Boris Johnson to call EU leaders in bid to sop vaccine export ban March 22, 2021 Boris Johnson is preparing to speak to EU leaders this week as a row over coronavirus vaccine supplies rumbles on. The Prime Minister is expected to hold a meeting with his European counterparts to try and de-escalate tensions in the lead up to an EU’s leaders summit on Thursday. He will also speak to leaders [...]
Women’s Super League nets £21m in groundbreaking TV rights deal with Sky and BBC March 22, 2021 Sky and the BBC have agreed a landmark TV rights deal with the Football Association for the Women’s Super League (WSL). Under previous contracts, broadcasters have only paid production costs to show the WSL. The new three-year deal, which starts in September, is worth at least £7m per season, making it the most lucrative of [...]
Cadbury-owner Mondelez to buy UK protein bar brand Grenade for £200m March 22, 2021 Mondelez, the US owner of Cadbury, is preparing to announce a £200m deal to buy British protein bar brand Grenade. It has secured a deal with Grenade’s majority shareholder to buy the sports nutrition firm, Sky News reported. The deal – which would be Mondelez’s most significant UK takeover since it acquired Cadbury in 2009 [...]
Tory MPs to rebel over plans to extend Covid powers until September March 21, 2021 The government has come under fire from Tory MPs for unveiling plans to extend emergency Covid enforcement powers in England for another six months. Legislation will be brought to the House of Commons by Boris Johnson on Thursday to extend police powers to ban protests, shut down ports and detain citizens for not following Covid [...]
UK warns EU that ‘world is watching’ as Brussels continues to threaten to ban vaccine exports March 21, 2021 The UK has today warned Brussels that banning vaccine exports would be “very damaging” for the EU’s reputation, with defence secretary Ben Wallace telling the bloc that the “world is watching”. Wallace said today that the EU’s threats to block Pfizer vaccine shipments to Britain, which was inflamed political tensions, could “undermine” vaccine supplies across [...]
Valuation of Fortnite creator Epic Games soars to $28bn after lockdown demand March 20, 2021 The owner of two big pandemic winners, Fortnite and Houseparty, has reportedly closed a new fundraising round which brings its valuation to around $28bn. Epic Games is finalising the terms of a $1bn fundraising just seven months after its last round, according to Sky News. Last summer the Houseparty-owner secured a $17.3bn valuation after a [...]
Visa ‘facing US investigation’ over debit card practices March 19, 2021 Visa is said to be facing a regulatory investigation in the US over concerns it is engaging in anti-competitive practices in the debit card market. The US Department of Justice has been looking at whether Visa limited merchants’ ability to route transactions over card networks that are often less expensive, the Wall Street Journal reported. [...]
Payments group Wise mulls direct London listing March 19, 2021 Payments company Wise, formerly known as Transferwise, is reportedly looking to list in London without selling new shares to investors. Upheld as one of the UK’s most successful startups, having reached unicorn status in 2015, Wise has long been considered a candidate for an IPO. The fintech, which was most recently valued by private investors [...]
Crypto market recovery stalls, but institutional investment in Asia growing March 19, 2021 Bitcoin looks to have recovered from its inertia earlier this week, though there are still challenges ahead.
Hollywood real estate firm expands £350m east London film studio project March 19, 2021 Plans for a major new film studio complex in east London have been given a further boost after the scheme’s Hollywood backer announced it was pumping a further £50m into the project. Hackman Capital Partners (HCP), which owns studios where classics such as Citizen Kane and Gone With the Wind were filmed, last year took [...]