UK private equity giant 3i sells stake in Barcelona-based funeral services company Memora | City A.M. July 18, 2017 UK private equity giant 3i Group has sold its stake in a Barcelona-based funeral services company. Memora, the biggest player in the Iberian market, has been snapped up by Canada’s Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan. FTSE 100-listed 3i first invested in Memora, which has 115 parlours, 24 crematoriums, 13 cemeteries and 91 retail outlets, in 2008. [...]
The UK’s failed drug strategy causes misery and costs lives July 17, 2017 The long overdue update to the UK Drug Strategy was published by the Home Office last Friday. Sadly, as expected, it is nothing but more of the same. It offers no new ideas worthy of note, while reinforcing the failures of existing policy by further embedding an approach which has already been conclusively proven both [...]
Fashion technology startup Metail raises £10m from Hong Kong’s TAL to become “Google of size and shape” July 9, 2017 A tech startup which offers retailers technology that lets online shoppers try items on virtually, and wants to become the “Google of size and shape”, has bagged millions of pounds in fresh funding from investors. Metail has raised a £10m series B led by TAL, a Hong Kong-based apparel manufacturer, bringing total cash ploughed into [...]
The Fed may not have investors’ backs for much longer July 4, 2017 For decades, the Federal Reserve has been the wingman to the US equity market, manipulating monetary policy to prevent the stockmarket from tipping into chaos. It was during the financial crisis of 1987 that the US central bank first came to the rescue by pumping liquidity into the financial system. Ever since, the Fed has [...]
FTSE 100 history: how the index has changed over 33 years July 3, 2017 The FTSE 100 index has just seen one of its quarterly changes with security firm G4S and real estate investment trust Segro promoted to the top 100. Although perhaps small in themselves, these regular events have changed the face of the UK’s leading index since it was formed in 1984. For the many investors whose [...]
Innocent Drinks passes £300m in sales as European growth spikes July 3, 2017 Innocent Drinks, the UK smoothie-maker which is majority-owned by Coca Cola, passed sales of £300m for the first time last year as its European presence continues to expand. Sales grew by 23 per cent in the year to 31 December 2016, coming in at £303.5m. The company saw a return to profit, making £8.5m compared [...]
Veteran venture capitalist Jon Moulton is set to power a new £400m energy infrastructure fund July 2, 2017 A sustainable energy and infrastructure investments firm backed by veteran venture capitalist Jon Moulton is set to launch a new £400m fund. Greensphere Capital is considering setting up a new fund that will work on projects including solar farms and power lines. Moulton, the founder of Better Capital, is a non-executive director of Greensphere Capital [...]
Kate Middleton favourite Hobbs approached by South Africa’s Foschini July 2, 2017 South African group Foschini has thrown its hat into the ring to buy Hobbs, the womenswear brand beloved by the Duchess of Cambridge. Hobbs was put on the market by its private equity owner 3i in January for £80m. However, it is thought Foschini is unwilling to stump up the full asking price, the Sunday [...]
Spreadbetting crackdown: European intervention prompts delay by UK regulators June 29, 2017 British financial regulators have delayed an eagerly awaited decision on spreadbetting reforms after European authorities stepped in, revealing groundbreaking plans to crack down on the trading of riskier products. The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has been considering responses to proposals it made last December to shackle certain elements of increasingly popular trading platforms. A decision [...]
Holland & Barrett sold to Russian billionaire for £1.8bn June 26, 2017 Health food store Holland & Barrett has been sold to a Russian billionaire for £1.8bn. US private equity firm Carlyle is selling the UK’s largest health retailer to L1 Retail, a fund controlled by Mikhail Fridman. The deal for the 1,150 store chain is the first acquisition for L1 Retail. It is thought that chief [...]