
UK takeover panel sets May 21 auction for Harmony Energy
May 16 (Reuters) - The UK takeover panel said on Friday it had planned an auction for May 21 to conclude the sale of Harmony Energy Income Trust (HEIT.L), opens new tab, after rival bidders failed to submit final offers for the British battery storage investment firm.
The bidding process follows a proposal last month from two funds managed by British investment manager Foresight Group LLP, which valued Harmony at around 209.9 million pounds ($278.12 million), surpassing an earlier 199.9 million pounds bid from British power company Drax (DRX.L), opens new tab.
The outcome of the auction, which will consist of up to five rounds, is expected to be announced on May 22.
($1 = 0.7547 pounds)
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The Sun
26 minutes ago
- The Sun
Tottenham clear decks for Thomas Frank as Spurs sack THREE of Ange Postecoglou's coaching team hours after boss axed
TOTTENHAM have sacked three members of Ange Postecoglou's coaching staff following the Aussie manager's dismissal yesterday. Postecoglou was relieved of his duties in North London yesterday despite leading Spurs to a first trophy in over 17 years this season. 5 5 5 The 59-year-old said his "overriding emotion is one of pride" following his dismissal, while Spurs claimed the decision to sack the former Celtic boss was one the "toughest" the board has had to make. Now the search for a new manager is underway and Spurs are already clearing the decks for their number one target - Brentford gaffer Thomas Frank. The Telegraph have revealed that Postecoglou's assistants Nick Montgomery, Sergio Raimundo and Mile Jedinak have all been axed too. However, senior assistant coach Matt Wells and goalkeeper coach Rob Burch have remained in their roles. Sporting director Johan Lange is leading the search for Spurs' new boss with Bees gaffer Frank, 51, thought to be the front-runner for the position. It's claimed that Frank is keen on taking the job at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium and would want to bring members of his coaching staff along with him. Although the Dane is Spurs' preferred candidate, the club are reportedly "carefully assessing" their options with Fulham 's Marco Silva and Bournemouth 's Andoni Iraola also in the frame. It's widely understood that Spurs would have to fork out around £10m to release Frank from his current deal with Brentford, which runs until 2027. 5 5 Spurs have already had to splash the cash to get rid of Postecoglou, with the Aussie pocketing a rumoured £4m compensation fee on top of his £2m bonus for leading the club to Europa League glory. Sporting director Lange and Frank have history, with the pair coaching together at Danish club Lyngby and maintaining a good relationship since those days. Tottenham told fans in a statement that "news on the appointment of a new Head Coach will be announced in due course". Fans have hit back at Spurs for their decision to dismiss Postecoglou after winning the Europa League. While club is also facing a dressing room revolt with players more likely to leave after Postecoglou's exit, according to reports. But the Spurs hierarchy reiterated that they cannot base their decisions off their performance in just one competition. Their statement read: "Whilst winning the Europa League this season ranks as one of the club's greatest moments, we cannot base our decision on emotions aligned to this triumph. "It is crucial that we are able to compete on multiple fronts and believe a change of approach will give us the strongest chance for the coming season and beyond. "This has been one of the toughest decisions we have had to make and is not a decision that we have taken lightly, nor one we have rushed to conclude. "We have made what we believe is the right decision to give us the best chance of success going forward, not the easy decision." Ange Breaks Silence On Tottenham Sacking ANGE Postecoglou issued a statement just moments after being axed. It read: "When I reflect on my time as manager of Tottenham Hotspur, my overriding emotion is one of pride. "The opportunity to lead one of England's historic football clubs and bring back the glory it deserves will live with me for a lifetime. "Sharing that experience with all those who truly love this club and seeing the impact it had on them is something I will never forget. "That night in Bilbao was the culmination of two years of hard work, dedication and unwavering belief in a dream. "There were many challenges to overcome and plenty of noise that comes with trying to accomplish what many said was not possible. "We have also laid the foundations that means this club should not have to wait 17 more years for their next success. "I have enormous faith in this group of players and know there is much more potential and growth in them. I sincerely want to thank those who are the lifeblood of the club, the supporters. "I know there were some difficult times, but I always felt that they wanted me to succeed and that gave me all the motivation I needed to push on. "It's important to acknowledge the hard working people at Spurs who gave me encouragement on a daily basis. "And finally, I want to thank those who were with me every day for the last two years. "A fantastic group of young men who are now legends of this football club and the brilliant coaches who never once doubted we could do something special. 'We are forever connected. Audere est Facere.'


