A cheeky website about deals, dealmakers and anything else I find interesting. Edited by Ben Harrington. If you have a tip, want to discuss a story or have a subscription enquiry please feel free to email Betaville at [email protected]. Betaville can also be reached at Whats App, Signal or Telegram. Betaville's Twitter handle is @bharringtonw11 and you can message me via Twitter with stories.

Cash calls - who is next? - Part 2

Sunday, 19 April 2020, 5:28 pm

The cash calls are coming thick and fast. Indeed, if you read the Sunday papers' business sections today you may have noticed that Neil "Neily" Craven and I unveiled DFS Furniture's plan to tap equity investors for fresh funds.

Mark "The Kleinmanator" Kleinman has today followed up our tale, tweeting the furniture retailer plans to ask investors for £50 million via a placing alongside raising some £70 million of fresh debt...

Read more...

Billionaire Bertarelli and Toto Wolff buy stakes in Aston Martin...

Friday, 17 April 2020, 3:30 pm

Aston Martin has been a dog of stock since its flotation eighteen months ago but that hasn't stopped billionaires quietly accumulating stakes in the business.

The latest to gobble up the shares in the luxry marque are Swiss-Italian billionaire Ernesto Bertarelli and Totto Wolff, the Austrian investor, former racing driver and 30pc shareholder in the Mercedes Formula One team. Below are the links:..

Read more...

Cash calls - who is next?

Friday, 17 April 2020, 8:09 am

Betaville is in a bit of a grump.

Now, you might ask why given what's going on in the world. Well, yes, that's fair enough - there are more important things happening in the world than the daily cut and thrust of unveiling the secret deals going down in the City of London...

Read more...

Bears start mauling Hiscox - Part 3

Thursday, 16 April 2020, 7:45 pm

One of Betaville's favourite business commentators today follows the theme I laid out yesterday about Hiscox but probably in a more eloquent style than myself.

I am off course referring to Alistair "acerbic" Osborne, a former boss and colleague from my days at The Daily Telegraph City desk, and his piece in today's The Times about Hiscox's refusal to pay out claims to small and medium-sized businesses. I have pasted the link below:..

Read more...

Tiziana Life Sciences back under the spotlight...

Thursday, 9 April 2020, 12:07 am

Small cap enthusiasts might want to keep an eye on Aim-listed Tiziana Life Sciences.

Word reaches Betaville that the company has developed a unique approach for the fight against Coronavirus.

In case you don't recall Tiziana's shares soared over 200pc last month during one trading session after it launched plans to fastrack a drug it thinks could treat some of the more severe symptons of Coronavirus...

Read more...

Phaldrick scoops award for scoop...

Friday, 3 April 2020, 9:50 pm

A hearty congratulations goes out to former colleague Philip Aldrick, economics editor at The Times. Today he won the the Business and Finance Journalist of the Year award from the Society of Editors.

I have worked across the business desks of 'Fleet Street' for a quite a while and I couldn't think of a more diligent but understated journalist as Phil Aldrick, who I used to work alongside at The Daily Telegraph several years ago...

Read more...

Quelle Surprise: Nestle buys Lily's Kitchen for £100 million

Thursday, 2 April 2020, 9:21 pm

I see The Times business section today ran a piece on the front page of its business section about Nestle buying Lily's Kitcken, the upmarket pet food brand.

Now that won't come as much of surprise to regular followers of my work as I first broke the news of Lily's Kitchen hiring advisers late last year in the Mail on Sunday's business section. See below:..

Read more...

[Disclaimer - the information on Betaville does not consitute any form of investment recommendation and is not intended to be relied upon by readers in making, or refraining from, any investment decisions].