China shifts investment focus from North America to Europe July 16, 2018 China is shifting its investment focus away from North America and onto Europe, as trade policies and political change force a shift in East-West relations. In the first six months of 2018, foreign direct investment (FDI) from China into Europe reached $22bn ($16.63bn), compared with just $2.5bn in North America. In the first six months [...]
Angling Direct records 21 per cent rise in H1 sales October 7, 2019 The UK’s largest fishing retailer Angling Direct has defied High Street trends by recording a significant rise in first-half sales. Angling Direct recorded £26.6m of sales in the six months to September, which represented a 21 per cent annual increase. Read more: Angling Direct pushes ahead with expansion plans This was underpinned by a 41 [...]
Struggling care home group Four Seasons gets breathing space as it finally agrees a payment standstill with hedge fund creditor H/2 December 14, 2017 Struggling care home group Four Seasons has finally agreed an interest payment standstill with H/2 Capital Partners, the hedge fund which owns most of its debt. The agreement comes not a day too soon, as a £26m interest payment was due tomorrow which Four Seasons warned it could not pay. Today’s deal will give the [...]
Terra Firma urges hedge fund H/2 to let it wash its hands of Four Seasons care homes December 4, 2017 Private equity firm Terra Firma has urged the hedge fund bondholder of Four Seasons care homes to take the group off its hands, accepting that it will make a loss. In a statement today, Terra Firma asked H/2 – which is Four Seasons’ largest creditor – to accept its stake in the 343-strong ailing care [...]
Five key takeaways from the FRC’s audit sector report October 8, 2018 The Financial Reporting Council (FRC), the audit sector’s watchdog, released its annual Developments in Audit report yesterday, outlining key challenges faced in the sector and assessing the current state of the profession. Audit is under close scrutiny at the moment, as politicians and regulators look closely at the dominance of the Big Four audit firms Deloitte, [...]
Transferwise backer venture capital firm Draper Esprit sees its value soar amid new blockchain investments and climbing company valuations | City A.M. April 16, 2018 Tech-focused venture capital firm Draper Esprit announced this morning that the value of its portfolio has more than doubled over the past year, to £244m. The firm, which has invested in businesses such as customer review site Trustpilot and indirectly backs fintech “unicorn” Transferwise, put the increase down to £71m of new investments and a [...]
House prices in Bethnal Green: Shoreditch’s loss is Bethnal Green’s gain as professionals flee high house prices in E1 | City A.M. July 16, 2018 There was a time when Bethnal Green lived up to its rural-sounding name. It was actually a prosperous area in the 19th century, with large houses and gardens. Originally called Bethan Hall Green, the name was changed to align with local Cockney pronounciation which dropped the ‘h’. By the 19th century, Bethnal Green became one [...]
Apple, Google and Microsoft top list of the 100 most valuable brands September 25, 2017 Apple and Google have once again take the two top spots in a list of the world’s 100 most valuable brands, according to rankings by consultancy group Interbrand. Five UK firms made into into the 2017 best global brands list. These were Burberry, HSBC, Land Rover, Smirnoff and Johnnie Walker. This is the fifth consecutive [...]
These are the world’s 50 most valuable brands of 2017 September 25, 2017 Apple and Google have once again take the two top spots in a list of the world’s 100 most valuable brands, according to rankings by consultancy group Interbrand. Five UK firms made into into the 2017 best global brands list. These were Burberry, HSBC, Land Rover, Smirnoff and Johnnie Walker. This is the fifth consecutive [...]
Brexit live: MPs to vote on May’s withdrawal agreement tomorrow March 28, 2019 Welcome to our Brexit live blog. Please manually refresh this page for the latest updates. Follow this page throughout the day for the latest Brexit news as the world reacts to yet another day of deadlock in parliament. MPs failed to reach a majority last night on a series of indicative votes intended to provide an [...]