Money Buzz! Europa

Tag: london

  • 3Forge opens London office

    3Forge opens London office

    3Forge announced that it further strengthened its global presence with the opening of a London office.

    3Forge’s UK office, located in Canary Wharf, enables the New York-based firm to significantly increase local support of its extensive client base, which includes three of the world’s largest banks operating in the UK and continental European market. 

    The expansion also creates substantial growth opportunities for the firm to deliver its analytics AMI platform that offers fast, precise, and insightful data analytics to enterprises, as well as gives the firm greater access to the region’s deep pool of technology talent to meet future growth demands.

    Founder and CTO Robert Cooke commented: “The opening of our London office signifies a major milestone in our decade-long journey. Our European expansion allows us to be closer to our rapidly growing global bank clients, giving us greater ability to provide them with the highest level of support possible.” 

  • Algeco completed the acquisition of Wexus Group

    Algeco completed the acquisition of Wexus Group

    Algeco, the leading modular space leasing business in Europe and Asia Pacific, completed the acquisition of Wexus Group.

    This follows the announcement on 4 June 2020 that Algeco had agreed to acquire Wexus from Norvestor Equity AS and other shareholders.

    The transaction was subject to review by the Norwegian competition authority, which has now approved the acquisition.

    This transaction will further strengthen Algeco’s position in the attractive Nordic modular space market that has grown at a CAGR of 12% from 2015 to 2018.

    Growth is expected to continue to be driven by long-term public sector contracts and infrastructure investment.

    Who is Wexus

    The company is a leading provider of high-quality modular building solutions in the Nordic region. Headquartered in Norway, also has operations in Sweden and a modern wooden module production facility in Estonia that can support Algeco’s enlarged business.

    Wexus operates a fleet of c. 1,600 units, has c. 110 employees and revenues of c. €35m in the twelve months to March 2020.

  • FlyForm receives investment to accelerate £1bn growth plan

    FlyForm receives investment to accelerate £1bn growth plan

    FlyForm received a growth capital investment from Lloyds Bank, in partnership with Izy Capital as Lead Advisor.

    With this investment, FlyForm will continue to consolidate its position as the leading ServiceNow consultancy firm, before expanding into complementary market spaces, ultimately targeting annual revenue of £1 billion over the next 10 years.

    Founded in late 2015 and headquartered in Cardiff (Wales), FlyForm is led by co-founders Arron Davies (COO) and Philip Davies (CEO) – one of WalesOnline’s “2019’s 35-under-35” inductees.

    Since its early days, the company has quickly expanded to work with clients across the UK and experienced compounded annual growth rate of 261%.

    The company’s current clients span a variety of sectors, including government, financial services and healthcare.

  • Checkout.com becomes one of the most valuable fintechs globally

    Checkout.com becomes one of the most valuable fintechs globally

    Checkout.com announces a $150m Series B funding round, tripling the value of the online international payments business.

    The $5.5bn valuation reflects a growing business demand for transformative online payment solutions that perform across all geographies and channels.

    Checkout.com’s online transaction numbers had already increased by 250% comparing May ’19 and May ’20. Global lockdowns have further accelerated Checkout.com’s growth as businesses have rapidly pivoted online.

    The Series B funding was led by Coatue, along with participation from existing investors, including Insight Partners, DST Global, Blossom Capital, and Singapore’s Sovereign Wealth Fund, GIC.

    Checkout.com will use these funds to further strengthen its balance sheet, bringing available cash to over $300m.

    The company will also invest in the development of new innovative products, including its upcoming advanced Payouts solution and the capability to accelerate settlement times.

    The Series B fundraise follows a record-breaking $230m Series A in May 2019, which was Europe’s largest fintech Series A round of funding ever.

    Checkout.com processes over 150 currencies and employs over 750 staff across 13 offices globally.

  • Number of UK mortgages approvals slump to a new 27-year low

    Number of UK mortgages approvals slump to a new 27-year low

    Data gathered by Buyshares.co.uk shows that the United Kingdom mortgage approvals slumped by 71.76% between March 2020 and April 2020.

    The slump goes on record as the biggest in 27 years.

    In March, the approvals stood at 56.160 and later dropped to 15.850 for April. The highest mortgage approvals for 2020 in the UK were recorded in February at 73.550, an increase of 3.75% from January’s figure of 70.890.

    Between April 2019 and April 2020, the approvals dropped by 76.07%. In April last year, the figure stood at 66.260. In 2019 between April and December, the approvals remained constant with an average of 65,960.