The Independent
33 minutes ago
- The Independent
Home Office plans to spend £2.2bn of foreign aid on asylum support this year
The Home Office plans to spend about £2.2 billion of foreign aid to support asylum seekers this financial year, according to new figures. The amount of overseas development assistance (ODA) budgeted by the Home Office – which is largely used to cover accommodation costs such as hotels for asylum seekers – is slightly less than the £2.3 billion it spent in 2024/25. International rules allow countries to count first-year costs of supporting refugees as overseas development assistance (ODA). The figures, first reported by the BBC, were published in recent days on the Home Office website. The Home Office said it is 'urgently taking action to restore order and reduce costs' which will cut the amount spent to support asylum seekers and refugees in the UK. It also said it was expected to have saved £500 million in asylum support costs in the last financial year, and that this had saved £200 million in ODA which had been passed back to the Treasury. A total of 32,345 asylum seekers were being housed temporarily in UK hotels at the end of March this year. This figure is down 15% from the end of December, when the total was 38,079, and 6% lower than the 34,530 at the same point a year earlier. Asylum seekers and their families are housed in temporary accommodation if they are waiting for the outcome of a claim or an appeal and have been assessed as not being able to support themselves independently. They are housed in hotels if there is not enough space in accommodation provided by local authorities or other organisations. Labour has previously said it is 'committed to end the use of asylum hotels over time', adding that under the previous Conservative government at one stage 'more than 400 hotels were in use and almost £9 million per day was being spent'. Jo White, chairwoman of the Red Wall group of Labour MPs, told BBC Radio 4's Today programme on Saturday: 'We need to be looking at things like ECHR article eight. I don't think anything's off the table … including looking at new options such as processing abroad. 'So, we have to be open to see how we can move move that backlog as quickly as possible. I'm getting impatient. 'I know my colleagues in parliament are getting impatient and we're pressing the Government as hard as we can on this.' A Home Office spokesperson said: 'We inherited an asylum system under exceptional pressure and are urgently taking action to restore order and reduce costs. 'This will ultimately reduce the amount of official development assistance spent to support asylum seekers and refugees in the UK. 'We are immediately speeding up decisions and increasing returns so that we can end the use of hotels and save the taxpayer £4 billion by 2026. 'The Rwanda scheme also wasted £700 million to remove just four volunteers – instead, we have surged removals to nearly 30,000 since the election, are giving law enforcement new counter-terror style powers, and increasing intelligence sharing through our Border Security Command to tackle the heart of the issue, vile people-smuggling gangs.'


The Guardian
an hour ago
- The Guardian
London residents win £550,000 compensation in cladding defects case
Residents of a multistorey development in London have received £550,000 in compensation from a housing association for cladding defects in a case they hope will set a precedent for other claims. Notting Hill Genesis (NHG) and the contractor United Living have also completed large-scale works at their own cost to remedy the buildings in the Exchange development in Bermondsey, south London. After the Grenfell Tower fire in 2017 it emerged that thousands of buildings had similar combustible cladding and other fire risks. The Exchange development, consisting of five multistorey residential and mixed-use buildings, and constructed for NHG by United Living, had widespread fire safety defects, including aluminium composite material (ACM), combustible insulation and inadequate cavity barriers. In 2020, residents began a legal case to ensure the work was carried out to make the buildings safe and that they would not have to foot the bill. Kyle Taylor, 40, who works in civil society, said he and other Exchange residents had been shocked when they heard people in a nearby building had received bills of up to £40,000 for similar remedial works. 'It has been stressful,' he said. 'We're a mixed community so we have social tenants, private tenants, and first-time buyers through shared ownership. We're a building of teachers and nurses, key workers and young professionals. I know for myself and for a number of people those bills would not have been payable. 'We are pleased that NHG and United Living have at last done the right thing, but disappointed it took so long. We bought our homes in good faith and were devastated to discover they were not safe because of cost-cutting construction. 'We have had to live in unsafe homes for many years and are relieved that we can now start putting this behind us.' Taylor, who has lived in the development since it was completed in 2014, and has at times spent 40 hours a week on admin connected to the case, said he was pleased the terms of the settlement were not confidential. 'It was really important for me, from the perspective of public interest, that we could be an example for people that it is possible to win on the basis of truth and reality and what's correct and just, but also to inspire some [other] people to go for it.' The compensation will go to 76 leaseholders and independent freeholders and the terms of the settlement mean that none of the works or legal costs can be passed on to any future leaseholders or residents. Sign up to First Edition Our morning email breaks down the key stories of the day, telling you what's happening and why it matters after newsletter promotion The residents had sought compensation for costs, including court and expert fees, having to live in unsafe homes and inconvenience caused by the building works. Christian Hansen, of Bindmans, who acted for the claimants on a no-win no-fee basis, said: 'What we've seen is that a lot of constructors are basically dragging their feet, they're not keen to do as many works as they should and they're fighting these cases. I can only hope that settlements like this will be a bit of a wake-up call to them that actually they should be settling these things sooner than they are.' An NHG spokesperson said: 'We are pleased to have reached a resolution on this case, having overseen the required building safety work at the Exchange. 'Our duty is to ensure the safety of our buildings and residents and this is always our top priority. Our publicly stated policy is that we do not recharge leaseholders for the costs of remediation work to external walls or balconies where they have been deemed to pose a risk of spreading fire.' United Living was also approached for comment.