Visa to buy London payments firm Currencycloud for £700m July 22, 2021 Visa has inked a deal to buy London payments group Currencycloud in the latest move by a US buyer to swoop on the booming British tech sector. The financial services giant today said the deal builds on an existing partnership between the companies and values Currencycloud at £700m inclusive of cash and retention incentives. However, [...]
London-listed UDG Healthcare agrees £2.8bn takeover deal June 29, 2021 London-listed private healthcare business UDG has agreed a takeover deal after its US buyer hiked its offer to £2.8bn. Private equity group Clayton, Dubilier & Rice had tabled a £2.6bn offer in May, but some shareholders branded the bid “opportunistic”. Clayton, Dubilier & Rice, which is bidding through affiliate Nenelite, today unveiled an increased and [...]
Cobham puts top secret defence rival Ultra Electronics in its sights June 26, 2021 British aerospace giant Cobham has set its sights on the engineering company behind some of the UK’s most critical military equipment, paving the way for a potential hostile takeover bid. The defence group, which itself was taken over by US private equity firm Advent International in a £4bn deal last year, said it was considering [...]
Sainsbury’s to enforce masks and shopping alone in Covid crackdown January 11, 2021 Sainsbury’s has become the second British supermarket to ban customers who refuse to wear a face mask amid a crackdown on Covid rulebreakers. The chain said shoppers will be prevented from entering without a face mask, while shopping in groups will also be banned. Sainsbury’s will put trained security guards at the front of stores [...]
Mon dieu! France recalls US and Australia ambassadors as £30bn submarine row heats up September 18, 2021 France has taken the dramatic step of recalling its ambassadors to the United States and Australia in the worsening row over their nuclear submarine deal. French foreign minister Jean-Yves Le Drian said the “exceptional decision” was justified by the “exceptional gravity” of the actions of the two Western allies. It followed the announcement earlier this [...]
Johnson: UK, US and Australia nuclear submarine deal creates ‘inseparable’ partnership September 16, 2021 Boris Johnson has hailed the newly signed UK and US agreement to build Australian nuclear submarines as creating an “inseparable” partnership, which will “accelerate” the creation of a range of cyber and AI-based defence systems. Johnson told MPs today that the agreement will enhance “security” and ensure “regional stability” in the Indo-Pacific in thinly veiled [...]
Covid restrictions drive online food shopping to record high as customers eat in to help out February 2, 2021 Online grocery shopping hit a record 14 per cent share of the UK grocery market in January, as customers bought more food to enjoy from home. The growth was boosted by a 229 per cent year-on-year rise in online spending by retired households. Supermarkets saw sales growth accelerate to 12.2 per cent in the last [...]
Asda beats competitors to become fastest growing Big Four supermarket for first time in more than two years April 27, 2021 Asda beat its competitors to become the fastest growing of the biggest UK supermarkets for the first time in more than two years as consumers ventured further for their food shopping. The latest data showed Asda, which was recently sold by US retail giant Walmart to the Issa brothers and TDR Capital, increased its market [...]
Tesco is trying to give quick delivery apps a run for their money May 26, 2021 Tesco is set to launch a new rapid delivery service which will allow the supermarket giant to shuttle orders to customers doorsteps in less than an hour. The supermarket chain will first trial the Whoosh delivery service at its Wolverhampton Willenhall Express store – assessing its potential for a wider rollout. It said that the [...]
City Moves: Who’s switching jobs in the Square Mile this week? May 19, 2021 City A.M.‘s Millie Turner provides a roundup of the most important hires and job moves across the City, every Wednesday afternoon. Email citymoves@cityam.com to be featured. Ex Co-op CEO joins Boomin’s board Property site Boomin has bagged itself a retail veteran this week, who is set to join the board as a non-executive director at its next [...]