Blinken’s unmistakable warning to China: US will fight aggression and defend rules-based system February 11, 2022 America and its allies must stand up for a rules-based system threatened by Chinese aggression, US secretary of state Antony Blinken has warned although he stressed a confrontation with China is not inevitable. Blinken spoke shortly before a meeting with the foreign ministers of Australia, India and Japan in Melbourne. The four nations form the [...]
Little Moons set to fetch £100m in private equity bidding war February 10, 2022 An ice cream business that boomed in popularity via TikTok is the focus of a private equity bidding war that could value it at above £100m. Little Moons, which creates Japanese mochi ice cream balls, has surged in popularity thanks to a viral TikTok video and now has five private equity firms readying a bid, [...]
Amazon Prime fees could soon rise to over £90 for 15m Brits despite record UK sales of £23.6bn February 9, 2022 Amazon’s UK revenue jumped over 20 per cent last year. That won’t halt a rise of at least 17 per cent in the cost of Prime membership, if it follows the lead of Amazon US. Even though Amazon has just announced record sales of £23.6bn here in the UK, it’s unlikely that will stop a [...]
M&S remains UK’s fastest growing supermarket catching up with Big Four grocers February 8, 2022 Marks & Spencer has maintained its position as UK’s fastest growing food retailer, market researcher NielsenIQ said today, indicating its turnaround plan is gaining momentum. It said M&S’s sales rose 12.3 per cent in the 12 weeks to January 29 year-on-year, giving it a market share of 3.6 per cent, up 0.4 percentage points on [...]
New data reveals the top 10 dealmakers of 2021 February 6, 2022 New data, shared with City A.M. has revealed the UK’s top dealmakers of 2021. The figures come on the back of a record year for mergers & acquisitions, which saw the completion of more than $5 trillion worth of deals. JP Morgan’s James Robinson ranked as the UK’s top investment banker, after topping MergerLink’s charts [...]
A four day week relies on a near universal acceptance of a transformed workforce February 3, 2022 It is easy to forget how recent the five-day working week is. In fact, it was first piloted in the US in 1908 and not widespread until the late 1920s, so it is under a century old. But so ingrained is it that recent news that 30 companies – including Canon’s UK arm – are [...]
US law firms return to the office blocked by Omicron variant January 31, 2022 Law firms’ plans to return to offices have been scuppered by the spread of the omicron variant in the US. Several US law firms have postponed plans to return to offices until February, having originally planned for a January return. The delays come as the highly-infectious omicron variant continues to spread through the US, despite [...]
Competition watchdog launches first phase of Morrisons takeover probe January 27, 2022 The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) launched the first phase of its probe into the takeover of Morrisons by a US private equity giant today. The £7bn deal, which was completed in October, saw Clayton, Dubilier & Rice Holdings (CD&R) remove Morrisons from the London Stock Exchange. The move prompted the CMA to order the [...]
Morrisons denies that hunt has started for new CEO after private equity takeover January 24, 2022 Sources close to Morrisons have denied that the supermarket has started the hunt for a new chief executive in the wake of its £7bn takeover last year. The private equity firm behind the supermarket, Clayton, Dubilier & Rice (CD&R), was reported to have started looking for someone to replace David Potts. The Sunday Times newspaper [...]
City Moves: Who’s switching jobs in the Square Mile this week? January 20, 2022 City A.M.’s Millie Turner provides a roundup of the most important hires and job moves across the City, every morning. Email citymoves@cityam.com to be featured. 11:FS Challenger consultancy 11:FS has bolstered its global advisory team with a new senior financial services executive. Maurício Magaldi, who has previously worked at IBM and HSBC, will help fintech firms and banks build their cryptocurrency strategies. “I’m thrilled [...]