New York Stock Exchange owner ICE told to sell London-based Trayport by UK competition watchdog October 17, 2016 The UK’s competition watchdog has ruled that US company Intercontinental Exchange (ICE) must sell London-based commodities trading software house Trayport. ICE, the owner of the New York Stock Exchange, bought Trayport last December for $650m (£534m), beating rival CME Group to the deal. Read more: ICE questions UK competition watchdog concerns over Trayport takeover In [...]
CMA urges European Commission to force Three or O2 sell-off before approving Telefonica-Hutchison 3G merger April 11, 2016 The head of the CMA has written to the European Commission, warning that the merger between Hutchison 3G and Telefonica would create "a significant impediment to effective competition" in the British telecoms market. The £10.25bn deal, which was agreed in March 2015, has been undergoing a lengthy probe by the European Commission. In January Ofcom came out against [...]
Competition, not price caps, is the solution to lowering Britain’s energy bills March 10, 2017 Recent weeks have seen the cost of energy bills climbing up the news and political agenda, as suppliers large and small have imposed eye-watering hikes to their standard variable tariffs. To date, four of the Big Six (EDF, E.On, Scottish Power and Npower) and several smaller suppliers have announced rises of up to 15 per [...]
A third of working families struggling to pay energy bills despite three-year price freeze, uSwitch finds November 17, 2016 Almost 4m households, or one in three working families, are already struggling to pay their energy bills this winter despite there being no major price hikes for three years, according to new research. Half of working families are planning to cut their energy use this winter so they can afford their bills, energy price comparison [...]
British Gas owner Centrica returns to growth in 2016, but profit in its UK home arm drops February 23, 2017 British Gas owner Centrica today said it swung back to profit growth in 2016, but profit in its UK homes business dropped. The figures Britain's largest energy supplier said group operating profit rose four per cent to £1.52bn in the year to the end of December. However, operating profit for its UK home supplying business fell eight per [...]
Pass the popcorn: Competition watchdog considers AMC takeover of Odeon cinemas October 19, 2016 The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has launched an inquiry into AMC Theatres’ acquisition of Odeon. AMC agreed a £921m deal to buy Odeon from private equity group Terra Firma Capital Partners in July. Read more: AMC Theatres set to buy Odeon cinema chain in £921m deal The CMA today announced the launch of an [...]
The Treasury is to host challenger bank bosses for a post-Brexit summit October 9, 2016 Challenger bank bosses will head to Whitehall tomorrow to lobby the Treasury for better treatment for small institutions. In their first talks since the UK's Brexit vote, lenders will meet City minister Simon Kirby today. According to Sky News, bosses from banks including Aldermore, OneSavings Bank, Secure Trust Bank and Shawbrook will all attend. The banks [...]
Competition and Markets Authority to investigate price comparison websites September 29, 2016 The UK's competition watchdog is launching a wholesale review into price comparison websites to investigate how they make their money and whether they really do help consumers get the best deals. The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) announced the review this morning – the latest in a long-line of high-profile probes the body has conducted including [...]
Nisa bags a nicer Christmas trading period January 4, 2017 Convenience store chain and wholesaler Nisa Retail bagged a sales boost in the lead-up to Christmas, with like-for-like sales increasing 2.2 per cent. Total sales grew 2.7 per cent in the 10 weeks to the 1 January, reaching £235.6m, as compared to £229.5m during the same period last year. Read more: Christmas come early: CMA [...]
Mastercard’s £700m Vocalink deal raises competition concerns with watchdog January 4, 2017 Mastercard's £700m deal for Vocalink has raised concerns over competition in the payments infrastructure business with the market watchdog. Owned by a collective of 18 banks, including Barclays, Santander, Lloyds, Royal Bank of Scotland and HSBC, Vocalink provides the infrastructure for many payments in Britain such as Bacs and the Faster Payments Service as well as the Link ATM network. Concerns have [...]