Private equity bidders eye KPMG’s restructuring arm January 6, 2021 Private equity firms are eyeing up KPMG’s restructuring arm, as the Big Four firm prepares to offload its restructuring operations in the UK. Intermediate Capital Group and Towerbrook Capital Partners are preparing to submit initial bids for the business ahead of a deadline later this month, Sky News reported. The division is rumoured to be [...]
GB News promises ‘boldly different’ TV channel as it secures £60m funding January 6, 2021 An upcoming TV channel promising to shake up the rolling news market will start recruiting 120 journalists after sealing the final tranche of its £60m investment. GB News, which is spearheaded by Andrew Neil, today said it had secured backing from Dubai-based investment firm Legatum and hedge fund manager Sir Paul Marshall. The funding round, [...]
Corona Impact Series: How a Chiswick energy startup grew up fast during the pandemic January 6, 2021 In this series, City A.M. looks at the financial and economic impact of the ongoing pandemic on a range of small and medium-sized businesses across London. This week: how a small West London-based supplier of green energy thrived during last year’s lockdowns. The pandemic story of So Energy in Chiswick certainly bucked the national trend last year. Only [...]
Sky chief executive Jeremy Darroch to step down January 6, 2021 Sky chief executive Jeremy Darroch is stepping down after 13 years at the helm of the media giant. Darroch, who is one of the UK’s longest-serving bosses, will retire as chief executive and take up the role of executive chairman. He will be replaced by Dana Strong, who is currently president of consumer services at [...]
Former City banker Richard Sharp ‘to be appointed’ as new BBC chair January 6, 2021 The government is reportedly poised to name former Goldman Sachs banker Richard Sharp as the new chair of the BBC. Ministers will this week announce that Sharp has been appointed to succeed Sir David Clementi at the helm of the broadcaster, Sky News reported. The appointment, which is made by the government rather than the [...]
Hong Kong Racing Tips: Dragon looks a Glorious bet in January Cup January 5, 2021 HAPPY Valley hosts an exciting nine-race programme on Wednesday, featuring the track’s biggest prize of the season, the £350,000 Group 3 January Cup (12.15pm) over nine furlongs. There is plenty of quality in the 10-horse line-up, including former multiple Group 1 winner Time Warp, Simply Brilliant, winner of this corresponding race in 2019, and Singapore [...]
Next confirms consortium bid for Topshop-owner Arcadia January 5, 2021 Next has confirmed that it is part of a consortium bidding for Arcadia brands, but said it was not seeking majority ownership of Sir Philip Green’s collapsed business empire. It was reported last month that the high street retailer was holding detailed discussions with Davidson Kempner about a combined offer for Arcadia, the owner of [...]
Airline passenger numbers plummet over Christmas period January 5, 2021 The number of passengers flown by Ryanair and Wizz Air fell over 80 per cent for the second consecutive month in December as a dire year for the industry came to and end. The Irish flier carried just 1.9m people last month, down 83 per cent from 11.2m the year before. For the year as [...]
Scotland set to go into Covid lockdown from midnight January 4, 2021 Nicola Sturgeon has announced that Scotland will go into a Covid lockdown from midnight tonight for the rest of the month, in what is likely a sign of things to come for England. Sturgeon said the new measures would be “similar to the lockdown of March last year” and could be extended past the end [...]
Investment body proposes ‘rebranding’ of standard listings January 4, 2021 The City’s leading investment body has proposed an overhaul of London’s standard listing category as the Treasury looks to revamp public listing rules. The former British commissioner to the EU Lord Hill is heading up a government-backed review into rules governing public listings in a bid to lure tech giants to the City. The City [...]