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☆ UK's musicMagpie will keep seeking buyers as BT ends talks
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-27 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Nov 27 (Reuters) - MusicMagpie (MMAG.L) said on Monday it will continue to seek buyers after telecoms group BT (BT.L) confirmed it will not make an offer for the British online retailer of used smartphones and electronic products. Shares in musicMagpie fell 19% to a nearly three-month low of 16.35 pence, giving it a market value of just over 17.5 million pounds ($21.81 million). The seller of second-hand DVDs and computer games last week said it was in early-stage talks with BT and Aurelius Group regarding a possible buyout offer. Neither BT or Aurelius provided a reason for dropping out of the takeover talks. As of Friday's close, musicMagpie stock had lost almost 90% of its value since its market debut in April 2021 as a cost-of-living squeeze hurt sales.

Persons: Aurelius Investment, Aurelius, Prerna Bedi, Devika Organizations: BT, Aurelius Group, Thomson Locations: musicMagpie, Bengaluru

☆ Aston Martin F1 team gets investment from PE firm Arctos
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-16 | by ( Anousha Sakoui | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

The Aston Martin logo is seen on a V12 Vantage car at the company’s factory in Gaydon, Britain, March 16, 2022. REUTERS/Phil Noble/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsNov 16 (Reuters) - The Aston Martin Formula One team said on Thursday it had agreed on an investment by U.S. private equity firm Arctos Partners in exchange for a minority shareholding. The stake sale values the car racing group at 1 billion pounds ($1.24 billion), a person with knowledge about the matter told Reuters. "They share our vision for our ultra-luxury brand, and they are extremely passionate about the sport and its prospects," Aston Martin Formula One Executive Chairman Lawrence Stroll said in a statement. The F1 team is sponsored by the eponymous British luxury carmaker in which Stroll holds the largest shareholding of over 25%.

Persons: Aston Martin, Phil Noble, Lawrence, French carmaker, Ryan Reynolds, Rob McElhenney, Prerna Bedi, Maju Samuel Organizations: Aston, REUTERS, Aston Martin Formula, U.S, Arctos Partners, Reuters, French carmaker Renault, Alpine, Thomson Locations: Gaydon, Britain, French, Bengaluru

☆ Britain's Ocado secures first deal beyond grocery retail
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-15 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

An Ocado grocery delivery van is driven along a street in London, Britain, March 25, 2023. It also holds a 50% share of Ocado Retail in the UK in a joint venture with Marks & Spencer (MKS.L). The deal with McKesson will see Ocado receive upfront fees during the construction process with the final payment upon final installation. Ocado said the impact of the deal will be minimal on cash flow and earnings in its current financial year. In July, the group reported a return to first half underlying profit.

Persons: Toby Melville, Canada Ocado, McKesson, Tim Steiner, we're, Spencer, Ocado, James Davey, Prerna Bedi, Shilpi Majumdar, Kirsten Donovan, Barbara Lewis Organizations: REUTERS, Kroger, Casino, Marks, Times, Thomson Locations: London, Britain, Canada, Ocado, United States, Japan, France, U.S, Bengaluru

☆ Ratcliffe to invest extra $300 mln on top of 25% stake in Manchester United -source
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-03 | by ( Anirban Sen | Thomson Reuters | Anirban Sen Is The Editor In Charge For U.S. M A At Reuters In New York | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Shares in United rose 4% to $18.85 on the news, which was first reported by Sky News. Manchester United declined to respond to a Reuters request for comment. Ratcliffe founded Ineos in 1998 and is the chemical group's chairman and chief executive officer, with a two-thirds stake. Record 20-time English champions, United have more than 650 million fans worldwide, according to market research firm Kantar. ($1 = 0.8110 pound)Reporting by Prerna Bedi in Bengaluru; Editing by Shinjini Ganguli, Kirsten DonovanOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Jim Ratcliffe, Ratcliffe, Glazer, Qatar's Sheikh Jassim bin Hamad al, Ineos, Erik ten Hag, Prerna Bedi, Shinjini Ganguli, Kirsten Donovan Organizations: Premier, Sky News, Manchester United, Reuters, Forbes, Ligue, Nice, Swiss Super League, FC Lausanne, Racing Club Abidjan, Ivory Coast Ligue, Grenadiers, United, League, Premier League, Manchester City, Thomson Locations: Manchester, United, Qatar's Sheikh Jassim bin Hamad al Thani, Ineos, British, Bengaluru

