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[1/2] The HSBC headquarters is seen in the Canary Wharf financial district in east London February 15, 2015. The ripple effects of so many companies slashing office space has significantly impacted wider markets. 'GENIE OUT OF THE BOTTLE'HSBC for its part has one of the most aggressive targets to cut office space among major employers, with a commitment to axe around 40% globally. Canary Wharf Group, the Docklands commercial landlord, declined to comment. One of the Canary Wharf estate's newer developments, the YY building - a recently completed redevelopment of Thomson Reuters' former headquarters opposite Canary Wharf station - remains vacant, Bloomberg has reported.

Persons: Peter Nicholls, Tony Travers, Travers, Knight Frank, Weil, Gerardine Davies, HSBC's, Moody's, YY, Andrew Mawson, Iain Withers, Chiara Elisei, Sinead Cruise, Paul Sandle, Mark Potter Organizations: HSBC, REUTERS, Companies, London School of Economics, of, Perenna Capital Management, BT, UBS, City of London Corporation, Canary, Canary Wharf Group, Docklands, Thomson Reuters, Bloomberg, Workplace Associates, Employees, Thomson Locations: Canary, London, St Paul's Cathedral, of London, Real, Sweden, Aldgate, City, Swiss, Docklands, Canary Wharf

LONDON, June 16 (Reuters) - Britain's ITV (ITV.L) is "actively exploring the possible acquisition" of production company All3Media, it said on Friday after Reuters reported the broadcaster's interest. One of Britain's leading independent production companies, All3Media is owned by Warner Bros Discovery (WBD.O) and Liberty Global (LBTYA.O). Sources told Reuters in a story released on Thursday that Warner Brothers could sell its All3Media holding while Liberty Global could retain a stake in a merged entity, which would comprise ITV Studios and All3Media. Speaking generally about its finances, ITV in March said that it had accessible funds of more than 1 billion pounds, comprising cash and undrawn debt facilities. In a potential deal, ITV would combine All3Media with the Studios business it has built to offset more volatile revenue from its advertising-dependent TV channels and new ITVX streaming service.

Persons: Kate Holton, William James, David Goodman Organizations: ITV, Reuters, Warner Bros Discovery, Liberty Global, Warner Brothers, ITV Studios, Thomson

☆ Vogue's Anna Wintour, author Ian McEwan honoured by King Charles
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-16 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

LONDON, June 16 (Reuters) - Vogue editor-in-chief Anna Wintour, author Ian McEwan and immunologist and geneticist John Bell were named Companions of Honour, an order limited to 65 people at any time, in King Charles' first birthday honours list on Friday. McEwan, who was appointed to the order for services to literature, is the author of acclaimed novels including "Amsterdam", "Atonement" and "Enduring Love". More than 1,000 people were rewarded in the king's birthday honours for service in education, healthcare, philanthropy and other areas. King Charles, who was crowned in May, will celebrate his official birthday on Saturday with the "Trooping of the Colour" military parade. Reporting by Paul Sandle; Editing by Nick MacfieOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Anna Wintour, Ian McEwan, immunologist, John Bell, King Charles ', Wintour, McEwan, King Charles, Paul Sandle, Nick Macfie Organizations: Vogue U.S, U.S . Metropolitan Museum, Art's Costume, University of Oxford, Oxford, AstraZeneca COVID, Thomson Locations: Amsterdam

☆ Vodafone and Three merger faces scrutiny from competition regulators
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-15 | by ( Paul Sandle | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

The $19 billion tie-up will be scrutinised by Britain's Competition and Markets Authority, the antitrust regulator which made global headlines in April when it blocked Microsoft's $69 billion acquisition of "Call of Duty" maker Activision Blizzard. The long-awaited mobile deal reduces the number of networks from four to three, challenging a tenet long held by regulators that four help to keep prices low in major markets. "The government's desire to make the UK a 5G powerhouse requires a lot of investment," he said. One London-based investment banker, who declined to be named, said he put the chance of the deal receiving the green light from regulators at 50%. A major telecoms investor said the deal could be approved, but only with strong remedies, and that could risk undermining its rationale.

