Ministers commission review of markets competition February 5, 2020 Ministers have launched a review into the effectiveness of competition in the British economy. Chancellor Sajid Javid and business secretary Andrea Leadsom have commissioned the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) to provide evidence on areas where competition is failing. In a letter to the competition regulator’s chief executive Andrea Coscelli, the ministers said the current [...]
CMA approves £1.2bn Stonegate pub merger deal February 14, 2020 The owner of Slug & Lettuce has today been cleared to takeover Ei Group in a move that would make it the UK’s largest pub company. Last year the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) launched a probe into Stonegate’s £1.2bn deal to buy Ei’s assets over fears that it could damage competition in 51 local [...]
Competition watchdog clears Bauer’s regional radio takeover March 12, 2020 The competition watchdog today cleared Bauer Media’s acquisition of dozens of regional radio stations after the media giant agreed to match advertising terms. Bauer last year snapped up almost 50 stations from Celador, Lincs FM, Wireless and UKRD. This included a 50 per cent stake in First Radio Sales Limited, which runs more than 100 [...]
Government working with supermarkets to ensure self-isolating coronavirus patients can be supplied with food March 6, 2020 The government is working with supermarkets to make sure people self-isolating due to coronavirus can still be supplied with food, the health minister said yesterday. Responding to an audience member concerned about possible food shortages in a coronavirus epidemic on BBC’s Question Time Matt Hancock said there was absolutely no need” for people to buy [...]
Dignity shares plunge as it suspends dividend March 11, 2020 Funeral company Dignity’s shares plummeted today as it continued the suspension of its dividend following a 31 per cent drop in underlying pre-tax profit to £37.7m for 2019. That fell short of an expected £38.7m to send Dignity’s shares crashing 23 per cent to 385.8p. The UK’s only listed funeral provider said fewer people dying [...]
Heathrow airfares to rise as CAA confirms interim price cap December 16, 2021 The UK Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) has written to Heathrow, confirming the £30.19 interim price cap the airport can charge its airline customers will take effect from 1 January. According to the CAA, the charge will be £29.50 in 2020 prices, going up to £30.19 – a 50 per cent increase compared with the current [...]
Competition watchdog tells Viagogo and Stubhub to pause merger February 10, 2020 The UK’s competition watchdog has told ticket resale websites Viagogo and Ebay’s Stubhub to pause any integration of the two businesses while it probes their $4.1bn (£3.2bn) merger. In an enforcement order published today, the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) banned the two firms from taking any action which might “lead to the integration of [...]
CMA provisionally clears Amazon’s £442m Deliveroo investment over coronavirus April 17, 2020 A UK watchdog today provisionally cleared Amazon’s massive £442m investment into Deliveroo due to the risk the food delivery firm faces from coronavirus. The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) called the situation “wholly unprecedented” but said the cash was “realistically only available from Amazon”. Deliveroo has seen a significant decline in revenues from the UK [...]
CMA sets out the issues in Amazon’s Deliveroo investment January 28, 2020 The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has today laid out plans for the next stage of its investigation into the Amazon and Deliveroo tie-up. The regulator has set out the key areas it plans to assess. It includes whether the deal could damage competition in the online restaurant food delivery market and the emerging market [...]
Babcock sells off helicopter business for £10m September 1, 2021 Babcock, the British defence and engineering business, has sold off its helicopter operations branch for £10m after purchasing it for £1.6bn in 2014. The Group’s Aviation sector, which is being purchased by CHC group, provides offshore oil and gas crew transportation services in the UK, Denmark and Australia. Babcock said that its divestment from oil [...]