Mark Carney: Ex BoE chief’s Brookfield set to win Network bidding war as £2.2bn offer backed by board Bidding war FTSE 250 Network International has agreed a £2.2bn takeover offer from Canadian private equity giant Brookfield, becoming the latest in a string of listed firms to be taken private. Brookfield, which is headed by former Bank of England governor Mark Carney, will pay 400 pence per share representing a 64 per cent premium to Network’s [...]
BT boss Jansen bags £1.8m bonus as group plans to slash workforce BT BT has revealed its boss took home a £1.8m bonus last year as the telecoms giant plans to shed up to 55,000 jobs by the end of the decade. Philip Jansen, the group’s chief executive, secured the annual bonus despite the firm’s sweeping cost-cutting plans raising the alarm among unions. He bagged the £1.8m in [...]
Standard Chartered to cut around 100 jobs worldwide as bank seeks to cut costs by $1bn – reports Banking layoffs Standard Chartered is laying off employees across Singapore, Hong Kong and London following a series of cuts across the sector in recent months. According to Bloomberg News, the bank could cut over 100 employees although it is yet to determine a final number. In Asia, roles have been cut in middle-office functions, like human resources [...]
MPs pile pressure on banks as savings offers lag interest rate hikes June 8, 2023 MPs said that lenders must “up their game” and pass on higher rates to savers as bank bosses responded to an inquiry on the “measly” rates on offer. The influential Treasury Committee pointed to low rates on offer for easy access accounts across the UK’s ‘scale challengers’, Nationwide, TSB, Virgin Money and Santander. According to [...]
FTSE 100 close: London indexes close lower over fears of further rate hikes and fragile housing market June 8, 2023 London’s main indexes closed lower on Thursday as investors feared further rate hikes and yet another report pointed to a gloomy future for the UKs’ housing market. The capital’s premier index fell 0.32 per cent to 7,599.74 points, while the domestically-focused mid-cap FTSE 250 index, which is more aligned with the health of the UK [...]
Capita to offload software businesses in efforts to strengthen its balance sheet June 8, 2023 Outsourcing firm Capita has agreed to sell its five software businesses for an enterprise value of £33m, as the group looks to strengthen its balance sheet and focus on its two core public service and experience divisions. The London listed firm said it hopes to receive cash proceeds of £44m on completion of the sale [...]
Housebuilder: Truss mini-budget bruised consumer confidence – and cost us sales June 8, 2023 Property developer Crest Nicholson has reported shrinking sales amid “rapidly” falling consumer confidence and rising borrowing costs, following the September mini-budget. The firm said its revenue fell by more than a fifth to £282.7 million in the six months to the end of April, from £364.3 million the prior year. The decline reflected economic uncertainty [...]
Vodafone and Three days away from announcing a UK merger June 7, 2023 Vodafone and the owner of Three network, CK Hutchison, will announce a long-anticipated merger that will see them become the UK’s biggest mobile operator, according to reports. Talks are now in the final stage and an announcement is expected “as soon as Friday or early next week”, according to reports from Reuters. The new company [...]
Insurance industry bosses push back at perceptions of ‘profiteering’ June 7, 2023 Insurance industry representatives have pushed back at perceptions that firms are “profiteering” during the cost of living crisis. Bosses appeared before MPs sitting on the Treasury Committee to answer questions about rising premiums. Labour MP Dame Angela Eagle put it to the insurance industry representatives: “There’s a perception out there that insurers are profiteering with [...]
Oil, gas and LNG drives Trafigura to record £4.4bn half-year profits June 7, 2023 Trafigura posted a record net profit of £4.4bn ($5.5bn) in the first half of its 2023 financial year that ended in March.