Betaville

Sunday review: Fidelity National Information Services Inc, Global Payments Inc and Network International Holdings

Payment companies are in the headlines this Sunday but not necessarily for similar reasons...

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Goodbye Nimmy; welcome ?...

The merry-go-round on Britain's Sunday newspaper City desks continues unabated despite these turbulent times.

Betaville understands Jamie "Nimmy" Nimmo, a colleague on the Mail on Sunday's business section, is off to join chums at The Sunday Times as Associate Business Editor...

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The business hack, The Hut Group denial and the goodbye...

Farewell then Peter Evans.

Sadly the excellent Enterprise Editor of The Sunday Times is heading off to the calmer climate in the West Country but not before pointing out that Matthew Moulding of the soon-to-be-listed the Hut Group point blank denied he had any plans to float his company when he interviewed him last year. Below is a link to Peter's excellent interview with Mr Moulding:..

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Hot streak... - Part 2

Hat tip to Oliver "Shahsy" Shah.

Ten days ago the intrepid hack and business editor of The Sunday Times splashed the section he edits with a scoop about Mike Ashley move's to buy Dave Whelan's Sports for more than £30 million. Below is the link:

https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/mike-ashley-bids-for-dave-whelans-bust-dw-sports-cm8mplt5k..

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Sunday review on a Monday: Osmond interview in The Sunday Times suggests he eyeing embattled Pizza Express...

The excellent Sabah Meddings of the The Sunday Times business section carried out an interview with Hugh Osmond this weekend and it made for extremely interesting reading. Below is the link to the piece:

The swashbuckling dealmaker has been running around setting up an acquistion vehicle - Broadstone - so the dealmaking community is watching his every step, especially as Osmond made his first fortune with Luke Johnson from Pizza Express...

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The City diarist, the top London estate agent and the glass box...

Ping! An email arrives from Trevor Abrahmsohn of Glentree International, also known as the estate agent who sells top end piles in Hampstead (a smart of central London equivalent to the Upper West/East Sides in New York) and its environs...

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Pants on Fire!

Several years ago The Sunday Times business section used to run little stories under the banner of "Pants on Fire" when the newspaper discovered it had been lied to by a company or its public relation advisers about a big scoop it had been trying to stand up for publication...

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Bears start mauling Hiscox...

Shares of Lloyd's of London insurer Hiscox were down almost over 40pc in the last 48 hours amid concerns for the future of the company.

Now, there are several good reasons why the stock is so out of fashion. I will list them below:..

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Sunday review: WH Smith, IAG and Asos

Hat tip to Oliver Shah, Sabah Meddings, Gabriel Pogrund and Caroline Wheeler at The Sunday Times for digging out today's main book scoop about how the Abu Dhabi-owned ExCel centre was trying to charge the NHS between £2 million and £3 million in rent to the NHS for the new Nightingale hospital. Below is the link:..

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Saudi Arabians said to be in talks to buy Newcastle United for £340 million, reveals the WSJ

Scribblers at the venerable Wall Street Journal just landed a corker of a scoop about Mike Ashley's football (soccer) club.

According to the excellent newspaper, Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund is backing another tilt at Newcastle United, the Premier League football club owned by the boss of Sports Direct...

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The Pink'un, the Bank of England and the new (ish) economics reporter

Splashed across the front page of the venerable Financial Times is a "scoop" generated by an interview with Mark Carney, the guvnor of the Bank of England, by Lionel Barber, the outgoing editor of the paper.

It's a brilliant interview to land but just a shame that Mr Carney trots out so many statements of the obvious, such as "it's generally true that there's much less ammunition for all the major central banks [to fight recessions] than they previously had"...

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The millionaire, the row and the private jet company for celebrities...

A good old fashioned dogfight is brewing in the skies above London’s junior stockmarket.

