Visa to buy London payments firm Currencycloud for £700m July 22, 2021 Visa has inked a deal to buy London payments group Currencycloud in the latest move by a US buyer to swoop on the booming British tech sector. The financial services giant today said the deal builds on an existing partnership between the companies and values Currencycloud at £700m inclusive of cash and retention incentives. However, [...]
Morrisons shareholders to vote on Fortress-led takeover bid on 16 August July 22, 2021 Shareholders in Morrisons will vote on a £6.3bn takeover bid from a trio of private investment groups led by SoftBank-owned Fortress on 16 August. In a document outlining Fortress Investment’s offer, Morrisons today said a court meeting and a general meeting of shareholders would be held on the August date. Fortress’ offer for the British [...]
Pandemic boost: Pharmacy2U’s online product delivery climbs to 17m July 21, 2021 Pharmacy2U has delivered over 17m medicines since the start of the pandemic, figures from the Leeds-based online pharmacy showed today. The e-pharmacy, well-known for its repeat prescriptions service, has seen a sharp increase in customers ordering medicines online. The company has grown its operations to support the work of the NHS and adapt to stay-at-home [...]
Apollo pulls out of Morrisons takeover talks but could join Fortress-led bid July 20, 2021 Apollo Global Management has pulled out of its takeover talks to acquire Morrisons, but is in discussions to join the group leading the charge to buy the British supermarket chain. In a statement published this morning, the private equity firm said: “Apollo confirms that it does not intend to make an offer for Morrisons other [...]
BlackRock flexes shareholder muscle and ups votes against company management July 20, 2021 The world’s largest asset manager has toughened its stance on corporate governance and increased its votes against board proposals and executive pay at large public companies worldwide. In its quarterly stewardship report published on Tuesday, BlackRock said it voted against management on 33 per cent of “say-on-pay” proposals in European companies in the year to [...]
Freedom Day: Where do I need to wear a face mask from today? July 19, 2021 Across England, the final remaining coronavirus restrictions have been lifted. From today, people are no longer required by law to wear masks. The government has said, however, that people will still be expected to wear face masks in certain situations while some businesses, travel operators and local politicians have said that masks will still be [...]
Morrisons push ahead with plans to open automated grocery store as ‘pingdemic’ continues to hit supermarkets July 19, 2021 Morrisons are said to be close to unveiling an unmanned pilot store to the public “within months”, as they look to follow Amazon’s lead in modernising the approach to grocery shopping. The store will rely on shoppers to scan their smartphones upon entry before having digital cameras follow their every step in store to check [...]
Fancy a Covid jab? Here are all the free walk-in vaccine sites open in London this month July 14, 2021 If you haven’t had a chance to book your Covid-19 vaccination, there are a number of sites accepting walk-ins this July. Anyone over 18 can get their Covid-19 jab in England and those attending sites won’t be required to provide identification, proof of address, or be registered with a GP. If you’re lucky enough to [...]
Morrisons bosses set for bumper payday from private equity takeover July 11, 2021 Three of Morrisons’ most senior executives are set to earn millions from the supermarket’s proposed private equity takeover as scrutiny grows over the deal. Morrisons has accepted a £6.3bn takeover offer by a consortium of funds led by private equity firm Fortress — the latest in a growing frenzy of US buyouts of British firms. [...]
Czech billionaire Křetínský mulls EP Infrastructure listing July 10, 2021 Czech billionaire Daniel Křetínský is mulling a float for his energy firm EP Infrastructure as part of a strategic review into the company. The gas and power distribution firm, which operates in the Czech Republic and Slovakia, made sales of €3.2bn (£2.7bn) last year. The move comes as many investors seek to take advantage of the [...]