Manchester United: Are the football finance kings in danger of becoming a busted flush with an ageing business model? September 14, 2016 Earlier this week, Manchester United announced a staggering £515m in revenues. I tip my hat to their commercial team, because whilst the TV money flowing through from the Premier League represents a significant chunk of this you have to admire how they have built competitive advantage on others. When you consider that their EBITDA figure is [...]
Sky invests $1m in air Drone Racing League in the UK September 14, 2016 Sky said today it has invested $1m (£757,600) to bring drone racing to its new channel next month, as it announced plans to launch the first professional drone race in UK. The distribution deal with organiser The Drone League (DRL), whose competitions allow pilots to fly drones through three-dimensional racecouses, will enable the broadcaster to put on live events and screen [...]
Full separation of BT’s infrastructure arm Openreach is not “off the table” – Bradley September 13, 2016 BT has been dealt a blow just months after the telecoms group escaped its infrastructure arm Openreach being hived off by the regulator. Karen Bradley – the culture, media, and sport secretary – warned BT that Openreach could still be split out to a separate company despite Ofcom’s proposals to leave it under the BT [...]
House prices continued their upward climb in July, according to the Office of National Statistics September 13, 2016 House prices increased by 8.3 per cent in the year to July, according to the Office of National Statistics (ONS) – falling from 9.7 per cent growth in the year to June 2016. The average UK house price increased to £217,000 in July 2016, a £17,000 increase on July last year. That made the average [...]
Two Lloyds execs set to leave as pressure grows on banking group September 12, 2016 Two of Lloyds’ most senior executives are set to leave the banking group. The company’s group director of digital Miguel Angel Rodriguez-Sola is to depart after three years in his position. And Mary Hall, the bank’s group audit director, is also set for an exit, Sky News first reported. Read more: RBS and Lloyds shares tumble [...]
These are the FTSE 100 social media winners and losers September 12, 2016 FTSE 100 firms are finally getting the hang of social media and even jumping on the Snapchat bandwagon to build their profile, new research reveals. Seven firms in the blue-chip index now have official accounts on the fledgling messaging service with a further six using the platform in some form. Read more: Google, Facebook and Twitter blasted over [...]
Epos Now founder Jacyn Heavens on luck, crying, making the most of Brexit and getting mashed September 12, 2016 Within minutes of meeting Jacyn Heavens, founder of Epos Now, we’re debating whether he should wear a suit for TV appearances. The upshot is that he feels like he should, but it doesn’t feel very him. Whatever he ends up wearing, you’ll likely see a lot more of the serial entrepreneur. Last week, he was [...]
Go Compare to go its own way in Esure demerger September 11, 2016 Go Compare will be spun off from its parent company, Esure, in a £500m demerger to be announced this week, according to reports. Sky News reported this evening the board of insurance group Esure will approve the deal to offload Go Compare and make a formal announcement to the stock market within the next few days. The move follows [...]
Channel 4 set for first meeting with new culture secretary amid uncertainty over ownership and London HQ September 11, 2016 Channel 4 executives are set for their first meeting with the new culture secretary this week and will be seeking clarity over ownership and the location of its headquarters. It emerged this time last year that the government was considering privatising Channel 4, a move that strongly opposed by bosses at the broadcaster. Read more: [...]
Labour’s Emily Thornberry just accused Sky News of sexism after struggling to name foreign leaders on live TV September 11, 2016 Labour's shadow foreign minister Emily Thornberry has accused a Sky News presenter of sexism after being unable to name either the French foreign minister, or the South Korean president. Thornberry was being interviewed on Sky News' Murnaghan programme earlier this morning, but objected to “pub-quizzing” from host Dermot Murnaghan, who asked her to name the [...]