The legal battle between Gama Aviation - an AIM-listed private jet supplier to celebs, such as Lewis Hamilton before he ditched the mode of transport - and one of its customers, millionaire Andre Serruys, centres on allegations of false invoicing, dodgy deals for private jet parts and a failure to maintain Serruys’ plane, a Challenger 601 private jet...

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Scoop confirmed for Betaville's old chums...

Take a bow Simon Duke, a former colleague from Betaville's jobbing freelancing days on The Sunday Times business section, and Katherine Griffiths, who I worked with on The Daily Telegraph some time ago, of The Times...

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Sunday review - Intu Properties, FinnCap and J Sainsbury

The City of London should be cranking back into fourth gear this week as the summer holidays come to an end. I guess, then, it isn't surprising that there were plenty of compelling tales in the Sunday newspaper business sections today...

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Sunday review on a Monday: the rainmaker, the Cobham deal and the house...

The mischevious scamp who pens the excellent Prufrock diary column in The Sunday Times gave Ravi Gupta, the top Rothschild banker running the Cobham deal, a bit of a shoeing this weekend.

Liam Kelly unveiled the expensive contents of Mr Gupta's rather large house in Hampstead, North London, and then noted he was responsible for selling off Britain's largest industrial businesses, such as Cobham, to any predator willing to pay a sum...

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Sunday review on a Monday: BT Group, Phoenix Group and Thomas Cook

John McDonnell, the shadow chancellor, appreared to definitively rule out any potential re-nationalisation of BT Group in yesterday's The Sunday Times following reports from Yahoo Finance a couple of weeks ago that Labour was looking at the possibility of taking the telecoms giant back into public ownership.

Below is the link to Oliver Shah and John Collingridge's fascinating piece in yesterday's business sections:..

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Sunday review - ITV

Oliver Shah's business comment piece in this weekend's The Sunday Times contains an interesting snippet for ITV watchers: an activist investor is rumoured to be studying the possibility of buying a stake in the broadcaster.

The piece goes on to speculate about how the company could look at splitting itself in two or a combination with a rival, such as Germany's ProSieben. Below is a link:..

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Overseas rival said to be eyeing FTSE 100-listed Centrica, suggests The Sunday Times

Tucked away in the middle of The Sunday Times business section is a rather intriguing line in Oliver Shah's excellent commentary column.

"With Centrica’s shares trading at 92.8p, a price also reminiscent of another era (they last sunk to that level in the late 1990s), City scuttlebutt suggests at least one overseas rival is eyeing the FTSE 100 stalwart with a view to gaining a foothold in the British market."..

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Middle Eastern investors said to be in talks to buy 25pc stake Annabel's, reports The Sunday Times

Betaville was having a rather good weekend until I came across a story in yesterday's business section of The Sunday Times...

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Acerbic Alistair wins award...

Tucked away in the top left hand corner of page 2 of today's The Times was a notice about how Alistair Osborne, chief business commentator, has been named financial journalist of the year at the annual City of London Wealth Management Awards. ..

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Quelle Surprise: Gatwick Airport sold...

Apologies for the lack of posts in the last few days. Betaville has been enjoying a few days of merrymaking and eating chocolate.

Anyway, on arriving back at my desk this morning I was presented with the news that Global Infrastructure Partners (GIP) and friends have sold some of their shareholdings in Gatwick airport to French firm Vinci for an estimated £2.9 billion...

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Will the Perma-Bear be on the money this time?

Albert Edwards, the so-called City "Perma-Bear" and strategist at Societe Generale, tends to get in the neck for his predictions of doom over the last decade, especially as equities have been on a non-stop bull run since 2009.

And the cassandra was at it again when I wrote a piece about the state of the stockmarket for The Sunday Times business section late last year. He warned:..

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Sunday review - the Debenhams/Ashley conundrum.

Neil Craven, a colleague over at the Mail on Sunday's business section, landed a cracking tale this weekend about ailing department store Debenhams...

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Former business editor turned PR man writes something interesting about activists...

