Expensive hotels put out the flame in Britain’s love affair with Airbnb, according to research from Ferratum July 7, 2016 Briton's honeymoon period with the home rental superstar startup might, surprisingly, be over. This summer less than one per cent (0.21 per cent) of UK households are intending to use Airbnb for holiday accommodation, shunning the often-cheaper pads offered by the online marketplace for more expensive hotels, according to research released yesterday by Ferratum. British [...]
Danone cooks up $12.5bn deal to buy alternative food company WhiteWave July 7, 2016 French dairy giant Danone has struck a deal to acquire US premium food retailer The WhiteWave Foods Company. Danone will pay $56.25 (£43.47) per share in the all-cash transaction, a premium of about 24 per cent to WhiteWave’s average close for the month. The deal has valued WhiteWave, which went public in 2012, at $12.5bn. The [...]
C&C’s cider sales fizz after good weather but warns on Brexit vote impact July 7, 2016 Magners maker C&C posted a "solid start to the year" today but warned that its outlook is "cautious" following the surprise Brexit referendum result a fortnight ago. The figures Volume shipped by brand increased by a whopping 24 per cent for exports, while Magners also volume sales also grew by 24 per cent in the UK in [...]
Sugar sales and weak pound sweeten revenues at Associated British Foods July 7, 2016 Revenue growth at Associated British Foods (ABF) has been sweetened by the retail giant's sugar business and a weakened pound has created favourable trading conditions across the board. The figures Group revenue at the Twinings Tea, Ovaltine and Primark owner was up one per cent year-on-year in the 40 weeks to June 18, the company said [...]
Something old, something new… Each wedding this summer will cost you nearly a week’s salary July 6, 2016 We've all suspected that the annual wedding season puts us out of pocket, but thanks to research from American Express we know just how much it's going to cost us. Guests are set to spend almost an average week's salary, £479, on each wedding they attend this summer – which is just £24 less than the UK's [...]
China Resources Beer executive says country is set to approve AB InBev’s Megabrew deal July 6, 2016 An executive at China Resources Beer today said he believes the country’s competition authority is set to clear Anheuser-Busch InBev’s (AB InBev) takeover of SABMiller. “We don’t see any obstacle so far in getting a green light from China authorities,” chief financial officer Tomakin Lai said, reported Reuters. “We are confident that the deal can eventually [...]
Legal & General toasts deal to sell Channel Islands pub group Liberation to Caledonia for £118m July 6, 2016 Caledonia Investments has cooked up a deal to buy the Channel Islands' leading pub owner and brewer Liberation from Legal & General. Liberation, which operates 94 mostly freehold pubs in the Channel Islands and South West of England, is eyeing further expansion on the mainland, which Caledonia has said it will back with £40m of [...]
Blockchain firm Elliptic and Internet Watch Foundation unite to clamp down on bitcoin’s use in child porn July 6, 2016 Blockchain intelligence firm Elliptic and the Internet Watch Foundation (IWF) have launched a partnership to clamp down on the use of bitcoin in purchasing child porn. London-based Elliptic, which identifies illicit activity on the bitcoin blockchain, will integrate the IWF's database of addresses with child sexual abuse content into its transaction monitoring and investigations. It [...]
KPMG has appointed senior partner Karen Briggs to be the firm’s “head of Brexit” July 6, 2016 KPMG has appointed one of its senior partners as the firm's official "head of Brexit". Ahead of many other companies and indeed the Conservative Party, the Big Four firm announced today that Karen Briggs will lead its work in advising its clients on how to manage their businesses in the wake of the surprise pro-Brexit referendum result two weeks ago. She [...]