Players vow to scupper Silver Lake £235m bid for All Blacks commercial rights March 29, 2021 Several leading All Blacks and Black Ferns say they will veto Silver Lake’s bid for a stake in New Zealand Rugby (NZR). The US-based private equity giant has offered £235m for 15 per cent of NZR’s commercial rights, which the deal values at £1.5bn. If successful, it would be the latest investment by private equity [...]
Domino’s sells Icelandic business for £14m to focus on UK and Ireland March 29, 2021 Domino’s has agreed the sale of its Iceland business in a deal worth £14m as the pizza chain continues to exit its directly-operated overseas operations to focus on its core UK and Ireland business. The fast food firm today announced it has sold the Icelandic division to a consortium of investors including Eyja Fjarfestingafelag, Kristinn [...]
Online used-car unicorns Cinch and Cazoo gear up for funding boost March 27, 2021 Two British online used-car startups are going head-to-head in a £10bn race to raise new capital as they look to cash in on a rapidly-growing sector. Cinch, which is part of the private equity-backed Constellation Automotive Group, is in talks to raise roughly £500m of fresh funding from investors, Sky News reported. The discussions could [...]
A drive to survive: How Liberty Media used Netflix and esports to win a new generation of fans and safeguard the future of Formula 1 March 26, 2021 It feels like an awful long time ago now that Liberty Media took the wheel of Formula 1, completing a takeover valued at $8bn including debt in January 2017. Donald Trump had just been inaugurated and the most relevant global health emergency was the Zika virus. In motorsport, meanwhile, Lewis Hamilton had been dethroned and [...]
The metaverse: real world laws give rise to virtual world problems March 25, 2021 Gregor Pryor discusses how real world laws give rise to virtual world problems as we advance towards making an existence in the metaverse.
Hyper-local offices and central HQs could chart the path forward to save cities March 23, 2021 Enforced home working and lockdown travel restrictions have, for many, led to a journey of local discovery. To name but a few, the surprise and delight of hidden parks and gardens discovered during our daily exercise ration and great independent food shops providing welcomed morning coffee hits and morale-boosting treats. However, despite the lack of [...]
Women’s rugby has just showed it is streets ahead of the men’s game with new competition WXV March 19, 2021 “It’s not as good as men’s.” That is such an obvious response to any number of women’s sports. As if to evidence such a lowly perception of women’s sport, the recent announcement of the Women’s Six Nations postponement was met with a deluge of misogyny and comments from men who said they simply “don’t care”. Initiated by Stef Evans of Bristol Bears, the women’s rugby community countered in [...]
‘Unstoppable’ Torsus off-road bus coming to UK: CEO speaks March 19, 2021 We interview Torsus CEO Vakhtang Dzhukashvili about his go-anywhere bus company – and ambitious plan for UK expansion.
Best of travel: Where to go and what to do in Bermuda March 16, 2021 To tide us over until we’re able to travel again, we’re republishing classic travel stories from our archives. Today we revisit Siobhan Grogan’s trip to the sun, sea and sand of Bermuda. ••• There are few things more intimidating on the water than suddenly finding yourself in the middle of a practice race for the [...]
Adidas returns to growth but warns of Reebok sale costs March 10, 2021 Adidas today reported a return to sales growth in the final quarter of the year, but warned of a hit to profit caused by its decision to divest the Reebok brand. The German sports giant reported sales growth of one per cent on a currency-neutral basis in the fourth quarter to €5.5bn (£3.9bn). This came [...]