Energy supplier SSE reports profits drop amid “intense” competition May 18, 2016 Energy supplier SSE has seen its profits drop amid “intense retail market competition”. The figures The FTSE 100 company’s reported pre-tax profit was £593.3m for the year to 31 March, down 19.3 per cent from £735.2m. Adjusted pre-tax profits of £1.51bn were down from £1.56bn in 2015. Read more: SSE sells stake in its Scottish wind [...]
Digital challenger bank Mondo just got its banking licence August 11, 2016 Another new challenger bank has been given the green light by the financial regulator in an attempt to give the big banks a run for their money. Digital challenger Mondo, a smartphone-only app, has been granted a banking licence which gives it free-reign to offer customers the full range of services offered by the traditional high street banks – although it [...]
Is the proposed price cap for pre-pay customers an unwelcome intervention in the energy market? March 11, 2016 Tim Worstall, senior fellow of the Adam Smith Institute, and author of Chasing Rainbows: Economic Myths, Environmental Facts, says Yes. Of course the Competition and Markets Authority’s (CMA) intervention is unwelcome: any price fixing whenever would be. The entire point of a market economy is that prices change to balance supply and demand. Price fixing, by [...]
Ladbrokes and Gala Coral set for merger decision from watchdog May 16, 2016 A provisional decision is expected to be announced this week on the proposed merger between UK bookmakers Ladbrokes and Gala Coral. The merger, which was confirmed in a £2.3bn deal last July, would create the UK's largest bookie. The final decision on the merger, which will form new company Ladbrokes Coral, is still expected to be [...]
How one buccaneering family dominated the UK scampi market October 20, 2016 "At the tender age of 32, I got involved in buying assets from the receivership of what was the Whitby Shellfish Company”, says Graham Whittle, founder of Whitby Seafoods. From relatively humble beginnings, in just over thirty years, the business has gone from one that was sinking to the biggest producer of scampi in the UK, [...]
UK fintech funding has fallen – but don’t panic just yet August 18, 2016 Cash being ploughed into the UK's fintech startups fell in the latest quarter – but don't panic just yet. The value of funding declined by 12 per cent to $103m (£78.4m) in the second quarter of the year, however, the number of deals being done in one of the hottest sectors remained steady, the latest figures from KPMG and CB Insights [...]
Privatising the Land Registry sounds like a great idea – but this is why it’s not May 27, 2016 It not uncommon to read about government policy decisions and count yourself lucky that you’re not the one making them. But when it comes to the current debate over whether to privatise the Land Registry, while a good idea on the surface, rejecting this proposal should be a no-brainer. It may not be a conundrum on [...]
City Moves for 20 April 2016 | Who’s switching jobs April 20, 2016 Tungsten Corporation Global e-mail invoicing provider Tungsten Corporation has appointed Prabhat Vira as president of Tungsten Finance, the supply chain finance arm of the business. Prabhat has more than 30 years of global banking experience, and has held senior positions in banking businesses across the world including roles in London, New York, Amsterdam, Singapore and [...]
European watchdog set to rule on Three – O2 merger in coming weeks May 8, 2016 The European Commission is expected to make a decision in the next fortnight on whether to block the merger of mobile networks O2 and Three. There are concerns that Telefonica’s sale of O2 to Hutchison group in Hong Kong would impact competition, reducing the number of mobile operators in the UK from four to three [...]
Hollywood Bowl strikes for £280m London IPO June 15, 2016 Hollywood Bowl Group, the UK's largest 10-pin bowling operator, will float on the London Stock Exchange next month in a deal valuing it at around £280m. The group, which runs 54 bowling centres around the country, has been striving to modernise the popular pastime with Americana-themed diners, licensed bars and interactive scoring systems that "customers didn't even know they wanted". Steve [...]