The owner of London’s Camden Market appears to have lost faith in London’s public markets, making an offer this morning for Kape Technologies, saying it’ll be better off as a private company. There’s no word yet from the company on whether it’ll recommend this offer, but together with a dry spell in new companies listing in London, this isn’t a good sign for its capital markets.
(Bloomberg) — The owner of London’s Camden Market appears to have lost faith in London’s public markets, making an offer this morning for Kape Technologies, saying it’ll be better off as a private company. There’s no word yet from the company on whether it’ll recommend this offer, but together with a dry spell in new companies listing in London, this isn’t a good sign for its capital markets.
Here’s the key business news from London this morning:
In The City
Kape Technologies Plc: The software solutions company received a takeover offer from Teddy Sagi, its largest shareholder, at $3.44 per share, valuing the company at about $1.51 billion.
- Sagi, the founder of gambling software company Playtech Plc and owner of London’s Camden Market, said economic uncertainty, thin trading in the stock as well as new opportunities for growth led him to believe “Kape’s next chapter in its corporate journey should be within the private arena”
- Kape’s independent directors told its shareholders to take no action on the offer while they review it, adding that the company was approached in December by Sagi with an offer it rejected
Heathrow: The UK’s largest airport had its busiest January since 2020 with more than 5.4 million people travelling through the hub.
- “Heathrow is back to its best, with passenger satisfaction scores meeting or exceeding 2019 levels,” CEO John Holland-Kaye
MJ Hudson Group Plc: EY, the asset management consultancy’s auditor, resigned last on Friday saying it had “lost trust and confidence in the Company’s management and those charged with governance”
- The big four audit firm said they did not trust MJ Hudson’s leadership to provide them with “accurate and reliable information for audit”
In Westminster
The UK business community is urging Chancellor Jeremy Hunt to incentivize investment, cut taxes and tackle skills shortages in his budget next month, after the British economy narrowly avoided a recession last year.
Meanwhile, Rishi Sunak privately asked senior ministers and officials to draw up plans for rebuilding the UK’s relations with the European Union after years of acrimony since Brexit.
In Case You Missed It
Britain’s major banks look set to post bumper results this month following a year of back-to-back interest rate hikes. Still, a number of key questions hang over their fortunes in 2023.
A £17 billion “bank of mum and dad” is driving inequality between younger generations in the UK as the children of wealthy parents are handed substantially more than their peers, according to the Institute for Fiscal Studies. That’s as four in 10 renters moving home in London last year chose to leave the city as pricey monthly payments squeezed budgets to the limit.
Looking Ahead
UK unemployment data will be in focus tomorrow morning. The Bank of England has signaled it’s nearing the end of its rate-hiking cycle — but another batch of jobs data showing a still tight labour market and sticky wage pressure will “likely keep the committee from pausing just yet,” as Bloomberg economists point out.
For a more considered take on the UK’s economic and financial news, sign up to Money Distilled with John Stepek.
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