☆ GSK raises $1.1 billion from Haleon stake sale
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-06 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration Acquire Licensing RightsOct 6 (Reuters) - British drugmaker GSK (GSK.L) on Friday said it raised 885.6 million pounds ($1.08 billion) from a discounted stake sale in Haleon (HLN.L), cutting its shareholding to 7.4% in the world's largest standalone consumer healthcare firm. The sale of 270 million shares at 328 pence apiece, represented a discount of about 2.5% to Haleon's last close of 336.25 pence on Thursday. Shares in Haleon were down 1.2% while GSK was marginally up 0.4% at 0800 GMT. Pfizer, which holds a 32% stake in Haleon, said in May it plans to cut its ownership in a "slow and methodical" manner within months. The British drugmaker and Pfizer have agreed to not sell any further Haleon shares for 60 days from the settlement of placing.

Persons: Dado Ruvic, Emma Walmsley, Prerna Bedi, Sonia Cheema, Elaine Hardcastle Organizations: GSK, GlaxoSmithKline, REUTERS, British, AstraZeneca, London Stock Exchange, Pfizer, Thomson Locations: Haleon, British, Bengaluru

☆ Former Prudential boss leading contender for CEO role at St James's Place - Sky news
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-31 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Aug 31 (Reuters) - Former interim CEO of insurer Prudential (PRU.L) is the leading contender to take the top job at British asset manager St James's Place (SJP.L), succeeding current chief Andrew Croft, Sky news reported on Thursday. Mark FitzPatrick, interim CEO at the Asia-focused insurer for a period last year, has emerged as the SJP board's preferred successor to company veteran Croft, according to the report. Sky news had in May reported Croft's plan to step down from the role he took over in 2018. St James's Place in July reported a fall in its half-year profit but attracted 3.4 billion pounds ($4.31 billion) of net inflows in what the company called a "challenging period" for UK investors. As of June 30, SJP held 157.5 billion pounds worth of funds under management.

Persons: St James's, Andrew Croft, Mark FitzPatrick, board's, Croft, SJP, Prerna Bedi, Shilpi Majumdar Organizations: Prudential, St, Sky, Thomson Locations: Asia, James's, Bengaluru

☆ UK's Instem shares pop on $257 mln take-private deal from French firm
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-30 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Aug 30 (Reuters) - Shares in Instem Plc (INS.L) soared over 39% on Wednesday after the British life sciences software company agreed to a take-private deal with French private equity firm Archimed SAS for 203 million pounds ($256.5 million). Under the terms of the deal with Ichor Management, a company controlled by Archimed, each Instem shareholder will get 833 pence in cash, representing a premium of 41% to the stock's last close. The offer, which Instem's board recommended shareholders accept, caps multiple rejected proposals from Archimed since March. Healthcare-focused investment firm Archimed has more than 8 billion euros of assets under management and investments in 32 healthcare companies. ($1 = 0.7916 pounds)Reporting by Prerna Bedi in Bengaluru; Editing by Sonia Cheema and Eileen SorengOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Archimed, Prerna Bedi, Sonia Cheema, Eileen Soreng Organizations: Instem Plc, SAS, Ichor Management, Archimed, Healthcare, Thomson Locations: London, Archimed, Staffordshire, Bengaluru

☆ UK retailer John Lewis boosts AI capability with Google deal
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-09 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Aug 9 (Reuters) - British retailer John Lewis Partnership has agreed a five-year deal with Alphabet Inc's (GOOGL.O) Google Cloud, enabling it to harness the latest artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) technology. The employee-owned partnership, which runs John Lewis department stores and the Waitrose supermarket chain, said on Wednesday the new agreement, which builds on a decade-long relationship with Google Cloud, was worth 100 million pounds ($127 million). Under the expanded agreement, more of the partnership's technology will migrate to Google Cloud. Google Cloud agreed a similar deal with European home improvement retailer Kingfisher(KGF.L) last November. Zak Mian, the John Lewis Partnership's chief transformation and technology officer, said an example was customers using an image scanning feature in their John Lewis App to show its home design stylists a room they're looking to furnish.