    The drop in approvals can be attributed to the coronavirus pandemic and new homeowners are set to feel the full impact.

    The Buyshares.co.uk data also overviewed mortgage approvals in the UK between January 1987 and April 2020. During the period, the approvals registered a slump of 86.61%, the highest in history.

    In January 1987, the approvals were 118.400. The highest mortgage approvals were recorded in April 1988 at 151.500 before embarking on a downward trajectory to hit a low of 62.600 in December 1992.

    Another notable slump was recorded amid the financial crisis in February 2009 at 27.000. Over the last ten years, the highest UK mortgage approvals were in March 2014 at 76.950.

  • EasyJet will restart flights from 21 European airports

    EasyJet will restart flights from 21 European airports

    EasyJet announced that it will resume some flights on 15 June. Services will be operating from London Gatwick, Bristol, Birmingham, Liverpool, Newcastle, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Inverness, Belfast, and Isle of Man in the UK.

    In addition, flying will resume in France from Nice, Paris Charles de Gaulle, Toulouse, Bordeaux, Nantes, Lyon and Lille, as well as from Geneva in Switzerland, Lisbon and Porto in Portugal, and Barcelona in Spain.

    Flying will principally be on domestic routes alongside a minimal number of international routes. The airline expects to increase flying as customer demand continues to build and restrictions are relaxed.

    A new range of additional measures will be in place to help ensure the safety and wellbeing of all customers and crew onboard.

    These include enhanced aircraft disinfection for easyJet aircraft; customers, cabin and ground crew will be required to wear masks; there will also initially be no food service onboard flights, all of which operate on a short-haul network.

  • Ryanair reported a full year profit of €1bn

    Ryanair reported a full year profit of €1bn

    Ryanair Holdings reported a full year profit of €1,002m (excl. hedge ineffectiveness), compared to €885m last year.

    Highlights include:

    • Traffic grew 4% to 149m guests.
    • Revenue per guest rose 6% to €57 (2% higher fares & ancillary rev. up 16%).
    • Over 90% of flights arrived on-time (excl. ATC delays).
    • EU’s greenest, cleanest airline (66g CO₂ pax/km).
    • 5 new bases & 390 new routes.
    • Malta Air became 4th Group airline.
    • New digital platform launched with improved, personalised, guest offers.
    • Strong balance sheet & liquidity.

    Sales grew 10% to €8.5bn. Scheduled Revenue, driven by 4% traffic growth to 149m and 2% higher fares, increased by 6% to €5.6bn.

    Covid-19 flight restrictions and aircraft groundings in the 2nd half of March reduced traffic by over 5m in Q4.

    The fuel bill rose 14% (+€335m) to €2.8bn due to higher prices and 4% traffic growth. Ex-fuel unit costs were adversely impacted by a 48% drop in March traffic (-5.2m guests) due to Covid-19 groundings and, as a result, rose by 4% (ahead of the +2% guided). 

    How the group airlines performed

    Buzz increased its fleet to 45 B737s and expanded outside Poland with new bases in Prague and Budapest.

    Lauda underperformed in FY20 with fares lower than expected, due to intense price competition from Lufthansa subsidiaries in its core Austrian and German markets. FY20 traffic, however, grew to 6.4m at high load factors. 

    Due to Covid-19 restrictions, the Lauda fleet has been grounded since 17 March.  With costs running ahead of other Group airlines and Lauda’s main competitor, Austrian Airlines, expected to receive an €800m State Aid bailout, Lauda has had to completely rethink its strategy and significantly lower its growth plans. 

    Failure to agree meaningful cost reductions on 20 May will result in the Vienna A320 base being closed on 30 May with over 300 job losses. Lauda has already abandoned plans to operate a base in Zadar for the Ryanair Group.

    Malta Air, which became the 4th Group airline last summer, grew strongly in FY20.  With a fleet of almost 120 aircraft, it has taken over the Group’s French, German, Italian and Maltese bases.

    Ryanair DAC performed well in FY20 and opened new markets in Armenia, Georgia and Lebanon.

    Its fleet, however, has dropped to 275 B737s as both Buzz and Malta Air took over flight operations for the Group. 

  • Thomas Goode & Co’s flagship Mayfair store set for refurbishment

    Thomas Goode & Co’s flagship Mayfair store set for refurbishment

    Thomas Goode & Co’s flagship Mayfair store is set to be part of a multi-million pound refurbishment by the building’s owner, Cain International.

    The business which is approaching its 200th anniversary has been based in South Audley Street for over 150 years.

