FCA eases rules to speed up company capital raising April 8, 2020 The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has set out temporary measures to help listed companies raise cash quickly during the coronavirus crisis. The watchdog said it was likely many companies will turn to capital markets to raise money to support their recovery. Since lockdown measures prevent more than two people meeting, it’s harder to obtain shareholder [...]
NCA defeated in unexplained wealth order battle to seize three London homes worth £80m April 8, 2020 The National Crime Agency (NCA) has been defeated in a court battle to seize three London homes worth £80m from the family of a Kazakh government official. The High Court today dismissed the NCA’s attempt to use unexplained wealth orders (UWO) to seize the homes in Hampstead, Highgate and Chelsea. In her judgment Justice Lang [...]
Coronavirus: An economic evolution, not revolution April 8, 2020 The COVID-19 pandemic is the defining event for a generation and though its long-term effects remain uncertain, it is fair to say the ‘new normal’ we will return to will be significantly different to that we left. However, change was afoot long before the pandemic altered the way companies think, assess risk and manage their [...]
Easyjet accused of spending £600m of taxpayer money on Airbus deal April 8, 2020 Easyjet founder Sir Stelios Haji-Ioannou has once again lashed out at the firm, saying the carrier’s receipt of £600m in loans from the government “could be the biggest scandal in British corporate history”. The Greek-Cypriot businessman has pressured Easyjet’s board to scrap a £4.5bn order for 107 new planes from Airbus. Haji-Ioannou believes cancelling the [...]
Coronavirus: What does entertaining look like in a post-pandemic world? April 8, 2020 What will life be like after the Coronavirus? What will restaurants be like? What kind of holidays will we have? Who will be going to concerts? I’m pretty sure it’s not what you expect… how do I know? Well, at Ten Group – the world’s most successful lifestyle concierge service (“TENG” on the London Stock [...]
Coronavirus: Global airlines warn that up to 25m jobs at risk April 7, 2020 Aviation industry body the International Air Transport Association has said that up to 25m jobs could be at risk due to the global slump in travel as a result of the coronavirus outbreak. According to IATA chief executive Alexandre de Juniac, worldwide demand has slumped 70 per cent due to the crisis, with the figure [...]
Wework sues Softbank over scrapped $3bn tender offer April 7, 2020 Wework’s special committee is suing Softbank over the Japanese investment giant’s decision to abandon a $3bn (£2.4bn) share purchase, the company confirmed today. Softbank, which holds a controlling stake in Wework, agreed to the tender offer last year as part of a dramatic rescue plan, but withdrew citing the coworking firm’s failure to meet “certain [...]
Wellcome Trust urges firms to donate £6bn to medical coronavirus fight April 7, 2020 Health research charity the Wellcome Trust has urged big businesses to donate £6.4bn ($8bn) to fund treatments, testing and vaccine development to fight coronavirus. Coronavirus has now infected more than 1.3m people around the world and killed more than 74,000. The World Health Organization has urged countries to ramp up testing. Countries are scrambling to [...]
Easyjet founder threatens to sue bosses over Airbus contract April 7, 2020 Easyjet founder Sir Stelios Haji-Ioannou has threatened to sue the company’s board as the spat over a £4.5bn order of planes from Airbus rumbles on. The Greek-Cypriot businessman told the Telegraph that if any of the £300m the airline has spent in the last three weeks has gone to Airbus, “I will sue the directors [...]
Crypto A.M. shines its Spotlight on BABB April 7, 2020 BABB combines blockchain, database hybrid and a utility token to facilitate borderless P2P transactions, lower barriers to financial inclusion, make the world of Crypto accessible to everyone and open up a whole new channel for individual and charity fundraisers. When BABB founder Rushd Averroës arrived in the U.K he was unable to get a bank [...]