CMA launches probe into Future’s TI Media merger January 20, 2020 The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) announced today that it is investigating whether Future’s proposed acquisition of TI Media could harm competition. In October 2019, the publisher said it planned to acquire magazine printer TI Media, which owns popular titles Country Life and Marie Claire, for £140m in cash. The CMA said it was considering [...]
DEBATE: Is there any point to the World Economic Forum in Davos? January 20, 2020 Is there any point to the World Economic Forum in Davos? Ella Robertson, managing director of One Young World, says YES. Now in its fiftieth year, it might look like business as usual at the World Economic Forum. But with public scrutiny mounting every year, the pressure to keep the mountain air-induced rhetoric real is [...]
Exclusive: EY plans major private equity push as audit reform looms over sector January 19, 2020 Big Four firm EY is planning a major private equity push as it grapples with potential regulatory changes that could dramatically alter the face of the firm, City A.M. can reveal. Its transaction advisory division is understood to be looking to boost its capabilities in the private equity sector, with the goal of winning more [...]
Netflix shows to remain on Sky after media firms ink new multi-year content deal January 19, 2020 Sky today said it has signed a new multi-year agreement with Netflix to keep the US streaming service’s programming on its pay-TV network. The two companies said the extended deal builds on a “successful partnership built over the past two years”, with Sky customers already able to access Netflix hits such as Sex Education through [...]
How to start your own business in 2020 January 17, 2020 As many of us embark on our new year’s resolutions to eat less and get fit, a good 20 per cent of us will be making plans to start a business. According to Companies House, 2019 was a record year for UK company registrations. An incredible 678,288 new businesses were registered. This is part of [...]
Ostrich shops need to stop blaming the high street and step up January 16, 2020 Stories of failing retailers seem to be as regularly in the news as Brexit or Harry and Meghan. And when we read about them, it’s usually accompanied by lamentation that the state of the high street is to blame. Just this week, City A.M. reported that department store Beales is facing collapse. Its chief executive [...]
What does the future hold for Lotus? CEO Phil Popham on the classic marque’s direction January 14, 2020 Last summer, I boarded a red Routemaster bus for a London sightseeing tour. Along with a handful of British hacks, the top deck was crammed with Chinese journalists and social media stars, many armed with selfie sticks. Our final stop was the Royal Horticultural Halls near Victoria, where the Lotus Evija would be revealed. The [...]
Ex-Persimmon boss Jeff Fairburn appointed CEO of Yorkshire housebuilder January 14, 2020 The former boss of Persimmon Jeff Fairburn, who left the housebuilder in 2018 following controversy over his £75m bonus, has been appointed as chief executive of another development firm. Fairburn has taken on the chief executive role at Yorkshire housebuilder Berkeley DeVeer after buying a 50 per cent stake in the firm. Read more: Persimmon [...]
Boohoo hikes guidance after ‘record’ quarter January 14, 2020 Boohoo raised its full-year guidance this morning as it reported record trading during the final quarter of last year. The online fashion retailer’s shares jumped more than five per cent after it announced group revenue in the four months to 31 December was £473.7m, an increase of 44 per cent compared to the same period [...]
US officials provide UK with fresh data ahead of Huawei decision January 13, 2020 Senior US officials made a last-minute plea to Boris Johnson today to keep Huawei out of Britain’s telecoms network, warning that allowing the Chinese firm to remain involved would be “nothing short of madness”. A dossier was presented by a US delegation to the UK that officials told media outlets included new technical information that [...]