How the boss of Zilch became UK fintech’s power broker July 8, 2026 Last year, Zilch founder Philip Belamant sat down with then-boss of Monzo, TS Anil. As the two friends caught up, Belamant was fizzing with ideas to turn his $2bn British fintech into a global powerhouse, according to sources familiar with the matter. Not long ago, Zilch had set up shop across the pond, and Belamant [...]
Billionaire Easyjet founder in line for £800m payday from takeover July 6, 2026 Easyjet founder Sir Stelios Haji-Ioannou could be in line for a bumper £800m payday as part of the airline’s proposed takeover by private equity firm Castlelake. The British-Cypriot entrepreneur, who founded the company in 1995, holds some 116m shares in the budget carrier and will net a huge payout should he decide to sell his [...]
Sky buys ITV broadcasting arm in £1.6bn deal July 6, 2026 Sky has confirmed it will take over ITV’s broadcasting arm for £1.6bn, in a move the media giant says will safeguard its role as a public service broadcaster. The US-owned broadcaster said on Monday it will pay £1.6bn in total for ITV Media and Entertainment, which include its free-to-air TV channels in the UK and [...]
Easyjet board reaches agreement over £5.2bn Castlelake takeover July 5, 2026 The board of Easyjet is poised to accept a takeover bid by private equity firm Castlelake, in a move that could add the airline to a growing list of blue-chip companies that have unveiled plans to quit the London Stock Exchange since the start of the year. The offer of £6.90 per share, the fifth [...]
Easyjet rejects fourth bid but holds out for ‘more attractive’ offer June 25, 2026 Easyjet has slapped down suitor Castlelake for a fourth time but said it was open to a “more attractive proposal” from the US private equity firm. The budget airline revealed on Thursday it had rejected a £6.50 per share bid, which valued it at £4.9bn, saying that Castlelake was “substantially undervaluing the company and its [...]
HSBC bags £135m from former Silicon Valley Bank as job cuts push up restructuring bill June 24, 2026 The rescued UK wing of Silicon Valley Bank has paid another bumper dividend to HSBC as it racked up costs amid a sweeping restructure. HSBC Innovation Banking – the branding bestowed on the collapsed Silicon Valley Bank UK (SVBUK) – was taken over by Europe’s largest lender in March 2023 as ministers, regulators and banking [...]
FTSE 100 Segro shares rocket as it fights off £12.6bn swoop by US real estate giant June 24, 2026 Real estate investment firm Segro has rejected a £12.6bn bid from a US fund looking to combine the two companies into one mammoth investment trust. Prologis said it had gone public with its offer in a bid to convince Segro shareholders to back the deal. As part of Prologis’ offer, Segro stocks would be valued [...]
Frasers bid for Hugo Boss ‘more compelling’ amid turnaround June 23, 2026 The €2bn bid for Hugo Boss launched by Mike Ashley’s Frasers Group has become “more compelling” as the German fashion house’s near-term outlook softens, analysts have said. The takeover offer, tabled by the FTSE 250 firm earlier this month, proposed to exchange €38 per share for the equity in Hugo Boss it does not already [...]
Easyjet investors call for £600m more from US bidder June 23, 2026 Easyjet investors have said they are holding out for at least £600m more from Castlelake, the US private equity firm whose bids have been brushed off by the budget airline. Shareholders in the FTSE 250 firm said that they would not consider a takeover offer unless the offer reached at least £7 per share, valuing [...]
Castlelake urges Easyjet investors to back £4.7bn takeover bid June 22, 2026 Private equity firm Castlelake is calling on investors in Easyjet to lobby the budget airline to accept its third takeover offer, after the FTSE 250 carrier slapped down its latest bid over the weekend. The bidder said on Monday that Easyjet has rejected three successive takeover bids and criticised the airline for its “unwillingness to [...]