Morning Financial Press Review 20/11/19
Below are the key morning and weekend press headlines, featuring the The Times, The Telegraph, The Daily Mail & more - see the full Press section here.
The Government has moved a step closer to waving through the £4billion private equity takeover of . Business Secretary Andrea Leadsom said she is ‘minded to accept’ a number of pledges put forward by the British defence firm’s US suitor Advent International to ease concerns that the deal poses a threat to national security. But critics hit back at the move, warning it was ‘bargaining away’ Britain’s security and that allowing the deal to go through will do ‘long-term damage’ to the defence sector. In order to get the green light, Leadsom said Advent must ‘continue and strengthen’ existing security arrangements that are designed to protect ‘sensitive government information’. It will have to put Britons in charge of sensitive contracts, as well as maintain and honour any existing contracts for the next five years. And Advent must also inform the Ministry of Defence if it wants to sell all or even just part of Cobham.
is set to become the world’s first major airline to operate net-zero carbon flights across its entire network, after announcing it would offset all jet fuel emissions. The British budget airline said it would start offsetting all flights from Tuesday, which it said would cost about £25m in the next financial year through schemes to plant trees or avoid the release of additional carbon dioxide. Johan Lundgren, the airline’s chief executive, said longer-term solutions were also needed. “We recognise that offsetting is only an interim measure, but we want to take action on our carbon emissions now,” he said. “Aviation will have to reinvent itself as quickly as it can.” EasyJet’s move surpasses the recent pledges of rival airlines, including British Airways, whose parent company, IAG, promised last month to be carbon-neutral by 2050 and to start offsetting all domestic flights next year. The German airline group Lufthansa has launched a business fare where European flights are automatically offset for corporate customers from 2020.
Gloucester city council has bought a local retail park for £54 million, almost four times its net annual budget. It acquired St Oswalds from , the shopping centre owner that is seeking to sell all its out-of-town properties. Tenants at the site include B&Q, Homesense and Mothercare, which went into administration this month. A spokeswoman for the council said that it could not yet comment on the acquisition because of a non-disclosure agreement. Councils have spent hundreds of millions of pounds on commercial property in recent years as they try to create a rental income stream to plug funding cuts from central government. Some have sought to buy neglected shopping centres in their areas as part of regeneration plans.
launches its £158,000 SUV today – hoping the vehicle will revive its fortunes after a disastrous stock market float last year. The 106-year-old car maker will unveil the DBX, which it is aiming at families, at simultaneous events in China and the US. The car features ‘ambient lighting’, ample room in the boot for golf clubs… and can go from zero to 62 mph in 4.5 seconds. Customers will be able to put in orders for the SUV – which has a top speed of 181mph – but they will not receive it until the spring. Aston will make the DBX at its St Athan factory in South Wales. Commercial production will start in the new year.
A strong first half in which it won more than £4 billion of investment mandates has prompted to lift its key margin target. Assets under management were up by 11% to €41.1 billion after the group raised €4.6 billion from institutional investors buying into 14 funds. Intermediate Capital, which once specialised in mezzanine finance, has diversified into a wide range of asset categories, from private equity to property. Clients include sovereign wealth funds, insurers and pension funds. It manages about €2.7 billion of its own assets as principal, as well as €38.4 billion of third-party assets.
has bought an American online privacy specialist in a £74million deal. The mixed cash and share takeover of Private Internet Access is expected to complete early next year, if regulators give it the green light. Kape’s customer base will almost double to 2m if the deal goes through, and several executives from PIA are expected to stay on the board or in consulting roles.
A second profit warning in just over four months darkened the mood around an industrial lighting company yesterday, sending its shares to a nine-year low. said that it now expected its 2019 earnings before interest and taxes to be between £5 million and £8 million, after adjusting for about £6 million of additional costs. The lighting manufacturer reported earnings before interest and taxes of £8 million last year and in July had said that it expected to report underlying operating profit of between £10 million and £13 million. “We have seen early signs of recovery, but this has been hampered by the slowdown in the global markets,” Dialight said in a trading statement yesterday.
, the company behind Checkatrade has doubled down on its bet to create a worldwide platform matching local tradespeople with householders by making a $140 million acquisition in the United States. Homeserve said that it was acquiring 79% of the Philadelphia-based Elocal as part of its strategy to expand and extend its “local experts” division. Shares in the group, whose main business is providing emergency home insurance cover, rose after news of the deal emerged and following the publication of its interim results.
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