Electric Business

The business finance provider Sancus has been taken over by GLI Finance for £38m. Sancus has loaned £40m to businesses in the Channel Islands since it was established in January 2014.

Bopp & Reuther, a German control valve producer, has been acquired by IMI. The £120m deal establishes IMI’s position in the power sector, where fast growth is predicted in emerging markets such as China and India.

MPs have voted to force the big pub chains to allow their tenants the option of buying beer and other stock on the open market and not just from the company that owns their pub. Pub landlords will also be able to ask for an independent rent review. This has been welcomed by the Campaign For Real Ale, which says it will ‘keep pubs open and ensure the cost of a pint to consumers remains affordable. The large pub companies will no longer be able to charge their tenants prices up to 60 pence a pint higher than open market prices.’ However the British Beer & Pub Association, which represents the

Connect Group, the specialist distribution company previously known as Smiths News, has acquired Tuffnells Parcels Express. Established in 1914, Tuffnells is planning to open six new depots over the next two years.

The Financial Conduct Authority has imposed fines totalling £1,114,918,000 on five banks for failing to control business practices in their foreign exchange operations. Traders from different banks colluded to manipulate currency rates in order to make profits for themselves. The five banks are Citibank, HSBC Bank, JPMorgan Chase Bank, Royal Bank of Scotland and UBS. Barclays Bank is still being investigated for similar failings and has not yet reached a settlement with the FCA. The FCA found that between 1 January 2008 and 15 October 2013, ineffective controls at the banks allowed traders to

A management buyout has been completed at Sumo Digital, the videogame developer responsible for titles such as Forza Horizon 2, Sonic and Sega All Star Racing, and the upcoming LittleBigPlanet 3. The private equity company NorthEdge Capital has backed the deal, which sees the existing management team take control from Foundation 9 Entertainment.

The composite door manufacturer Solidor has been acquired by the private equity firm NorthEdge Capital. Solidor will use the investment to expand its senior management team.

The mobile advertising agency Fetch Media has been acquired by Dentsu Aegis Network. Established in 2009, Fetch has offices in London, the US, Germany and Hong Kong.

BSkyB has been told to make Sky Sports 1 and Sky Sports 2 available on the YouView platform in an interim ruling by the Competition Appeal Tribunal. This is the latest stage in a long running battle between BSkyB and the independent communications regulator Ofcom, which in 2010 ruled that the two channels should be offered to other pay TV providers on a wholesale basis. YouView is a joint venture between the BBC, ITV, Channel 4, Channel Five, BT, Talk Talk and Arqiva which provides internet-connected TV through TV sets.

The private investment firm TPG has announced it is to buy the Italian restaurant chain Prezzo for £303.7m. Prezzo operates 249 restaurants across the UK. TPG has invested in several food and food service companies in recent years, including Del Monte, Chobani, Ingham and Burger King.