Huel and Moneybox founders head to No 10 as Reeves courts scale-ups December 9, 2025 The bosses of Huel and Moneybox were among dozens of founders headed to No10 on Monday evening, as the government wooed scale-ups with a sweeping package of tax and investment reforms unveiled in the Budget. Rachel Reeves used the Downing Street reception to promote what she claimed was the most significant overhaul of entrepreneur incentives [...]
Netflix holds Hollywood’s crown, but at what cost? December 9, 2025 If you have so much as glanced at any headlines in the past few days, you will have seen that Hollywood is entering a new era of streaming consolidation, with Netflix leading the way. The US giant has agreed a mega $72bn (£54bn) deal to acquire Warner Bros Discovery’s film and TV studios, HBO Max, [...]
Trump won’t be able to resist shaping the future of American media December 9, 2025 Less than twenty years ago, Netflix was still sending DVDs through the post. That particular innovation helped to see off Blockbuster, which crashed from a valuation of around $5bn in the early 2000s to bankruptcy in 2011. Today, Netflix has a valuation north of $400bn and is swooping on a giant of the golden age [...]
Magnum only scoops €8bn valuation on stock market debut December 9, 2025 Unilever’s demerged Magnum Ice Cream Company netted a €7.8bn (£6.8bn) valuation on its stock market debut, heavily undershooting early analyst expectations at an initial public offering overshadowed by a long-running spat with the founders of Ben & Jerry’s. Shares in the ice cream group, which also owns the Cornetto and Wall’s brands, opened 60 cents [...]
Paramount crashes Netflix-Warner Bros party with £108bn rival bid December 8, 2025 Paramount Skydance has launched a hostile takeover bid for Warner Bros Discovery (WBD), throwing the film titan’s recent deal with streaming giant Netflix into uncertainty. On Monday, Paramount said its all-cash tender offer of $30 (£22.50) per share provides shareholders $18bn more than Netflix’s $27.75 per share offer. Paramount chief executive David Ellison argued the [...]
LIV Golf is Formula 1 and PGA Tour is IndyCar, says CEO O’Neil December 8, 2025 LIV Golf chief Scott O’Neil says he wants the challenger circuit to be the Formula 1 to the PGA Tour’s IndyCar. The PGA Tour remains home to most of the top players in men’s golf but is US-centric, while LIV Golf is more international in outlook and innovative in presentation but has few stars at [...]
Townhouse: Sales double at luxury nail salon chain backed by Alton Towers owner December 8, 2025 Turnover at Townhouse, a luxury nail salon chain backed by the owner of Alton Towers, has more than doubled as it created hundreds of jobs during its latest financial year, it has been revealed. Townhouse Group has posted a turnover of almost £13m for 2024, new accounts filed with Companies House show. The total is [...]
Pubs outraged as Selfridges and Harrods see business rates slashed December 8, 2025 Rachel Reeves is facing a backlash for a cut to business rates for the likes of Selfridges and Harrods while many pubs and restaurants see a huge hike. Analysis has found that a new shake-up of business rates will cause the tax bill of luxury stores to fall, while smaller venues face double-digit increases. Harrods’ [...]
Anglo American axes bumper pay plan ahead of vote December 8, 2025 Anglo American has shelved plans to give its top executives a bumper payday if it completes its planned $50bn (£38bn) megamerger with Canada’s Teck, in a dramatic climbdown ahead of a shareholder vote on Tuesday. The FTSE 100 mining behemoth had sought investor approval for a motion to pay chief executive Duncan Wanblad a £8.5m [...]
Reynolds and Mac sell stake in Wrexham AFC to major sport investors December 8, 2025 Rob Mac and Ryan Reynolds have sold part of Championship football club Wrexham AFC to Apollo Sports Capital. The sports investment company recently acquired a majority stake in LaLiga giants Atletico Madrid and will now add a minority holding in the Welsh team – Reynolds and Mac will continue as controlling owners. Reynolds and Mac [...]