Persons: CK Hutchison, Activision Blizzard, Hutchison, Paolo Pescatore, Peter Broadhurst, Moring, James Gray, Sarah Cardell, Robert Finnegan, Gray, Paul Sandle, Amy, Jo Crowley, Sinead Cruise, Kate Holton, Emelia Organizations: Microsoft, Activision, Hutchison, O2, Vodafone, CK, HK, Britain's Competition, Markets Authority, Ofcom, European Commission, Foresight, Hutchison's, UK plc, Victoria, Crowell, CMA, Reuters, National Security and Investment, Britain's, Tesco Mobile, Telefonica, Thomson Locations: Hong Kong, Britain, Europe, China, London, Germany

Liberty Global could retain a stake in the merged entity, which would comprise ITV Studios and All3Media, the person said. Spokespeople for ITV, All3Media, Warner Bros. and Liberty Global declined to comment. Discovery and Liberty Global bought All3Media in 2014 for an enterprise value of about 550 million pounds. In a potential deal, ITV would combine All3Media with the Studios business it has built to offset more volatile revenue from its advertising-dependent TV channels and new ITVX streaming service. ITV Studios, which makes reality show "Love Island", grew revenue by 19% to 2.1 billion pounds and adjusted earnings by 22% to 259 million pounds in 2022.

Persons: Spokespeople, Amy, Jo Crowley, Paul Sandle, Elisa Martinuzzi, Hugh Lawson Organizations: ITV, Warner Bros Discovery Inc, Liberty Global, Warner Brothers, . Liberty Global, ITV Studios, All3Media, Reuters, Liberty, Warner Bros, JPMorgan, Discovery, Thomson

[1/2] Vodafone Group CEO Margherita Della Valle poses in this undated handout picture obtained by Reuters on May 16, 2023. "For Vodafone this transaction is a game changer in our home market," Della Valle, a 29-year company veteran, told reporters. That is likely to take time, but Kester Mann, a director at CCS Insight, said the British announcement would give Della Valle a boost. "She has shown clear intent to make changes at Vodafone as she bids to turn the embattled company's performance around," he said. "Securing approval for a tie-up with (Hutchison's) Three would be a major boost to her early tenure."

Persons: Margherita Della Valle, Della Valle, CK Hutchison, Nick Read, Kester Mann, Kate Holton, Sinead Cruise, Emelia Sithole Organizations: Vodafone, Reuters, Handout, REUTERS, HK, CCS Insight, Thomson Locations: Britain, Hong Kong, Germany, Spain, Italy, British

Under the terms, Vodafone will own 51% and Hutchison 49% of the combined group, which will be led by current Vodafone UK boss Ahmed Essam. The finance chief of Hutchison's Three UK, Darren Purkis, will take the same role in the new group. The combined operator will have about 27 million customers, overtaking BT's (BT.L) EE and VM O2, jointly owned by Telefonica (TEF.MC) and Liberty Global (LBTYA.O). Vodafone, which is currently Britain's third-biggest mobile operator, and fourth-placed Hutchison will have options which would allow Vodafone to acquire the Hong Kong-based conglomerate's 49% stake in the future. Shares in Vodafone, which fell to a 25-year low of 71 pence on Tuesday, rose 3.6% after the deal was announced.

Persons: CK Hutchison, Canning Fok, Ahmed Essam, Darren Purkis, Hutchison, Vodafone's Essam, Robert Finnegan, Gail Cartmail, Paul Sandle, Clare Jim, Kate Holton, Sharon Singleton, Kirsten Donovan Organizations: Vodafone, CK, HK, Hutchison, Hutchison's, BT's, VM O2, Telefonica, Liberty Global, Britain's Competition, Markets Authority, CMA, Unite, Thomson Locations: HONG KONG, Britain, Hong Kong, China, London

☆ Exclusive: Vodafone and Hutchison to announce UK merger as soon as Friday
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-07 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

[1/2] FILE PHOTO: The company logo of CK Hutchison Holdings is displayed at a news conference in Hong Kong, China March 17, 2016. REUTERS/Bobby YipHONG KONG/LONDON, June 7 (Reuters) - Vodafone (VOD.L) and CK Hutchison (0001.HK) are in the final stages of agreeing to merge their British operations, with a long-awaited announcement expected as soon as Friday or early next week, three sources have told Reuters. Including debt the deal could be valued at around 15 billion pounds ($18.6 billion), according to analysts. The deal will face intense scrutiny from regulators who have previously opposed deals that reduce the number of networks in major markets from four to three. ($1 = 0.8061 pounds)Reporting by Clare Jim in Hong Kong and Paul Sandle in London; Editing by Kate HoltonOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Bobby Yip HONG, CK Hutchison, Hutchison, Clare Jim, Paul Sandle, Kate Holton Organizations: CK Hutchison Holdings, REUTERS, Vodafone, CK, HK, Reuters, British, Hutchison, BT's, VM O2, Telefonica, Liberty Global, Thomson Locations: Hong Kong, China, Bobby Yip HONG KONG, London

