Woodford cuts Atom Bank stake as Capita and Purblebricks investments take toll on his fund March 11, 2018 Star fund manager Neil Woodford has cut his stake in challenger bank Atom Bank amid a £1bn fall in the value of his flagship fund. Woodford Investment Management declined to participate in Atom Bank’s £150m share issue which was announced last week. Following the rights issue Woodford’s stake in Atom Bank will fall from 20 [...]
Peer-to-peer platform Funding Circle appoints bankers ahead of potential float March 11, 2018 British unicorn Funding Circle has appointed bankers to lead an initial public offering (IPO) which will likely value it at more than £1.5bn, according to reports. The peer-to-peer lending platform has appointed Bank of America Merrill Lynch, Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley and London-headquartered Numis Securities to broker the deal, according to Sky News and Bloomberg. [...]
Institute of Directors chair Lady Barbara Judge “steps aside” after serious misconduct allegations March 8, 2018 The head of the influential Institute of Directors (IoD) has stepped down to battle serious allegations about her behaviour and conduct towards staff after a legal investigation launched by the lobby group, according to Sky News and the Times. A legal report commissioned by the business lobby group found Lady Barbara Judge prompted her to [...]
Ryanair “not planning any stunts” to force voter rethink on Brexit March 7, 2018 Ryanair has said it will not ground flights after the UK leaves the European Union despite suggestions that Michael O’Leary was prepared to take a dramatic stance to change voters’ minds. Speaking to City A.M., chief marketing officer Kenny Jacobs confirmed the air carrier would not be grounding flights in April 2019 but warned there [...]
Premier League TV rights packages booted into long grass amid “cut-price” concerns March 7, 2018 The Premier League has booted a decision on unsold TV rights packages into next month, as it faces being forced to accept a “cut-price deal” for the remaining 40 games. Sky and BT Sport snapped up five of seven packages on offer for a total of £4.5bn in mid-February. But the remaining two sets of [...]
City watchdog seeks to reassure big investors on Saudi Aramco float ahead of crown prince’s UK visit March 6, 2018 The City watchdog is seeking to mollify institutional investors who have expressed serious concerns over plans to make it easier for the oil major Saudi Aramco to list in the UK ahead of a visit to the capital by Middle East nation’s powerful crown prince. The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) last month met bosses from [...]
What happened when we got a job picking weed in California’s booming cannabis industry March 5, 2018 The rugged wilderness of Humboldt, Mendocino and Trinity Counties, northern California’s “Emerald Triangle”, produces over half the cannabis consumed in the US. Every year, from September to December, the region swarms with seasonal agricultural workers known as “trimmers”, or “trimmigrants”, here to work the land to supply America’s legion of stoners. For years the going [...]
Manchester City 1, Chelsea 0: Antonio Conte hits out at television pundits Gary Neville and Jamie Redknapp over game-plan slur March 4, 2018 Chelsea manager Antonio Conte hit back at television pundits Gary Neville and Jamie Redknapp, branding them “stupid”, after they were critical of his side’s game-plan during Sunday’s Premier League defeat to runaway leaders Manchester City. Conte adopted ultra-defensive tactics which resulted in Chelsea having just 29 per cent possession and failing to register a shot [...]
Former KPMG UK chair heads up LSE probe into boardroom showdown which led to Xavier Rolet departure March 3, 2018 An independent review of last year’s boardroom crisis at the London Stock Exchange Group is underway, led by a City heavyweight. The LSE has turned to Simon Collins, a former UK chairman of KPMG, to head up the probe, according to Sky News. LSE chair Donad Brydon has written to its 20 largest shareholders to [...]
Last Week in the City: Trump threatens trade war March 2, 2018 This week US President Donald Trump threatened a trade war, a number of famous high street names, including Toys R Us and Maplin, got into serious trading trouble and upbeat assessments of the US economy from central bankers helped the US dollar to rally, reversing its recent trend. The FTSE 100 fell 0.2 per cent [...]