Most hacks on national newspapers are bombarded by public relations-driven research on daily basis. Today, for example, I count around 20 of these type of emails in my inbox. And I'm just a jobbing freelancer and editor of a one man band website. Just imagine how many a staff journalist receives on a national newspaper...

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That £10 billion Gatwick sale...

At first sight it would appear hacks over at Bloomberg followed my scoopette in this weekend's Mail on Sunday about the looming £10 billion Gatwick Airport sale. Below is a link to the Irish Independent's rip off yesterday's Bloomberg follow up, which is dated October 14th (yesterday):..

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Bank holiday review: blue is the colour, football is the game...

Let's face it - one of the biggest busiess/sport/politcial (?) stories of the weekend was the The Sunday Times mega scoop about Roman Abramovich hiring advisers from Raine to carry out a "strategic review" (banker parlance for sale) of Chelsea Football Club after receiving multiple bids...

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That Esure bid - a backjobber's dream...

So, the idea that "nothing happens" in the London market during August has been scotched once again by a £1.2 billion takeover bid for insurer Esure from private equity firm Bain Capital.

And there were few hacks this morning claiming they "had" the scoop/story...last year, that is...

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Sunday review on a Monday: Luke Johnson on WeWork

Betaville wasn't too impressed with Luke Johnson's columns when he first arrived at The Sunday Times several years ago.

However, the entrepreneur, investor and now journalist has managed to turn it around, churning out some real humdingers in recent weeks.

Indeed, this website particularly enjoyed this weekend's cynical piece by Luke on WeWork, the shared co-working space. Below is a link to the column:..

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Argo Blockchain poised to start trading...

Shares in a company that wants to be the first cryptocurrency business to list in London are set to begin trading tomorrow.

Stock in Argo Blockchain, which hopes to mine for crypto currencies, is likely to begin changing hands on the London Stock Exchange at around 16p tomorrow, said sources claiming to be familiar with the matter...

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Pro European City types cook up new British advocacy group / political party - The Series Returns...

Loyal readers will be aware that this website was one of the first "media organisations" to flag up the story about how powerful business people with cash and connections to politicians, such as Roland Rudd, are looking to back a Pro European centrist group interested in establishing a new political party following the dreaded Brexit. Below is a link to the original piece and follow up in the The Sunday Times...

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Damaged Goods: The Inside Story Of...-Part 6

There is an intriguing little diary piece in today's The Times about how a mystery property tycoon with a penchant for the Latin phrase Veni Vidi Vici has bought 200 copies of Oliver Shah's new tome about Sir Philip Green and is handing them out to friends, business acquaintances and colleagues.

Below is a link to Dom Walsh's City people diary column:..

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China outbound M&A. A second wave coming...? - Part 3

Below is a link to a great scoop by John Collingridge, now deputy editor of The Sunday Times business section, about how China General Nuclear is trying to buy a stake worth £4 billion in Britain's nuclear power stations from Centrica and EDF.

https://www.thetimes.co.uk/edition/business/chinas-cgn-eyes-stake-in-uk-nuclear-stations-rll8f0lp9..

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China outbound M&A. A second wave coming...?

Are the Chinese about to unleash another round of dealmaking for European businesses?

A couple of years ago some of China's largest companies attempted unprecedented deals for western corporates - e.g. Anbang's $14 billion bid for Starwood Hotels - and, of course, well-known top flight football clubs...

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Damaged Goods: The Inside Story Of...-part 5

Sir Philip didn't make it down to yesterday's legendary launch (was he ever invited?) at Fortnum & Mason.

But there were few other business big hitters there to congratulate Oliver Shah on his brilliant new tome, including John Lovering, the fomer Debenhams chairman, Luke Johnson, former chairman of Pizza Express and Amanda Staveley, the Mayfair-based bank and football club dealmaker...

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Damaged Goods: The Inside Story Of...-part 4

Betaville's just heading off to a certain launch party for a book about a certain retail tycoon by a certain newly-appointed business editor of a business section of a Sunday newspaper.