☆ UK house prices post first annual drop since 2012, says Halifax
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-07 | by ( Suban Abdulla | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

LONDON, June 7 (Reuters) - British house prices dropped on an annual basis in May for the first time in 11 years, and pressure on prospective buyers from higher mortgage rates could deepen the downturn, mortgage lender Halifax said on Wednesday. Kim Kinnaird, director of mortgages at Halifax, said demand was weakening and higher interest rates were likely to increase pressure on house prices. Halifax, part of Lloyds Banking Group (LLOY.L), on Tuesday said it would raise interest rates for its fixed home loans from Wednesday. The stronger-than-expected inflation data raised markets' bets interest rates will peak at 5.5% later this year. Nationwide, another lender, last week reported a steeper 0.5% month-on-month drop in house prices in April and a 3.4% annual decline - the biggest drop since 2009.

Persons: Kim Kinnaird, Liz Truss's, Kinnaird, Myron Jobson, Suban Abdulla, Andy Bruce, Paul Sandle, Barbara Lewis Organizations: Halifax, Lloyds Banking Group, Interactive Investor, Capital Economics, Nationwide, Thomson Locations: Halifax

☆ Microsoft searching for solutions over UK block on Activision deal -president
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-06 | by ( Paul Sandle | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

LONDON, June 6 (Reuters) - The president of Microsoft (MSFT.O) said he was looking for solutions to try to get British approval for the software giant's $69 billion acquisition of "Call of Duty" maker Activision Blizzard (ATVI.O). British competition authorities blocked the biggest ever deal in gaming in April, in a shock decision which Microsoft has since appealed. "I'm in search of solutions," Microsoft President Brad Smith told the techUK Tech Policy Leadership conference in London on Tuesday. The EU's competition authorities approved the deal in May after they accepted remedies put forward by Microsoft that were broadly comparable to those it proposed in the UK. Microsoft has also appealed the U.S. Federal Trade Commission's action seeking to block the deal on the grounds that, the agency said, it would suppress competition.

Persons: Brad Smith, Smith, Paul Sandle, Sarah Young, Kate Holton Organizations: Microsoft, Activision, techUK Tech, U.S . Federal Trade, Thomson Locations: British, London, EU

☆ British Airways, Boots staff data compromised by payroll cyber hack
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-05 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

LONDON, June 5 (Reuters) - British Airways and retailer Boots said their staff were amongst those hit by a cyber attack on Zellis, a payroll provider used by hundreds of companies in Britain. British Airways, owned by IAG (ICAG.L), said it had notified affected employees and was providing them with support. Part of the Walgreens Boots Alliance, Boots said the attack had included some of its employees' personal details. Boots employs over 50,000 people in Britain, while British Airways has about 30,000 staff. The compromised data includes names, addresses and national insurance numbers, said the Daily Telegraph newspaper, which first reported which companies had been affected by the breach.

Persons: Boots, Zellis, Sarah Young, Eva Mathews, Shinjini Ganguli, Paul Sandle Organizations: British Airways, Britain . British Airways, IAG, Walgreens Boots Alliance, Daily Telegraph, Thomson Locations: Britain, London, Bengaluru

☆ BA, BBC and Boots caught up in file transfer hack
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-05 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

BA, the BBC and Boots said the breach occurred at their payroll provider, Zellis. The provincial government of Nova Scotia, in Canada, was also hit by the breach. The data from Zellis and the Nova Scotia government was exposed through their use of the MOVEit file transfer software, both organizations said in separate statements. The Nova Scotia government did not immediate return a request for comment. Boots, part of Walgreens Boots Alliance (WBA.O), said the attack had included some of its employees' personal details.

Persons: Boots, Zellis, Nova, Colton LeBlanc, MOVEit, extortionists, Raphael Satter, Sarah Young, Muvija, Eva Mathews, Paul Sandle, Bill Berkrot Organizations: British Airways, BBC, Nova, Security, Digital Solutions, IAG, Walgreens Boots Alliance, Progress Software, Microsoft, Reuters, Britain . British Airways, Thomson Locations: Nova Scotia, Canada, Zellis, Britain, Washington, London, Bengaluru

☆ UK house prices fall by most since 2009, higher rates to bite-Nationwide
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-01 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

LONDON, June 1 (Reuters) - British house prices fell by the most since 2009 in the 12 months to May and the country's housing market faces further headwinds after a recent jump in borrowing costs, mortgage lender Nationwide said on Thursday. Compared with May last year, the average house price was down 3.4% after a 2.7% annual fall in April, Nationwide said. House prices edged down by 0.1% in May from April after a monthly 0.4% rise in April, Nationwide said. Martin Beck, an economist with the EY Item Club, a forecasting group, said the 4% fall in house prices from last August's peak was modest compared with the 7% rise in house prices over the past two years. Analysts at Capital Economics said prices would fall another 8% while Pantheon Macroeconomics said they would drop 4%.

