Uk Firms

OYO to invest Rs 539.57 crore in UK to expand premium hotel portfolio

Travel tech unicorn OYO on Tuesday said it plans to invest 50 million pounds (Rs 539.57 crore) in the UK over the next three years, primarily to focus on expanding its premium hotel portfolio. The investment is expected to support 1,000 jobs over the next three years in the UK hospitality sector, OYO said in a statement. In a significant strategic shift, OYO is actively pursuing premiumization of its UK portfolio, by pivoting towards premium inventory acquisition, focusing on securing long-term leasehold and management contracts. The company is also in advanced stage talks with several large hotel chains and real estate companies for potential asset management transactions. "OYO's investment in premium hotels will not only strengthen our tourism infrastructure, but back our ambitious 'Showcase Britain' initiative, helping to boost economic growth as part of our Plan for Change," said the UK Minister for Investment Baroness Poppy Gustafsson OBE in the statement. Puneet Yadav, Count

UK businesses 'encouraged' by Budget focus on growth, trust-based approach

The Union Budget tabled by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman in the Lok Sabha on Saturday has been received with much enthusiasm within the UK business and investor community, with the focus on economic growth, boosting private investment and a trust-based economic governance approach being highlighted among some of the stand-out proposals. In what marked Sitharaman's eighth consecutive Union Budget, the minister announced key allocations and policy measures across crucial sectors. Richard McCallum, CEO of UK India Business Council (UKIBC), highlighted a focus on simplifying conditionalities associated with foreign direct investment (FDI), skilling and policy reforms among some early takeaways. I'm encouraged by the focus on economic growth, on invigorating private investment [because] we do need more private investment for growth to be sustainable, on skilling and stimulating more consumer spending. We also welcome the focus on domains like tax administration and policy reform, ..

Murdoch's UK tabloids offer rare apology in settlement with Prince Harry

Rupert Murdoch's UK tabloids made a rare apology to Prince Harry in settling his privacy invasion lawsuit and will pay him a substantial sum, his lawyer said Wednesday. Harry's lawyer David Sherborne read a statement in court saying News Group offers a full and unequivocal apology to the Duke of Sussex for years of unlawful intrusion. The bombshell announcement in London's High Court as the Duke of Sussex's trial was about to start against the publishers of The Sun and now-defunct News of the World for unlawfully snooping on him over decades. Harry, 40, the younger son of King Charles III, and one other man were the only two remaining claimants out of more than 1,300 others who had settled lawsuits against News Group Newspapers over allegations their phones were hacked and investigators unlawfully intruded in their lives. In all the cases that have been brought against the publisher since a widespread phone hacking scandal forced Murdoch to close News of the World in 2011, Harry's

UK business morale gloomiest, hits two-year low after tax rises: Survey

Finance minister Rachel Reeves announced 40 billion pounds ($50 billion) of tax rises on Oct 30, the most of any budget since 1993

Worker shortages raise doubts over Britain's plan to build for growth

Britain has long lacked candidates to fill jobs, a problem made worse by the 2016 Brexit vote and Covid-19, with vacancies higher than their level before the pandemic

UK's Domino's Pizza enters into new 5-yr framework with franchise partners

Last month, the company said it was expecting to open 50 to 60 new stores in 2024 fiscal, and was on track to open its 1,400th store in the next year

Britain approves $19 billion merger between Vodafone UK, Three mobile

Vodafone and Three have committed to spend $14 billion to build a better 5G network that will serve 50 million customers, including the subscribers of Vodafone's network partner Virgin Media O2

UK regulator fines Barclays $51 mn after it drops Qatar dealings appeal

The interests of the bank, its shareholders and other stakeholders were best served by the withdrawal, Barclays said, adding that there was no material financial impact from the fine

UK consumer spending slowed before last week's budget, say retailers

The British Retail Consortium said spending in shops increased by 0.6 per cent in annual terms in October, below September's 2.0 per cent growth and the weakest rise since July

UK classic sports cars startup RBW EV Cars launches supplier business

CEO Swain said RBW aimed to make 300 of its own-brand EVs annually, and also produce up to 3,000 EV systems for other automakers via its Spirit EV unit

Reliance partners with UK's Mothercare to strengthen presence in South Asia

Reliance Brands, a unit of Reliance Industries Ltd, acquired a 51 per cent stake in the JV that owns the Mothercare brand and related intellectual property

Tata Steel CEO Narendran says want to move fast on UK decarbonisation

Chinese exports of steel into India were a 'growing concern,' Narendran said, as India turned net importer in the fiscal year that ended in March

Marks & Spencer posts 58% rise in profit as turnaround plan delivers

Sales rose 9.4% to 13.1 billion pounds, with food sales up 13.0% and clothing and homewares up 5.3%

UK firms expecting hard time in China over next 5 years, warns lobby group

British business confidence is further constrained by growing risk of increased trade tensions due to a complex geopolitical environment, it added

Diageo names Nik Jhangiani as new CFO as it recovers from profit warning

Diageo shares rose by more than 1.5% in early trading, outperforming the FTSE 100 index

UK's Thames Water faces new crisis as shareholders refuse to invest

The group has become a poster child for the failures of privatisation, after its performance deteriorated in the 2010s when its previous investors took out huge dividends

BAT likely to sell 3.5% stake in ITC for Rs 17K crore on Wednesday

British firm will use the proceeds of block trades to buy back own shares

UK minister to discuss progress of 'ambitious' trade deal in India

Britain's minister for South Asia in the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, Lord Tariq Ahmad, arrived in India on Wednesday to participate in the Raisina Dialogue in New Delhi and also discuss the progress made in the ongoing negotiations for an India-UK free trade agreement (FTA). Ahmad, FCDO Minister of State for the Middle East, South Asia, UN and the Prime Minister's Special Representative on Preventing Sexual Violence in Conflict, leads the British delegation to the flagship foreign policy conference to reaffirm the UK's commitment to upholding a free and open Indo-Pacific region. His visit to India comes as Commerce Secretary Sunil Barthwal leads a team from India to London to carry forward the fourteenth round of talks with UK officials this week. "The UK and India continue to work towards an ambitious trade deal. While we do not comment on the details of live negotiations, we continue to actively engage with India and are clear that we will only sign a deal that i

Crime wave a $4.2 bn headache for UK retailers amid 50% rise in violence

Violence and abuse against UK shop workers rose by 50% to 1,300 incidents a day while instances of theft grew to more than 45,000 daily

Super sports car segment in India to grow by 30% in '24: McLaren Automotive

British luxury carmaker McLaren Automotive on Friday said it is expecting the super sports car segment in India to register 30 per cent growth this year. McLaren is also looking to deliver about 20-odd cars to customers in India after witnessing a blip last year owing to supply chain issues. Earlier the company, which entered the Indian market in November 2022, unveiled its super sports car the 750S, priced at Rs 5.91 crore. Built at the McLaren Composites Technology Centre (MCTC) in Yorkshire, UK and imported as a completely built unit, 750S is the lightest and most powerful series-production from the company, achieving 0-200kms/hour in 7.2 seconds (Spider 7.3 seconds), as per the company. "This segment (the cars, which are priced upwards of Rs 4-5 crore) has also seen a healthy growth last year. I think post-Covid, 2021 was kind of a startup year (from the volume's perspective) and then 2022 was a good year. "While the year 2023 was better and we're thinking 2024 will be still .