Voyageurs du Monde eyes English-speaking market with 60 per cent stake in UK travel company Original Travel January 9, 2017 One of France's largest travel firms, Voyageurs du Monde, has said it will acquire 60 per cent of UK-based luxury tour operator Original Travel in an effort to further expand into English-speaking markets. The Euronext Paris-listed company has a 40 per cent share of the French market, but it's now eyeing up expansion in the UK, US, Canada, Singapore, [...]
Serial entrepreneur Luke Johnson on Channel 4 sell-off, dodging journalism and having no Brexit regrets January 9, 2017 Life could have been very different for serial entrepreneur and investor Luke Johnson. His father, Paul Johnson, is a former editor of left-wing political magazine the New Statesman. And his brother, Daniel, is the founder of political magazine Standpoint. In the tight-knit media world, it would not have been a surprise if Luke Johnson had [...]
How boutiques have snatched bankers and M&A business from the Wall Street giants January 9, 2017 With bonus season kicking off this week, one or two investment bankers at Wall Street heavyweights may well have cast an envious eye over the recent results of London boutique Robey Warshaw. The firm, which was founded in 2013 and has three former Wall Street bankers as its partners, reported profits of £36.6m for the year [...]
The most gripping private equity tale of 2017? Japanese tyre firm agrees £215m takeover deal for British counterpart January 5, 2017 A Japanese tyre company has agreed a £215m takeover deal for a UK counterpart. Private equity firm Graphite Capital today announced the sale of Micheldever Tyre Services (MTS) to Sumitomo Rubber Industries (SRI), Japan’s sixth largest tyre manufacturer. Graphite said the sale represents a 3.7 times return on its individual investment. The private equity house originally backed [...]
Mega-deals help boutique investment bank Robey Warshaw nearly double revenue and profits January 4, 2017 Megabrew, the London Stock Exchange-Deutsche Boerse merger and Royal Dutch Shell's takeover of BG Group helped boutique investment bank Robey Warshaw nearly double its profits and revenue last year. In the year to 31 March 2016, the company reported a turnover of £43.3m, up from £23.9m the year before. Profits increased from £19.4m to £36.6m. Read more: [...]
Sparkling plan: Private equity owner of jewellery company Aurum considering stock market float as well as sale January 4, 2017 The London Stock Exchange could be be set for another jewel in its crown. The private equity owner of high-class jeweller Aurum Holdings, which is behind high street chain Goldsmiths, is considering options for floating the company. Apollo Global Management, which acquired the firm for a reported £180m in 2012, has appointed Jefferies bankers to [...]
Investment banking fees plunged in 2016, but analysts predict 2017 pick-up January 4, 2017 Global investment banking fees fell seven per cent last year, with the UK’s plunging even further, thanks to a decline in flotations, equity raisings and mergers and acquisitions (M&A) activity. However, the decline was less marked in the second half of 2016, and analysts are predicting a recovery this year. Thomson Reuters found global investment banking [...]
The tastiest deal of 2017? Ginsters owner confirms deal for West Cornwall Pasty Co January 4, 2017 We may only be a four days in to 2017, but there is already a contender for the tastiest – or, at least, stodgiest – deal of the year. Samworth Brothers, the company behind Ginsters, has reached an agreement to acquire West Cornwall Pasty Co. The deal will mean increased competition for Greggs. Read more: New [...]
Mastercard’s £700m Vocalink deal raises competition concerns with watchdog January 4, 2017 Mastercard's £700m deal for Vocalink has raised concerns over competition in the payments infrastructure business with the market watchdog. Owned by a collective of 18 banks, including Barclays, Santander, Lloyds, Royal Bank of Scotland and HSBC, Vocalink provides the infrastructure for many payments in Britain such as Bacs and the Faster Payments Service as well as the Link ATM network. Concerns have [...]
This is how much UK and global deal activity dropped in 2016 after a record-breaking 2015 January 3, 2017 The UK, hit by uncertainty around Brexit, led a decline in mergers and acquisitions (M&A) activity last year. New figures released yesterday show that M&A deal values totalled $3.84 trillion (£3.13 trilion) in 2016, down 18 per cent from a record $4.66 trillion in 2015. Read more: After subdued 2016, these bankers are calling a 2017 [...]