Epiris raises £821m for first fund and targets UK-based businesses October 3, 2018 Private equity firm Epiris has closed its first fund, raising £821m, and said it wanted to add to its acquisitions of auction house Bonhams and Time Inc's UK operations. The London-based group said the fund's strategy was to target UK-headquartered businesses with an enterprise value of between £75m and £500m – deploying up to £150m [...]
Topps Tiles shares go through the roof as full-year profits race ahead of expectations October 3, 2018 Topps Tiles shares are soaring ahead this morning after it said pre-tax profits for the year would be at the top end of market expectations. Shares in the tiling business rose as much as 11 per cent and are now are trading 10 per cent higher. A trading update said adjusted revenues for the 52 weeks up [...]
Will Britain Lead the 4th Industrial Revolution? October 2, 2018 With the USA in isolationist mode, if not paralysis, who will lead the west, post-Brexit and as we enter the full flood of what the World Economic Forum’s Klaus Schwab dubbed The Fourth Industrial Revolution: “The possibilities of billions of people connected by mobile devices, with unprecedented processing power, storage capacity, and access to knowledge, [...]
Blockchain and the Future of Humanity: Economy. Environment. Ethics October 2, 2018 Crypto Challenge Forum is the world’s major industry event. It will take place on 28-30 October 2018 at the iconic Central Hall Westminster, London, connecting global thought leaders, policy makers, investors and startups from across the world for a three-day top content event. It will be attended by industry leaders, think tanks, institutional and private [...]
Rail regulator appoints interim CEO to replace government-bound boss October 2, 2018 The rail regulator has appointed an internal candidate as chief executive to replace its outgoing boss Joanna Whittington, who is to take up a position in government. The Office for Road and Rail (ORR), which recently carried out a review into the disastrous May timetable upgrade, has appointed John Larkinson, its current director of railway markets [...]
City watchdog boss rejects calls for financial services deregulation post-Brexit October 2, 2018 The chair of the Financial Conduct Authority today said that the City regulator will not engage in a “race to the bottom” after Brexit in a bid to preserve the UK’s position among global financial centres. Charles Randell said calls for deregulation from some quarters of the financial sector show that “some memories are beginning [...]
Foreign secretary Jeremy Hunt backpedals on ‘Soviet prison’ comments about EU October 2, 2018 Jeremy Hunt, the foreign secretary, has backtracked on comments he made about the European Union in which he compared the group to the Soviet Union. Hunt provoked condemnation and mockery on Sunday, after he said the EU risked becoming like a Soviet “prison” because of its negotiation stance on Britain’s exit from the EU. Read [...]
Senior Barclays adviser elected as 691st Lord Mayor of the City October 1, 2018 Senior adviser to Barclays, Peter Estlin, has been elected as the 691st Lord of Mayor of the City of London. Estlin, who will take a sabbatical from his role with the bank, will succeed Charles Bowman on 9 November for a one-year term. The elected head of the City of London Corporation will act as [...]
New homes: Our pick of the new builds and conversions going on sale in London this weekend September 28, 2018 New developments on the market this week Lime Quarter, Bromley-by-Bow From £300,000 Help to Buy homes are going on sale next to Devons Road DLR. The first 10 homes launched last night with one and two bedroom apartments available to purchase through the government’s equity loan scheme. Overall, there will be 130 homes, including three [...]
Editor’s Notes: The Tories face a huge challenge, but they must take the fight to Corbyn September 28, 2018 Having observed the Labour party conference from a safe distance I’ll be travelling to Birmingham on Sunday to soak up the atmosphere at the annual Tory gathering. My first port of call will be speaking at a dinner hosted by City comms firm Cicero, where I shall sing for my supper and offer a [...]