If that isn't a giveaway then let me tell you straight - it's the launch party of Oliver Shah's book on Sir Philip Green, which is being held at Fortnum and Mason, which is in a smart part of Central London...

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Damaged Goods: The Inside Story Of...-part 3

It's out!

Yes, that's the book being penned by a certain hack at The Sunday Times about a well-known retail tycoon.

For legal reasons, Betaville can't really get into the nitty gritty of the book but click on the link below if you want to know who the tome is about and how to order it on Kindle:..

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Another one bites the dust...

Sad news: Iain Dey, business editor of The Sunday Times, is leaving business journalism for the world of financial PR.

His departure from the trade follows a long line of Betaville's former Telegraph colleagues - such as Damian Reece, James Quinn and Jonathan Sibun - joining the somewhat better paid (and, I suspect, better hours) world of corporate communications...

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A Kiwi quelle surprise...

Take a bow Dan Dunkley (who as far as I'm aware is down in New Zealand somewhere).

Dan, who Betaville had the pleasure of working with at several publications, last year revealed in The Sunday Times that GlaxoSmithKline was preparing to buy out its joint venture partner, Novartis, to get control of their consumer healthcare division. Below is a link to Dan's piece:..

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Damaged Goods: The Inside Story Of...-part 2

So, it would appear Sebastian Shakespeare of the Daily Mail was quicker off the mark than Betaville readers.

The gossip columnist figured out pretty quickly which retail tycoon is the focus of the new page turner and led his top diary column with the story in the newspaper today. I have pasted a link below:..

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Another skewering...

Take a bow Oliver Shah, City Editor at the The Sunday Times...

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Shares go down; shares go up...

There seems to be only one story the world's financial press cares about this week: the rout and rallies of global equity markets.

So, if your looking for a bit of perspective on the whole affair Betaville suggests reading this piece (link below) published in The Sunday Times late last year...

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M&A hack walks into the sunset...or more like the other side of the world

So farewell Dan Dunkley, The Sunday Times deals reporter who Betaville has had the pleasure of working with at several different publications.

Some of Dan's memorable M&A scoops include revealing: the detail of Mediclinic's bid £1.3 billion bid for Spire Healthcare; Aveva's merger Schneider Electric; and unveiling Li Ka Shing's attempt to buy O2 from Telefonica for £9 billion.

I have pasted the links to Dan's scoops below:..

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Another day, another confirmation...

Avid followers of Betaville's work might have noticed a scoopette in this weekend's section of The Sunday Times about Accrol, the loo-roll maker, plotting an £18 million equity fundraising. Below is the link in case you missed it:

https://www.thetimes.co.uk/edition/business/lidls-loo-roll-maker-accrol-flushes-out-18m-rescue-phv3kcbbm..

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The return of the former Kaupthing dealmaker and pants on fire...

Below is a link to Andrew Lynch's Prufrock column in The Sunday Times business section.

https://www.thetimes.co.uk/edition/business/carney-makes-case-for-capitalism-83l87t8m0..

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Another day, another deal confirmed...

I broke the story back in January in The Sunday Times about 3i hiring NM Rothschild to flog Hobbs (see the link below), so it's good to see a deal with South African group Foschini has finally been confirmed.

Below is the link to the piece I wrote earlier this year:

https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/hobbs-on-the-block-kq9nc739x..

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Billionaire broker on rates, recession and the Governor...

Followers of my work might have noticed a piece in this weekend's The Sunday Times quoting Peter Hargreaves, the billionaire founder of Hargreaves Lansdown, with his views on where stock markets might go next given they are flirting with record highs. Below is the link in case you missed it:..

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Revealed: Saudi Arabian diplomat takes legal action over £25 million for 'missing skyscraper' - part 2

Tucked away on page 3 of the news pages of today's business section in The Sunday Times is a little item from one of my favourite hacks, the multi award winning Oliver Shah, about how Credit Suisse and a Saudi Arabian diplomat have settled a multi-million pound lawsuit over an investment in involving a skyscraper development in London's Docklands. Here is the link:..

