Arqiva’s £2bn telecoms takeover cleared by competition watchdog April 22, 2020 A £2bn takeover of Arqiva’s telecoms infrastructure division by Spanish rival Cellnex has been cleared by the competition watchdog. The merger, which agreed in October, will make Cellnex the largest independent operator of mobile masts in the UK, adding roughly 7,400 sites to its portfolio. The deal will also give the Spanish firm rights to [...]
Watchdog launches investigation into Amazon’s Deliveroo investment October 16, 2019 The competition watchdog has launched a probe into Amazon’s investment in food delivery app Deliveroo. The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) today said it would investigate whether Amazon’s investment would “result in a substantial lessening of competition”. The e-commerce giant led a $575m funding round in Deliveroo in May. Read more: CMA puts brakes on [...]
Competition watchdog suspends legal action against ticket reseller Viagogo September 5, 2019 The competition watchdog has suspended court action against Viagogo, saying the ticket resale site had addressed its concerns about how key information was presented to customers. The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) had launched legal proceedings against Viagogo for contempt of court after the firm allegedly failed to comply with an earlier court order. Read [...]
Stonegate takeover of pub chain Ei Group ‘may raise prices’ at local boozers December 6, 2019 A £1.3bn merger between Slug and Lettuce owner Stonegate and pub chain Ei Group may lead to higher prices in some local areas, the competition watchdog has warned. The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) today said that the deal, which would create the country’s largest pub group, did not raise competition concerns on a UK-wide [...]
Paddy Power-owner Flutter says revenue resilient despite sport shutdown April 17, 2020 Paddy Power Betfair’s parent company Flutter today said its revenue had not been hit as hard as expected by the shutdown in sport across the world because of coronavirus. In its results for the first quarter the gambling group said continued horse racing in Australia and the US meant that revenue decline had not been [...]
Finance chief becomes latest executive to leave Deliveroo November 28, 2019 Deliveroo’s chief financial officer has become the latest executive to leave the fast-growing food delivery company. Raif Jacobs, who joined Deliveroo in 2018, left the company in early October, according to a spokesperson. Read more: Deliveroo losses deepen in expansion drive Deliveroo has been hit by a string of executive departures this year following an [...]
Government faces calls for reform as data shows dominance of Big Four audit firms October 29, 2019 Data published yesterday by the audit watchdog showed that the Big Four accounting firms increased their market share of the UK audit market in 2018. The lack of competition in the sector has come under the microscope following scandals such as the failures of outsourcer Carillion and department store BHS which both received clean bills [...]
More than 1,800 jobs at risk as Tesco restructures in-store bakeries February 25, 2020 More than 1,800 jobs are at risk after Tesco announced it will restructure its in-store bakery operations. The supermarket giant this afternoon said it will reduce the amount of baking “from scratch” across its stores, meaning some employees will be made redundant. From May, 58 branches will stop baking products on-site and will instead sell [...]
British satellite giant Inmarsat gets green light for $3.4bn takeover October 29, 2019 The government has given the green light for a $3.4bn (£2.6bn) private equity buyout of British satellite giant Inmarsat. Read more: Satellite firm Inmarsat ditches dividend ahead of $3.4bn private equity takeover Culture secretary Nicky Morgan today said she has waved through the merger after accepting a series of remedies put forward by Inmarsat and [...]
Coronavirus: Chemicals giant Ineos to build hand sanitiser factory in 10 days March 24, 2020 Chemicals giant Ineos will build a hand sanitiser factory in 10 days that will produce 1m bottles a month as more UK firms join efforts to curb the spread of coronavirus. Ineos, which is owned by the UK’s third richest man Sir Jim Ratcliffe, is already Europe’s largest producer of the two chemicals needed to [...]