    Cain International secured planning consent last month for the important Heritage building. It is set to undergo a major refurbishment which will include the creation of 23 luxury serviced apartments operated by the Oberoi Group.

    The Oberoi Group headquartered in New Delhi operates 32 hotels across the world and already has an association with Thomas Goode through the opening of a boutique and a museum within the Oberoi in Mumbai in February 2019.

    Thomas Goode & Co chairman Johnny Sandelson said: “For almost 200 years, Thomas Goode & Co has been synonymous with the finest quality china, glass and tableware. We are now taking the brand into the 21st century. After refurbishment we will return to a smaller retail space, but it will retain much of its glorious past in a more contemporary setting.”

  • Farfetch first quarter revenue increased by 90%, to $331 million

    Farfetch first quarter revenue increased by 90%, to $331 million

    Farfetch, a leading global platform for the luxury fashion industry, reported its financial results for the first quarter ended March 31, 2020.

    This are the main highlights:

    Q1 2020 Gross Merchandise Value up 46% year-over-year; Digital Platform GMV up 19% year-over-year (20% on constant currency basis).

    $107 million Brand Platform GMV in Q1 2020 on continued strength of New Guards brand portfolio;

    Q1 2020 Revenue increased 90% year-over-year to $331 million;

    Q1 2020 Loss After Tax remained relatively unchanged and Adjusted EBITDA improved, year-over-year; Adjusted EBITDA Margin improved to (7)%;

    Cash and cash equivalents of $422 million at quarter-end; $400 million Convertible Senior Notes issuance in April 2020 further strengthens liquidity position.

    How the digital platform performed

    The digital platform continued to offer consumers a selection of luxury fashion through partnerships with more than 1,200 sellers, including over 500 direct brand e-concessions.

    • Q1 in-season stock exceeded 300,000 SKUs from more than 3,400 brands;
    • Signed new e-concession with Balmain, among other luxury brands;
    • Maintained 100% three-year retention of top 100 direct brand and top 100 boutique partners.

  • Vodafone to pay 9 euro cents dividends per share

    Vodafone to pay 9 euro cents dividends per share

    Vodafone revenue for the fiscal year 2019-2020 grew by 3.0% to €45.0 billion, supported by improving commercial momentum in Europe.

    The group’s revenues increased by 3% to 45 billion and the adjusted EBITDA increased by 2.6% to 14.9 billion.

    Net cash flow was 4.9 billion, thus allowing the company to confirm the dividend per share of 9 eurocents and leading the stock to jump 8% in London. Net losses reduced to 455 million (7.6 billion the previous year).

    During the year, 5G services were launched by Vodafone in 97 cities across eight European countries while four million customers signed up to its unlimited mobile data plans after launching speed-tiered unlimited plans in six of its markets. 

    Vodafone forecasts for the next financial year 2020-2021 an adjusted EBITDA “from flat to slightly decreasing, compared to a revised FY20 reference base of 14.5 billion”.

  • Thimba Media acquires Casinomartini.com from Swedish owners

    Thimba Media acquires Casinomartini.com from Swedish owners

    Thimba Media, a global iGaming content marketing company, acquires Casinomartini.com, its player bases, operations and staff from the Swedish based founders of the business.

    Casino Martini main operations include the UK, Germany and New Zealand. It offers a strong platform for organic growth in these markets for Thimba Media.

    The agreed purchase price represented a multiple of approximately 3.9x EBITDA for the last twelve months, with the possibility of additional payments based on certain key performance indicators.

    The founder of Casino Martini  will continue to be involved in the operations and use their know-how to support Thimba Media’s roll out of the product in Latin America and Canada.

    The acquisition was settled using Thimba Media’s current cash balance.

  • Stenn closed a new $200 million financing facility

    Stenn closed a new $200 million financing facility

    Stenn International Ltd announced that it has closed a new $200 million financing facility from Crayhill Capital Management LP, a New York-based private credit manager and asset-based lender.

    The facility complements Stenn’s existing accounts receivable securitisation programme, which provides financing to companies engaged in international trade.

    The new programme, Stenn Direct Funding, carries a sizeable accordion feature and is structured to ease access to working capital for new and existing clients via Stenn’s online funding technology.

    This new facility will help provide liquidity and cash flow management to global companies affected by the coronavirus pandemic.

    Founded in 2015, Stenn provides agile financing for international trade across a range of industries, helping to address the $1.5 trillion ‘trade finance gap’ identified by the International Chamber of Commerce as a significant unmet need in global trade financing.