Thames Water launches £3bn emergency fundraising drive October 25, 2024 Thames Water has launched a £3bn fundraising drive to help pay off some of the struggling utility’s large debt pile. The water company has just £500m in cash, and hopes the new money will extend its ability to function for at least another year. Thames Water said today that the money will allow the firm [...]
CMA launches merger inquiry into Alphabet and Anthropic partnership October 24, 2024 Britain's competition watchdog has opened a merger inquiry into Alphabet's partnership with artificial intelligence (AI) safety start-up Anthropic.
Labour must iron out the kinks in its industrial strategy October 15, 2024 Labour's draft industrial strategy is a good start, but there are a few tensions that need to be resolved, Chris Dorrell writes
TSB Bank handed huge fine for failing customers in arrears October 10, 2024 The financial watchdog has fined bank TSB almost £11m over its treatment of customers, but the penalty could have been even worse. TSB Bank will have to pay £10,910,500 after the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) found it had failed to ensure customers in arrears were treated fairly. The FCA said it also didn’t have sufficient [...]
Leading with insight: Geradin Partners corners trend in competition law October 7, 2024 When trying to "shake things up" in the competition legal market, who better than someone who spent over seven years as a legal director for the regulator
Barratt Redrow merger given greenlight by competition watchdog October 4, 2024 The competition watchdog has given its final clearance for the merger of housebuilders Barratt and Redrow. The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) launched an investigation into the proposed £2.5bn deal in June after it was first announced in February. The deal was completed in August without regulatory approval after the CMA suggested there were reasonable grounds to believe [...]
Future of Fintech – Saudi sets out to lead the next fintech revolution October 4, 2024 Saudi fintech is firing on all cylinders as the country sets out to compete on the global stage with the likes of Silicon Valley and Singapore. With digital transformation taking hold across Saudi Arabia’s financial system and beyond, fintech is currently one of the fastest growing industries in the Saudi economy. Crucially, local companies are [...]
Tesco ups guidance after first-half performance ‘exceeds expectations’ October 3, 2024 Supermarket giant Tesco has upped its profit guidance following another strong period of trading for the UK’s biggest grocer. Tesco increased its retail adjusted operating profit guidance to £2.9bn, from £2.8bn, after it “delivered volume growth ahead of expectations”. Continuing sales at the grocer grew 3.5 per cent in the 26 weeks ended 24 August [...]
Vodafone and Three hit back at regulator’s concerns in merger battle September 30, 2024 Vodafone and Three have pushed back against the regulator’s concerns over their proposed £15bn merger, insisting that “outstanding issues can be resolved,” following the latest findings from the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA). In a response published today, the telecom firms said they “remain confident” in the deal, which would combine two of the UK’s [...]
CVS: Vet probe weighs on profit but fundamentals ‘strong’ September 26, 2024 Veterinary group CVS has said that a competition probe into the vet sector, plus cost of living pressures and a cyber attack, negatively affected its performance over the last year. The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) launched a formal probe into the sector in May. CVS shares plunged 20 per cent after the announcement, and [...]