Sports Direct trying to ‘drive Debenhams into administration’ September 2, 2019 Mike Ashley’s Sports Direct is backing a legal challenge against Debenhams’ restructuring plan to “drive it into administration so that it can pick up its assets on the cheap”, a court was told today. The sports retailer is backing a challenge brought by Combined Property Control Group (CPC), which represents the landlords of six Debenhams [...]
Coronavirus: F1 owner braces for £33m hit as Shanghai Grand Prix stalls February 16, 2020 Formula One has revealed that it risks losing its estimated $33m hosting fee for the Chinese Grand Prix if the authorities in Shanghai give the red light to the race over the coronavirus outbreak. The Chinese Grand Prix was due to take place in Shanghai in April but was postponed by F1 last week at the request [...]
Spanish retail billionaire zeroes in on £600m London building deal December 2, 2019 A Spanish retail billionaire who owns fashion chain Zara is close to acquiring a West End office block for £600m. Amancia Ortega, via his real estate investment vehicle Pontegadea, is set to acquire The Post Building a 320,000 sq ft development in an ex-Royal Mail sorting office on Museum Street in Holborn. A deal is [...]
Robert Tchenguiz drops multi-million pound legal action against Grant Thornton October 15, 2018 Property mogul Robert Tchenguiz today dropped his multi-million pound claim against Grant Thornton in a move described by the accountancy firm as "total capitulation". The flamboyant millionaire was due to give evidence at court today in a trial in which he accused the accountancy firm, two of its partners and former Kaupthing lawyer Johannes Runar [...]
Louis Theroux leaves BBC Studios to launch his own production company October 23, 2019 Louis Theroux has parted ways with BBC Studios to set up his own production company, sparking speculation that the documentary maker could be eyeing deals with streaming rivals. Theroux, who has worked with the broadcaster’s commercial arm for two decades, has set up a new firm called Mindhouse Productions alongside his executive producer Arron Fellows. [...]
Competition watchdog to probe £1.6bn One Savings Bank and Charter Court merger June 5, 2019 The competition watchdog has announced it is investigating the potential £1.6bn merger between One Savings Bank and Charter Court. The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) said it would assess whether the deal would lead to a “substantial lessening of competition” in the market. Read more: One Savings Bank and Charter Court announce terms of £1.6bn [...]
Specialist lenders One Savings Bank and Charter Court both boost loan books ahead of merger May 15, 2019 Challenger banks One Savings Bank and Charter Court have both reported loan book growth ahead of their proposed merger. One Savings Bank reported five per cent loan book growth to £9.4bn in the first quarter of the year, due to strong commercial and residential lending. Read more: One Savings Bank and Charter Court confirm £1.6bn [...]
Sports business in 2019: Industry insiders pick the trends that defined the year December 15, 2019 Izzy Wray, consultant in Deloitte’s Sport Business Group Women’s football The growing popularity of women’s football has been one of the defining sports trends of 2019. The Women’s World Cup smashed TV audience records, with a reported 1bn people watching it worldwide and over 28m people tuning in to the tournament on the BBC. Numerous [...]
Airbus agrees to pay record €991m UK fine in €3.6bn global bribery settlement January 31, 2020 A London court today approved a record €991m (£833m) fine for Airbus in exchange for suspending the prosecution of alleged bribery. The deferred prosecution agreement (DPA) was part of a €3.6bn global deal agreed with prosecutors in the UK, US and France. Airbus has agreed to pay France €2.08bn and the US €525m to bring [...]
Specialist lender Paragon reports strong mortgage and commercial lending growth despite housing market slowdown May 22, 2019 Specialist lender Paragon reported a first-half profit boost with soaring commercial and mortgage lending volumes in the face of Brexit uncertainty. The bank reported an underlying profits boost of 8.7 per cent to £79.8m in the six months to the end of March. Read more: Paragon boosts lending in buy-to-let and commercial divisions Lending volumes [...]