Persons: John Lewis, Zak Mian, John Lewis Partnership's, Prerna Bedi, James Davey, Nivedita Bhattacharjee, Sachin Ravikumar Organizations: John, John Lewis Partnership, Google, Waitrose, Thomson Locations: Bengaluru, London

☆ Amazon workers at two UK fulfilment centres to strike in August
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-27 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

LONDON, July 27 (Reuters) - Britain's GMB trade union said on Thursday more than a thousand workers at two Amazon (AMZN.O) fulfilment centres in England would take strike action in early August in an ongoing pay dispute. "This industrial action will spread further: it’s clear the fight for workers’ rights at Amazon is only just beginning,” GMB Senior Organiser Rachel Fagan said in a statement. Workers in Rugeley will walk out on Aug. 3-4 and staff in Coventry will take action on Aug. 4-5, the union said. "In less than a year, our minimum pay has risen by 10% and by more than 37% since 2018," an Amazon spokesperson said. In June, the union said Amazon workers in Coventry, who had previously staged a series of walkouts since January, had voted in favour of six more months of industrial action.

Persons: ” GMB, Rachel Fagan, Amazon, Prerna Bedi, Helen Reid, Farouq Suleiman, Kylie MacLellan Organizations: Amazon, Workers, Thomson Locations: England, Rugeley, Coventry

☆ Britain's Centrica hikes dividend as profits at British Gas soar
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-27 | by ( Susanna Twidale | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

July 27 (Reuters) - Britain's Centrica (CNA.L) proposed a 33% increase in its interim dividend on Thursday after posting a jump in first-half profits, buoyed by higher returns from its British Gas supply business. The British Gas Energy supply division posted adjusted profits of 969 million pounds ($1.25 billion) compared with 98 million the same period last year. Centrica said some 500 million pounds of this related to changes to the regulator's price cap which allowed the company to recoup previously lost costs. The company also announced plans to invest 4 billion pounds by 2028 on security of supply, energy flexibility and renewable power. Overall Centrica's adjusted operating profit for the first six months of 2023 rose to 2.08 billion pounds up from 1.34 billion pounds a year earlier.

Persons: Centrica, Susanna Twidale, Prerna Bedi, Varun, Sharon Singleton Organizations: British Gas, British Gas Energy, Thomson Locations: Britain, London, Bengaluru

☆ Amazon raises hourly pay for UK workers by 50 pence; union mulls more strikes
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-22 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

The pay rise comes less than a week after hundreds of workers at an Amazon warehouse in Coventry in central England staged the latest walkout in a dispute over pay this year. "We're listening to Amazon workers and the message is very clear: this new pay rate is an insult," said Amanda Gearing, senior organiser of GMB, the union which represents more than 500 Amazon workers. The union had said the Amazon Coventry workers are demanding 15 pounds an hour to cope with a cost-of-living crisis that has sparked strikes across sectors in Britain over the last several months. The new increase, which will depend on locations and start from April, comes after Amazon last year raised UK hourly wages by 50 pence to between 10.50 and 11.45 pounds per hour. "Over the past seven months, our minimum pay has risen by 10% and by more than 37% since 2018," Amazon said in a statement.

☆ British cybersecurity firm NCC Group to cut workforce by 7%
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-02 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Shares of the Manchester-headquartered FTSE Mid Cap (.FTMC) firm were down about 10% to an over two-and-a-half-year low of 147 pence in morning trade. NCC said the job cuts would lead to a one-off implementation cost of 4 million pounds ($5 million) in the second half of the fiscal year ending May 31. The company said delays in revenue recognition, particularly in North America and the UK, have weighed on annual outlook, and now expects single-digit revenue growth for the year. NCC also forecast an 8% growth in annual adjusted operating profit at about 52 million pounds, after it reported an about 28% jump in first-half earnings. ($1 = 0.8082 pounds)Reporting by Raechel Thankam Job and Prerna Bedi in Bengaluru; Editing by Nivedita BhattacharjeeOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Trading in shares of UK's Home REIT temporarily suspended
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-03 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Jan 3 (Reuters) - Home REIT Plc's (HOMEH.L) shares were temporarily suspended from trading starting Jan. 3, as it missed a deadline to publish its annual financial report due to an ongoing audit after a short-seller report on the British company's finances. The results are expected to be published "as soon as practicable," the company said in a statement on Tuesday, without providing a timeline. On Dec. 12, Home REIT's shares plunged to a record low after it said its auditors were carrying out "enhanced audit procedures" and reiterated that all allegations made by Viceroy are "without substance". "We don't see HOME REIT's (trading) suspension being short-term," Viceroy told Reuters in an emailed statement. Reporting by Radhika Anilkumar and Prerna Bedi in Bengaluru; Editing by Dhanya Ann ThoppilOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

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