Digital banking firm FairFX enjoys 100 per cent profit rise despite weak pound and hot summer September 26, 2018 Digital banking provider and currency exchange FairFX has reached its one millionth customer and reported turnover of £1.1bn despite a weak pound and hot UK summer. The e-banking specialist, whose rivals include Monzo and Starling, enjoyed a 100 per cent increase in profit to £9.7m for the six months to 30 June. The company [...]
Industry groups call on World Health Organisation to change stance on vaping September 26, 2018 An international coalition of vaping industry groups has called on the World Health Organisation (WHO) to reform its stance on vaping regulation. Vaping advocacy groups from sixteen countries have called on the public health agency to reverse its stance that members states could ban vaping products outright as part of a tobacco control plan. Lead [...]
Bestival creditor Richmond Group offers to buy the festival brand for £1.1m September 26, 2018 Bestival financier Richmond Group said today it has made an £1.1m offer to the festival's organisers for its brand and assets. Bestival Group filed for administration with the High Court last week, and on Sunday said the search for a partner for its family-friendly Camp Bestival event was ongoing despite facing "financial challenges". Richmond Group [...]
Vodafone looks to raise €4bn of hybrid bonds to fund Liberty Global acquisition September 26, 2018 Vodafone is looking to fund its acquisition of Liberty Global’s European cable networks through issuing around €4bn (£3.6bn) of hybrid bonds. Unlike corporate bonds, hybrid bonds combine debt and equity into a single security, and are classed partially as equity by ratings agencies. This allows Vodafone to maintain its credit rating while also raising much [...]
Working Lunch: Gunpowder Tower Bridge brings its flavour-packed Indian food south of the river September 26, 2018 GUNPOWDER TOWER BRIDGE, SE1 WHAT IS IT? It’s the second outpost of Gunpowder, a critically-acclaimed Indian restaurant that opened in a tiny space in Spitalfields in 2015. The new one joins the Bridge Theatre and a new branch of The Ivy brasserie at One Tower Bridge, the glassy part of the South Bank next to [...]
Fox and Disney confirm they will sell Sky stake to Comcast September 26, 2018 Disney and 21st Century Fox have confirmed they will sell off their stake in Sky to Comcast, meaning the US media titan will almost certainly win full control of the broadcaster. It ends speculation around what Disney and Fox bosses Bob Iger and Rupert Murdoch were going to do with the 39 per cent stake after losing the dramatic auction [...]
Funding Circle cuts price range for IPO with valuation set for £1.5bn September 26, 2018 Peer-to-peer lending platform Funding Circle has cut the price range for its initial public offering (IPO), according to a bookrunner on the deal. The London-based fintech firm had set a price range of 420p to 530p per share but it has now tightened the range to 440p to 460p per share. Books are set to [...]
Danske Bank’s British money laundering whistleblower reveals himself September 26, 2018 The internal whistleblower who helped raise the lid on the bank’s Estonian money laundering scandal has revealed himself to a Danish newspaper. Brit Howard Wilkinson, who was the Baltic head of Danske Markets, the bank’s investment arm, said he filed four reports to directors in Copenhagen warning them of unethical practices in Estonia. Read more: [...]
Ofcom sets out proposals to make mobile phone charges fairer for consumers September 26, 2018 Telecoms regulator Ofcom today indicated it could soon stop mobile phone operators from overcharging customers for handsets they have already paid off. Millions of customers pay for their phone on a "bundle" deal which allows them to pay for the handset over a number of months. Though many operators reduce the monthly payment customers [...]
CBS appoints Richard Parsons as interim chair after Lesley Moonves resigns over sexual misconduct allegations September 26, 2018 US media giant CBS has appointed an interim chairman to replace Lesley Moonves, who resigned earlier this month following a wave of sexual assault allegations. Richard Parsons will step in as interim chair – CBS also said two other board members, Bruce Gordon and William Cohen would step down to focus on other personal [...]