Ryanair loses legal battle against Condor bailout funding May 18, 2022 Ryanair has lost its legal battle to have bailout funding provided by the EU to German charter airline Condor ruled unlawful. The EU’s General Court said today the aid package was legitimate and that Ryanair failed to demonstrate the European Commission had mishandled funds when bailing the charter airline out. “The applicant did not succeed [...]
Exclusive: UK business loans written off by banks almost double to £356m as insolvencies quadruple May 16, 2022 The value of UK business loans written off by banks nearly doubled in the last quarter of 2021, rising 87% from £190m in the third quarter to £356m in the fourth quarter. Debt advisors told City A.M. this afternoon that write offs of loans have been subdued throughout the Covid crisis but are now rising [...]
OakNorth boss Rishi Khosla is braced for the next economic crisis May 13, 2022 Rishi Khosla has become rather used to dealing with economic crises over the past seven years.
Investment group backed by ex-Tesco boss probed over allegations of £2m Covid loan misuse May 11, 2022 We Are Nova, a start-up investment group with support from ex-Tesco chief Sir Terry Leahy, is being probed over claims it misused Covid loans. According to The Times newspaper, companies associated with We Are Nova netted almost £2m through the government’s bounce back loan scheme. However, the firms did not seem to be eligible for [...]
Sanjeev Gupta’s GFG Alliance faces bankruptcy fight after Credit Suisse leaves the table May 10, 2022 Sanjeev Gupta’s GFG Alliance faces the prospect of bankruptcy after its main creditor, Credit Suisse, exited negotiations with the steel business over repayment of its debts. GFG Alliance is set to face an insolvency hearing next week after Credit Suisse, pulled out of settlement negotiations, the Financial Times first reported. Under UK laws, creditors can [...]
Morrisons fends off Issa brothers’ EG Group in battle for McColl’s May 9, 2022 Morrisons has emerged victorious against EG Group in gaining control over McColl’s Retail Group, it has been reported. The supermarket giant had upped its offer to snap up the beleaguered newsagent operator after a last minute battle with the Issa brothers’ EG Group. According to Sky News, the chain beat down its competition after making [...]
EG Group swoops in to save collapsing convenience chain McColl’s as thousands of jobs remain at risk May 6, 2022 McColl’s had been placed under administration of accounting and consulting firm PriceWaterhouseCoopers, after failing to get the short-term funding to stay afloat. In an announcement this afternoon, the company said: “In order to protect creditors, preserve the future of the business and to protect the interests of employees, the Board was regrettably therefore left with no [...]
Chelsea facing administration unless Roman Abramovich drops plans to call in £1.5bn debt May 4, 2022 Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich will likely have to drop plans to call in his £1.5bn loan to the club or see it go into administration. Abramovich is reported to have scrapped an apparent previous commitment to write off the debt as part of the sale of the club. The sanctioned Russian oligarch is not allowed [...]
City Moves: Who’s switching jobs in the Square Mile? May 4, 2022 City A.M.’s Millie Turner provides a roundup of the most important hires and job moves across the City, every morning. Email citymoves@cityam.com to be featured. Volterra Fietta Law firm Volterra Fietta has hired a new partner in London, who previously represented Egypt in a case related to Al Jazeera. Gunjan Sharma, who stepped into the role at the beginning of the month, [...]
Tennis legend Boris Becker jailed: The dramatic rise and fall of a world champion April 30, 2022 A dramatic fall from grace for tennis legend Boris Becker, as he was jailed for two-and-a-half years yesterday for trying to hide £2.5m in assets and loans. As Becker starts his prison sentence, City A.M. zooms in on the turbulent and colourful life of the three-time Wimbledon champion. Boris Franz Becker was born in Leimen, [...]