US film company plots launch of UK’s largest studio complex February 19, 2020 A US-based film company has today unveiled plans to create the UK’s largest purpose-built studio complex as the British film industry’s gold rush shows no signs of slowing down. Blackhall Studios has inked a £150m deal with the University of Reading to build 1m square feet of sound stages and digital production facilities in a [...]
German healthcare firm eyes bid for rehab specialist Priory Group February 18, 2020 A German healthcare firm backed by US private equity giant Carlyle is entering the race to snap up rehab clinic owner Priory Group for roughly £1.2bn. City A.M. understands that Schoen Klinik, which employs almost 11,000 people, is among a pack of bidders vying to take over the Priory chain from its American owner Acadia [...]
BT unveils new flexible TV packages in bid to beef up content offering February 18, 2020 BT today rolled out a string of new flexible TV packages as it looks to flex its muscles in the increasingly cut-throat content wars. The telecoms giant has unveiled a range of subscription options that allow customers to choose the TV shows, films and sport they want, with the flexibility to change their package each [...]
The best luxury resorts in the Alps – where to stay and where to ski February 17, 2020 Tap your ski pass, perch on our comfortable chairlift and let City A.M. take you for a tour of the Alps’ best new (or newish) hotels. We’ve had the enviable task of spending the early part of this winter season reviewing the peaks of high-end hospitality and the black runs of flashy facilities; a blizzard [...]
14 Diamond Princess passengers evacuated to US test positive for coronavirus February 17, 2020 Fourteen US citizens evacuated from Japan’s quarantined Diamond Princess cruise ship have been diagnosed with the Covid-19 strain of coronavirus. The Americans were flown to US military bases on two charter flights yesterday despite doctors making the discovery on passengers’ way to the airport. A total of 3,500 passengers have been marooned aboard the Diamond [...]
Former US financial regulator ‘to step down’ from HSBC’s board February 17, 2020 A former senior US financial regulator is set to step down as a director of HSBC, as the chairman of Europe’s biggest lender continues a board shakeup. Kathleen Casey, a former commissioner of the US Securities and Exchange Commission, will leave HSBC’s board at its annual general meeting in the spring, Sky News reported. Casey’s [...]
Conservative MPs blast Number 10’s BBC ‘vendetta’ February 17, 2020 Senior Tory MPs have blasted Number 10’s “vendetta” against the BBC, describing plans scrap the licence fee and push the broadcaster towards a new subscription model as “cultural vandalism”. Yesterday the Sunday Times reported plans were being readied to overhaul the BBC by forcing it to sell off the majority of its radio stations and [...]
Fighting dirty: The most outrageous US election advertising hit jobs February 17, 2020 Earlier this month, millions of Americans were treated to six identical seconds of election advertising from two opposing political parties. “America demanded change,” booms a Don LaFontaine-esque Hollywood trailer-style voice over. “And change is what we got.” The clip featured first in Donald Trump’s Super Bowl re-election TV ad on 2 February, which touted the President’s [...]
Sir Keir Starmer says Labour Brexit position was ‘right policy’ February 16, 2020 Labour leadership frontrunner Sir Keir Starmer has labelled the party’s Brexit position “the right policy”, despite losing many seats in Leave-voting areas. Labour suffered its worst election result in December since 1935, winning just 207 seats and conceding an 80-seat majority to the Conservatives. The party lost a swathe of seats in its northern heartlands, [...]
Boris Johnson considers tearing up Sajid Javid’s fiscal rules February 16, 2020 Boris Johnson is considering scrapping the fiscal rules written by the Treasury just months ago in a bid to increase spending in next month’s budget. Ex-chancellor Sajid Javid wrote the rules into the Tories’ 2019 election manifesto in an attempt to exercise fiscal restraint amidst a swathe of spending pledges. The primary rules were promises [...]