Cheltenham Festival betting tips: Put your faith in Hobbs and Johnson For Good Measure March 15, 2017 FINDING the winner of the 24-runner Pertemps Final (2.10pm) is yet another impossible task, especially with my original fancy Presenting Percy having been clobbered by the handicapper. He represents last year’s winning owner/trainer/jockey combination and I still wouldn’t be surprised if he goes very close, although at as short as 6/1 in a place, the [...]
Cheltenham Festival betting tips: Venetia looks all set for the last Tango in Cheltenham March 15, 2017 GORDON Elliott has had a remarkable season. He is set to win his first Irish trainer’s title and is also on course to be crowned leading trainer at this year’s Festival. Undoubtedly one of his leading fancies this time is Diamond King in this afternoon’s Brown Advisory & Merriebelle Plate (4.10pm). The nine-year-old was a [...]
JLL boss calls out government on business rates “disaster” March 15, 2017 The UK boss of JLL has hit out at the government's revaluation of business rates, calling the arrangements around the tax changes due to start in April a "disaster". Speaking at global property conference Mipim, Chris Ireland said that despite flaws in the system, he did not expect the government to make any significant changes [...]
Cheltenham Festival betting tips: God’s Own can be best of the rest March 15, 2017 WILLIE Mullins’ Cheltenham record has very few blemishes, yet the Queen Mother Champion Chase (3.30pm) has evaded his grasp so far. That should change this afternoon. They say there’s no such thing as a certainty in racing, but the unbeaten Douvan is as near to one as you will ever find. Unbeaten in 13 starts [...]
Unilever shows that the Prime Minister must show her cards on takeovers by foreign companies March 15, 2017 Prime Minister Theresa May has talked tough on foreign takeovers and raised the prospect of a beefed-up national interest policy as fears rise about opportunistic takeovers on the back of the weaker pound. However, it is unclear how far the government would actually intervene in corporate dealmaking when it comes to the crunch. Ministers were [...]
LV= mulls merger or disposals as its profit takes a hit from capital rules March 14, 2017 One of the largest financial services mutuals in the UK has held secret talks over a potential merger with Royal London. LV=, which has nearly 6m UK customers across insurance, pensions and income protection products, has now called off the talks as the firms couldn’t agree on the structure of a deal, reported Mark Kleinman, [...]
Private equity firm Privet Capital cuddles up with Care Bears maker Vivid Toy Group March 14, 2017 Private equity firm Privet Capital has snapped up a toymaker behind Care Bears, Thunderbirds and Moshi Monsters. Vivid Toy Group sells its products to major retailers across the UK, France, Benelux, Germany and the US, including in Tesco, Argos, Wal-Mart, Toys ‘R’ Us and Amazon. Headquartered in Guildford, the firm also has operations in Paris, Frankfurt and [...]
Developer behind 33 Central turns away from regional cities after Brexit March 14, 2017 HB Reavis, the developer behind Wells Fargo's European headquarters, has turned away from investing in the UK's regional cities due to the Brexit vote. Last July, HB Reavis' sale of 33 Central was widely-feted as a coup for London following the EU referendum, and while the developer is confident about the capital's prospects in the future, it [...]
Channel 4 chief executive David Abraham is standing down after seven years at the broadcaster March 14, 2017 Channel 4 chief executive David Abraham is stepping down from the broadcaster after seven years in the job. The publicly owned, privately funded channel accidentally broke the news on Twitter this afternoon before a formal announcement was made. Channel 4 press tweets, then quickly deletes, this press release in a tweet suggesting that their CEO David [...]
Cheltenham Festival betting tips: Charbel set to chase Altior home in Arkle March 14, 2017 IN THE past five years there have been four odds-on favourites for the Racing Post Arkle – two trained by Willie Mullins and two by Nicky Henderson. All four have won. Altior looks set to go off almost as short as 1/4 shot Douvan did 12 months ago and his credentials are equally strong. Last [...]