Persons: Liz Truss's, Headwinds, Robert Gardner, Gardner, Martin Beck, BoE, Beck, William Schomberg, Muvija M, Paul Sandle, Christina Fincher Organizations: Nationwide, Bank of, Capital Economics, Thomson Locations: Bank, Bank of England

☆ UK's ITV commissions review after presenter resignation row
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-31 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

LONDON, May 31 (Reuters) - British broadcaster ITV (ITV.L) has commissioned an external review of presenter Phillip Schofield's resignation, the company said on Wednesday, after the 61-year-old admitted to lying about a relationship with a young worker. The probe was first reported by PA Media on Wednesday. "As you would expect we take the matter extremely seriously and have reviewed our own records over the weekend," a letter sent by McCall to government said, PA Media reported. The letter was sent to Ofcom, the broadcast regulator, and culture minister Lucy Frazer, PA Media reported. It said ITV had instructed a senior barrister to "carry out an external review to establish the facts".

Persons: Phillip Schofield's, Schofield, Carolyn McCall, McCall, Lucy Frazer, Paul Sandle, William James, Aurora Ellis Organizations: ITV, PA Media, Britain's, Ofcom, Thomson Locations: British, Britain

☆ UK's Asda to buy EG petrol stations unit in $2.9-bln deal
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-30 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Asda, Britain's third-largest grocer, and EG are both owned by brothers Zuber and Mohsin Issa and private equity group TDR Capital. The unit of around 350 petrol stations and over 1,000 food-to-go locations will be valued at 2.27 billion pounds. The deal will help spur Asda in its drive to overtake Sainsbury's (SBRY.L) and become Britain's No. 2 supermarket as it rolls out the Asda Express across the EG petrol estate. The Issa brothers bought Asda in 2021 and have already converted 166 EG sites to the "Asda on the Move" format.

☆ Meta offers to limit use of ad data to address UK competition concerns
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-26 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

LONDON, May 26 (Reuters) - Britain's competition watchdog on Friday said social media giant Meta (META.O) had offered to limit its use of other businesses' advertising data for its Facebook Marketplace service to address the regulator's competition concerns. The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) said it was minded to accept the commitments, which include advertisers being able to opt out of allowing their data to be used to improve the Facebook Marketplace classified ads platform. CMA executive director of enforcement Michael Grenfell said: "Reducing the risk of Meta unfairly exploiting the data of businesses who advertise on its platform for its own competitive advantage could help many UK businesses who advertise there. "We are now consulting on these commitments which we believe, at this stage, will address our concerns." Reporting by Eva Mathews in Bengaluru and Paul Sandle in London; Editing by Rashmi Aich and Kate HoltonOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Microsoft sets out grounds for Activision appeal against UK regulator
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-26 | by ( Sam Tobin | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

LONDON, May 26 (Reuters) - Microsoft (MSFT.O) is challenging Britain's decision to block its $69 billion takeover of "Call of Duty" maker Activision Blizzard (ATVI.O) on the grounds of "fundamental errors" in the assessment of Microsoft's cloud gaming services. Britain's anti-trust regulator, the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA), vetoed the deal in April, saying it could hurt competition in the nascent cloud gaming market, sparking a furious row. Microsoft confirmed on Wednesday it had filed an appeal against the ruling to Britain's Competition Appeal Tribunal (CAT), and a summary of its arguments was published on Friday. It said the CMA's conclusion that the deal would lead to a substantial lessening of competition in the United Kingdom's cloud gaming market was wrong, according to the summary. ISetting out five grounds for appeal in total, it also said it would challenge the CMA's understanding of the cloud gaming market and the impact of the deal.

Within weeks, Della Valle gave them a stark assessment of the problems Vodafone faces. Complicating matters is an investor base with conflicting demands, concerns about Vodafone's dividend outlook and a workforce reeling from the deep job cuts. While many observers in and outside the company had expected a fresh face, Della Valle won over the board. Vodafone's shares are trading at lows last seen in 2002, largely due to a cut to free cash flow forecasts. That may not sit well with Vodafone's other key investors - French telecoms billionaire Xavier Niel, who competes with it in Italy, and Liberty Global, its partner in the Netherlands.

