Saudi Electric takes aim at stake in Hinkley Point nuclear power plant November 17, 2014 Saudi Arabian utility firm Saudi Electric is in talks to become one of the investors in the nuclear power plant at Hinkley Point. According to a report on Sky News, the firm is vying to buy a minority stake in the project, which got the go-ahead from the European Commission last month. As it stands, [...]
Bird flu in the UK: Could the disease lead to a shortage of Christmas turkeys? November 17, 2014 The re-emergence of bird flu in the UK is unlikely to pose a major threat to human health – but it could have a serious impact on your Christmas turkey. Although the East Yorkshire farm in which the case of avian flu has been confirmed breeds ducks, the local area has several turkey farms [...]
Nicko Milligan Golf Day raises £35,000 November 16, 2014 In May members of the business community who knew and loved Nicko Milligan, the Sky executive who was tragically killed in a speedboat accident along with his daughter Emily, took part in the inaugural Nicko Milligan Golf Day. It was organised by Nick Hurrell (left) from Enter, Nick Theakstone of GroupM (right), Lawson Muncaster of [...]
Thinking bigger: My Voucher Codes founder Mark Pearson talks Fern Britton and young tech entrepreneurs November 16, 2014 While we’re talking, it suddenly dawns on Mark Pearson that it’s his company’s eighth birthday. “It’s definitely around now,” he laughs, raising his empty plastic water cup in the air. In June of this year, Pearson sold My Voucher Codes, as part of his parent company Markco Media, to global mobile money technology provider [...]
Center Parcs Woburn Forest: For a weekend getaway with the kids, you can’t beat this November 16, 2014 It is 9.30am on a Saturday and the whole family is wobbling through a woodland assault course 25ft feet above ground, hooked into harnesses in case our schoolyard adventure playground skills fail us. Unexpectedly, my husband, who thinks nothing of hopping on sky-high ski lifts, says he is scared of heights, and threatens [...]
Five things we’ve learned from Chelsea’s financial results: FFP is no big deal but Stamford Bridge is still too small November 13, 2014 Not only are Chelsea a table-topping team currently pulling away of all competitors, they are also rapidly becoming one of the Premier League’s best businesses. The current league leaders today revealed their financial results for the 2013/2014 season and they’re guaranteed to put a smug smile on fans’ faces. The west-Londoners revealed record [...]
Sky cuts British part of name in European deal November 13, 2014 BRITISH and Broadcasting has been dropped by Britain’s largest Pay TV operator BSkyB as it adopted Sky as its official name yesterday after completing the £7bn takeover of its European sister companies, Sky Deutschland and Sky Italia. Sky, now Europe’s largest entertainment company, said the change was “to recognise the international scope of the business” [...]
Sky credit rating downgraded following £7bn takeover of Sky Italia and Sky Deutschland November 13, 2014 Sky’s long-term corporate credit rating has been cut following the completion of its £7bn takeover of Sky Italia and Sky Deutschland yesterday. Standard & Poor’s downgraded Sky’s credit rating from ‘BBB+’ to ‘BBB’ as it estimated the group would raise a “significant amount of debt to part-find the acquisitions”. The credit ratings agency [...]
BSkyB changes name to Sky as Europe deal for Sky Deutschland and Sky Italia is completed November 13, 2014 BSkyB is dropping “British” and “Broadcasting” from its name, to become just Sky as it announces the completion of a £7bn deal to acquire Sky Deutschland and Sky Italia. The media company, which becomes one of the largest pay TV operators in Europe, said the name change reflected the new international scope of the business. Its [...]
TalkTalk puts aside £25m to add more customers as demand soars November 11, 2014 TalkTalk is planning to invest up to £25m in acquiring more customers in the second half of the year, as demand for its broadband, TV, mobile and fixed-line telephone packages continued to increase during the first half of 2014. Chief executive Dido Harding told City A.M. the spend was “a thoroughly good thing… We’re actually [...]