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Is the tide turning for Odey the Brexiteer? - part 17

The football scores are in (also known as the HSBC Hedge weekly returns). And it would appear the Odey European Fund has crept back onto the top 20 loserboard - Crispin's flagship fund is now down 7.82pc for the year to April 21, 2017, according to HSBC.

The news comes after The Sunday Times Rich List, compiled by the excellent Robert Watts, revealed last weekend that the charming buffer had slipped down that particular league table, losing £125 million last year...

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Sunday review

There weren't too many M&A scoops in the business sections this weekend but having worked for The Sunday Times, the Mail on Sunday and The Sunday Telegraph I know how some weeks it can be extremely tough digging out humdinger deal jackanories. They are a bit like buses - you wait for ages and then suddenly three come along in one go...

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Sunday review

There were a couple of pieces that caught my eye in today's Sunday newspaper business sections.

Most intriguing was a comment piece written by Iain Dey, business editor of The Sunday Times, about how Exxon Mobil might rekindle its interest in FTSE 100-listed oil giant BP. Regular Betaville readers will know this is a topic little old Betaville has broached in the past. Anyway, if you missed Iain's excellent column I have pasted the link below:..

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How Sir Philip Green, a BBC business editor and ailing retailer helped an intrepid young hack win business and finance journalist of the year award at the Press Awards

Congratulations to Oliver Shah, City Editor over at The Sunday Times.

Olly, a sometime colleague, last night got his just deserves for his series of brilliant scoops about Sir Philip Greed, the strange sale of BHS to Dominic Chappell for a £1 and the evenutal collapse of the business.

Most importantly, Olly's scoops, stories and investigative features played a large part in Sir Philip coughing up £363 million for the BHS pension scheme...

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Pro-European City types cook up new British advocacy group / political party - part 2

Re-visiting the British Sunday newspapers on a Monday is one of my favourite things to do as I often discover nuggets of info I failed to spot over the weekend when I'm scouring the business sections...

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Sunday review - Davos, Bovis Homes Group and Berkeley Group Holdings

I used to dread the Davos Economic Forum when I worked at The Daily Telegraph. That's because the higher ups would swan off for a week of "networking" in the Swiss Alps leaving the middle rankers (like me) to pick up the slack in the office...

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The week ahead: Berkeley Group, Poundland and, er, that's it

As regular readers of my work can imagine, I was rather busy yesterday (see yesterday's The Sunday Times). So, a few jackanories fell by the wayside during yesterday's mayhem.

One of those things was a story I was trying to stack up about Berkeley Group, the London-focused housebuilder that has been heavily shorted by hedge funds over the last few months...

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Sunday review - IHG/Panmure Gordon

Undoubtedly, Daniel Dunkley's story in today's The Sunday Times about Anbang Insurance weighing a £7 billion takeover bid for InterContinentalhotels is one of the biggest corporate scoops of the weekend. Here is the link to Dan's piece:

http://www.thetimes.co.uk/edition/business/chinese-line-up-7bn-swoop-on-holiday-inn-giant-8r7bbgs68..

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Quelle Surprise: Rank, 888 Holdings and William Hill confirm this weekend's jackanory

Oh look - gaming companies Rank, 888 Holdings and William Hill have all finally confirmed my tale in this weekend's The Sunday Times about how Rank and 888 have been talking about merging with a view to then combining with William Hill.

Here are links to the announcements on the RNS:..

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Skewered

Once again Oliver Shah comes up a with more cracking stuff on the BHS saga in today's The Sunday Times. Here is a link to today's scoop:

http://www.thetimes.co.uk/edition/business/revealed-greens-plan-to-split-empire-with-chappell-q8zvwrf5v..

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Bank holiday review

Working at a British national newspaper over a bank holiday weekend can be particularly torturous. That's because, typically, there aren't many cracking business stories to be followed over a 72 hour period in which British markets have shut down...

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