☆ BT to reduce workforce by up to 55,000 jobs by 2030
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-18 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

LONDON, May 18 (Reuters) - BT Group (BT.L), Britain's biggest broadband and mobile provider, said on Thursday it would reduce its workforce by up to 55,000 jobs by the end of the decade to become a much leaner business. The announcement came after it met market expectations with a 5% rise in full-year adjusted core earnings of 7.9 billion pounds ($10 billion) after growth in networks and consumer offset a decline in enterprise. "New BT Group will be a leaner business with a brighter future," he said. He said BT had grown both pro forma revenue and core earnings for the first time in six years in the year to end-March, while navigating an "extraordinary macro-economic backdrop". The group said it expected to grow both revenue and core earnings on a pro forma basis this year.

☆ BT to cut up to 55,000 jobs by 2030 as fibre and AI arrive
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-18 | by ( Paul Sandle | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

By that time, the bulk of its full-fibre network build will be completed. But free cash flow (FCF) fell 5% to 1.3 billion pounds, at the lower end of its guidance, due to increased cash capital expenditure. Forecasts for free cash flow for 2024 were also lighter than analysts had expected. It has been investing heavily to build out its fibre network faster than rival Virgin Media O2 and smaller "alt nets". BT said it expected to grow both revenue and core earnings on a pro forma basis this year.

☆ British software group Sage upgrades revenue forecast
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-17 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

LONDON, May 17 (Reuters) - Sage (SGE.L), a British provider of software to small and medium-sized companies, upgraded its full-year organic recurring revenue growth forecast to around 11% on Wednesday after a strong first half. It had previously expected growth to be above the 9% level achieved in its last financial year. Reporting by Paul Sandle; editing by Sarah YoungOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ UK regulators must understand need to promote growth, Hunt says
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-17 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

LONDON, May 17 (Reuters) - British regulators should understand the need to promote growth, finance minister Jeremy Hunt said on Wednesday when asked about the UK's antitrust watchdog's decision to block Microsoft's (MSFT.O) $69 billion acquisition of Activision (ATVI.O). "One of the reasons that companies like Microsoft and Google want to invest in the UK is because we have independent regulators that aren't controlled by politicians," Hunt told a business conference. "I would not want to undermine that at all, but I do think it's important all our regulators understand their wider responsibilities for economic growth." The European Union cleared the deal on Monday, accepting a practically identical set of remedies put forward by Microsoft that the CMA had rejected. Reporting by David Milliken and Sachin Ravikumar, writing by William James, editing by Paul SandleOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

The job cuts are the biggest in the history of Vodafone, which employs 90,000 people directly across Europe and Africa. Della Valle was given a mandate to turn Vodafone around when she permanently took on the top job from the role of CFO last month. Della Valle started cutting jobs when she took the helm at the start of the year, targeting Vodafone's central operations in London. Della Valle said the European telecoms market had long delivered a poor return on the capital invested in networks, but Vodafone's relative performance had worsened over time. "It will take as long as it takes to get a good deal," Della Valle told reporters.

☆ UK's competition boss: We do not want a hostile environment for tech
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-16 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

LONDON, May 16 (Reuters) - The head of Britain's anti-trust regulator said it was not seeking to create a "hostile environment" for tech companies with its decision to block Microsoft's $69 billion acquisition of Activision Blizzard. Cardell added that the CMA had engaged widely with companies across the sector. "I don't find that we are operating sort of, broadly speaking, in a hostile environment," she added. The U.S. Federal Trade Commission has also filed a complaint to block the deal, which Microsoft has indicated it will fight. Reporting by Sarah Young and Paul Sandle; Editing by Kate HoltonOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Vodafone's new boss to cut 11,000 jobs as cash flow to fall
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-16 | by ( Paul Sandle | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Della Valle said Germany, Vodafone's biggest market, was underperforming, while Spain, which has suffered cut-throat competition in recent years, was under strategic review. Underscoring the pressures on the business, Vodafone said it would generate 3.3 billion euros ($3.6 billion) of cash this financial year, down from 4.8 billion euros in the year to end-March 2023. Analysts had expected 3.6 billion euros. For the year to end-March, pressures in Germany and higher energy costs resulted in a 1.3% decline in Vodafone's group core earnings to 14.7 billion euros, missing its own guidance. Vodafone has already started to cut jobs in its big markets, shedding 1,000 in Italy earlier this year, while a media report said it was looking to cut around 1,300 in Germany.

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