The home technology company AlertMe has been acquired by British Gas for £44m. AlertMe already works with British Gas through its remote heating control product, Hive Active Heating.
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Wed, 11/02/2015
The Premier League has concluded its latest broadcasting rights auction, with Sky maintaining its position as the main broadcaster of live Premier League football in the UK by winning five of the seven packages on offer, meaning it will continue to show games played at peak viewing times such as 4pm on Sunday afternoons and 8pm on Monday nights. The £4.2bn deal, giving it a total of 126 live games per season between 2016/17 and 2018/19, means Sky is paying 83% more for the rights to an additional ten games per season, a deal which reflects the importance of Premier League football to the
Mon, 09/02/2015
Marine & General Mutual (M&GM), the UK’s oldest registered company, has agreed to be bought by Scottish Friendly in a deal which doubles Scottish’s assets to £2bn. M&GM was established in 1852 to provide insurance for teetotal seamen.
Mon, 09/02/2015
Towergate’s senior secured and senior unsecured creditors are to take over as majority shareholders, as the insurance intermediary reduces its net debt by 60%. The restructuring agreement will see a total of £375m of new capital invested in Towergate. The private investment firm Highbridge Principal Strategies will be the largest investor.
Fri, 06/02/2015
99p Stores, the retailer which sells goods priced at 99p or less at over 250 locations across the UK, has agreed to be taken over by Poundland. Established in 1990, Poundland is owned by the private equity firm Warburg Pincus. The £55m deal is conditional on the Competition & Markets Authority giving its approval.
Thu, 05/02/2015
Plans to expand London City Airport have been given the go-ahead by Newham Council. The planning decision gives the green light for a £200m investment that will enable the airport to increase the number of flights it operates to a permitted 111,000 a year, up from the 70,000 it currently flies. The expansion programme is expected to create 1,500 new jobs and bring greater levels of inward investment to East London. Declan Collier, chief executive of London City Airport said, “The development of the airport will culminate in 2023 when, having constructed seven new aircraft stands, a parallel
Thu, 05/02/2015
The European retailer AS Adventure has been acquired by the private equity firm PAI Partners. In the UK AS Adventure owns Cotswold Outdoor, which sells a range of products such as outdoor clothes, footwear, equipment and accessories for biking, climbing, skiing and camping.
Wed, 04/02/2015
AG Barr, owner of the soft drink brands Irn-Bru and Tizer, has acquired Funkin for £21m. Funkin is a provider of fruit purees, cocktail mixers and syrups to the on-trade channel and restaurants.
Wed, 04/02/2015
The Department for Business, Innovation and Skills has sold Constructionline to Capita for £35m. Constructionline is a procurement and supply chain management service which launched in 1998.
Tue, 27/01/2015
The Office for National Statistics estimates that the rate of economic growth in the UK slowed to 0.5% in the final quarter of 2014. The rate of growth for the third quarter of the year was 0.7%. In the fourth quarter output increased by 0.8% in the services sector and by 1.3% in agriculture but decreased by 1.8% in construction and 0.1% in production. Gross Domestic Product for the whole of 2014 was up 2.6% on 2013. The estimate is subject to revision as more data becomes available, but revisions tend to be small.