Investment firms circle for embattled NMC Health February 10, 2020 Shares in embattled hospital operator NMC Health rose 32.31 per cent today after the firm received a multiple approaches regarding a potential takeover from investment firms including KKR. The group, which runs hospitals in the Middle East, said that the offers were “highly preliminary” and that there could be “no certainty that any offer will [...]
The government must recognise that the BBC is invaluable to ‘Brand Britain’ February 10, 2020 Perhaps it was always inevitable that an organisation defined by its impartiality would be surrounded by politics. The BBC’s licence fee is in the news once again as the government looks to culture secretary Nicky Morgan to review how the corporation should be funded once the current charter ends in 2027. At the heart of [...]
Audioboom shares surge as it confirms possible sale February 10, 2020 Podcasting platform Audioboom has confirmed recent speculation it is looking to sell the company, sending shares soaring today. The company’s board released a statement this morning to confirm New York-based Raine Advisors was advising the company to help them “deliver maximum value for its shareholders”. It added: “Raine will provide advice and assistance to the [...]
Number of dawn raids carried out by HMRC falls February 10, 2020 The number of dawn raids carried out by Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs (HMRC) fell last year, according to new data. HMRC raided 1,082 homes and businesses as part of criminal investigations into tax evasion in the year to 31 March. This represents a 27 per cent fall from the previous year when HMRC carried [...]
UK consumers abandon high street for retail parks and shopping centres February 10, 2020 Consumers abandoned the high street in favour of retail parks and shopping centres last month, as landlords’ investments start to pay off. Footfall fell 0.5 per cent in the five weeks to 25 January compared to a drop of 0.7 per cent last year, driven by a 1.4 per cent jump in retail park visitors. [...]
Sajid Javid weighing up tax raid on high earners February 8, 2020 Sajid Javid is considering a tax raid on higher earners in his March budgets to help fund Boris Johnson’s plan to “level up” the economy. The chancellor is said to be committed to making the tax system “fair and efficient”. Insiders have told the Financial Times, Javid is weighing up reforms that would hit the [...]
Sir Charlie Bean: Forget Brexit – the UK productivity crisis is a threat to capitalism February 8, 2020 Brexit has dominated conversations about the UK economy in recent years, just as it has hung over almost everything else. But over the last week or so, the country’s festering productivity crisis has come to the fore, with the Bank of England downgrading its growth predictions and studies describing the worst decade for productivity expansion [...]
Tidjane Thiam’s resignation signifies perfect PR storm for Credit Suisse February 7, 2020 The shock resignation of Tidjane Thiam is a leadership clusterbuster. Over the last three years, Credit Suisse have had numerous opportunities to move on from the embarrassing series of revelations that have dogged their leadership. The resignation of their CEO will do very little to dispel the image of a toxic culture at the top. [...]
City Moves for 7 February – Who’s switching jobs at Ceres Power, Acin and BDO? February 7, 2020 Today’s City Moves includes Ceres Power, Acin and BDO Ceres Power UK-based engineering firm Ceres Power has announced the appointment of Warren Finegold as non-executive director. Warren has more than 30 years’ experience in the industry. As head of the technology team at UBS Investment Bank, Warren was one of Vodafone’s principal mergers and acquisitions [...]
High street toasts strong start to 2020 as sales jump to six-year high February 7, 2020 Retailers hailed the best in-store sales figures for six years last month, as the end of the Brexit deadlock sparked a surge in consumer confidence. Like-for-like sales at physical stores increased 5.7 per cent in January from a base of minus 0.2 in 2019, following the “worst year on record” for retailers. Bricks and mortar [...]