloyds Bank shares sell-off April 20, 2015 A competition enquiry could upset Conservative party plans to sell billions of pounds of Lloyds Banking Group shares to the public by May 2016, Liberal Democrat business secretary Vince Cable said yesterday. The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) is set to publish its final report on the personal current accounts and small business banking markets [...]
Beware, Sid – Lloyds sale could be tricky April 19, 2015 A big retail offering of Lloyds shares is on the cards. Large-scale privatisation is back. David Cameron is promising a £4bn sale of Lloyds shares to retail customers, swapping one big government shareholder for thousands of individuals. An instant comparison is with the 1980s. Giant firms like BT, BP and British Gas were taken out [...]
Why robust regulation of retail trading is a competitive advantage April 19, 2015 Since the financial crisis, regulation has been debated extensively; as financial markets have become more accessible to retail consumers, protecting them has never been more important. The decision by the Swiss National Bank to remove the cap on euro-Swiss franc in January 2015 caused turmoil in currency markets, and given the impact this had on [...]
Barclays U-turn on account fees: Bank will pay customers £4 a month as competition hots up April 14, 2015 Barclays will offer to pay current account customers from next week, intensifying the battle sweeping the high street since the seven-day switching service made it easier to move banks 18 months ago. The bank has been losing customers to rivals through the seven-day service, as other lenders have won clients by offering financial rewards. Barclays’ [...]
Poundland eyes extension over 99p Stores deal probe April 14, 2015 Poundland is expected to ask for an extension tomorrow over its decision on whether to walk away from its £55m tie-up with 99p Stores or proceed with a full-scale probe by the competition watchdog. The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) said last week that it had concerns over 92 areas where it believes there could [...]
Poundland faces competition probe over 99p Stores tie-up April 9, 2015 POUNDLAND’S offer to buy rival 99p Stores for £55m is facing an in-depth investigation by the competition watchdog, amid concerns reduced competition will lead to fewer promotions and store closures. The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) warned that it could launch a 24-week in-depth probe unless Poundland “offers acceptable undertakings to address the CMA’s competition [...]