Predators circle three of Britain's most promising tech firms
The future of three of Britain's most promising tech firms could be decided this week as predators circle the UK stock market.
US semiconductor giant Qualcomm has been given until 5pm today to table a bid for London-based chip designer Alphawave, though the deadline could be extended for a sixth time.
This is followed by a Wednesday cut-off for a bid to be made for analytics and intelligence firm Globaldata and another on Friday regarding Edinburgh-based healthcare tech group Craneware.
They are three of five London-listed tech firms – with a combined value of more than £5billion – being targeted as suitors race to snap them up and cash in on their success.
Takeovers would see them leave the London Stock Exchange at a time when the City is reeling from an exodus of companies and a dearth of new stock market listings.
Payments giant Wise last week announced plans to shift its primary listing from London to New York just hours after metals investor Cobalt Holdings abandoned plans to float.
Wise joins a growing list of firms to swap the City for Wall Street including Paddy Power owner Flutter, building materials firm CRH and equipment hire group Ashtead.
Garry White, chief investment commentator at wealth manager Charles Stanley, said: 'For many, the bright lights of Wall Street will be forever attractive. London should expect more losses such as this.'
While the futures of Alphawave, Globaldata and Craneware could be decided in the coming days, US payments giant Corpay is circling UK fintech Alpha Group with a deal possible by early July.
And Northern Ireland software group FD Technologies has already accepted a £570m offer from Boston-based private equity giant TA Associates. The deal now requires the approval of regulators and shareholders.
Susannah Streeter, head of money and markets at Hargreaves Lansdown, said a fresh round of takeovers would be 'another blow' to London.
She added: 'The direction of travel isn't surprising given the investment environment.
'It's clear the UK is a hub for innovation and entrepreneurship, and it can incubate firms during the early days.
'But the lack of access to easy capital, and the fragmented nature of government support for scale-ups has made the environment more difficult.'
Officials at No 10 and the Treasury have held crisis talks with leading City figures in a bid to find ways to revive the flagging stock market.
It comes as the UK struggles to recovery from a body blow when Cambridge-based chip designer Arm chose to list in New York rather than London in 2023. The business is now worth £100billion.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Guardian
22 minutes ago
- The Guardian
What does the change to the winter fuel payment mean?
After months of speculation the government has announced that it will reinstate the winter fuel payment to most pensioners in England and Wales. Under the new rules, any pensioner with an income of up to £35,000 a year will be eligible for the full allowance, while anyone on more will have to pay back their share. The payment is worth £200 a year to households where both pensioners are aged under 80 years old, and £300 if there is a person aged 80 or over. A pensioner aged 85 who lives alone will get £300, as will a couple of the same age. The new system will mean these payments are made automatically to those receiving a state pension. There will be no need to claim the money. No. The threshold applies to individuals, not households. A couple who qualify for a £200-a-year payment will get £100 each. If one has an income of more than £35,000 a year and the other does not, the higher earner will have £100 clawed back while the other one is allowed to keep the money. In a couple where one person is aged 80, they will receive £200 and the other will receive £100. The person over 80 will repay £200 if their income is more than £35,000. This will create some quirks. A single pensioner, living alone, will repay the full £200 or £300 if their income is more than £35,000, while a couple with an income of £69,000 would keep all the money. Two households with the same incomes and one person aged over 80 could have to repay different sums depending on whether it is the older or younger person who receives more than £35,000. For most pensioners, money will be taken through the pensioner's tax code and applied to their income the next year. Those who already file a tax return for other reasons may find it is added to it, but it is not yet clear if that will be the case. The same is true when someone dies. The government says it will not make families do a return or pursue them for the winter fuel payment. However, if they have to do a return for someone who has died for other reasons, it is not clear if they will have to declare the payment. There is a potential for problems if someone retires part-way through a tax year and earns more than £35,000 because they are still getting their salary, then drops well below that the next year – they will be faced with repaying the payment when they are on a lower income. No. The new means-testing will take into account income only, not savings or the value of any property. A person with £1m in the bank would still qualify for the payment with an income less than £35,000. The Scottish government gives out a pension-age winter heating payment. Last winter this was restricted to only those people who qualified for one of a handful of benefits including pension credit. This will change next winter, and the payment will be given more widely. Northern Ireland has a winter fuel payment and seems likely to move in line with England and Wales.
The Independent
23 minutes ago
- The Independent
FTSE 100 dips while markets watch for US-China talks progress
Stocks in London closed mixed on Monday amid a fresh burst of mid-and-small cap M&A (mergers and acquisitions) activity, while the wider market watched as US- China trade talks resumed. The FTSE 100 index fell 5.63 points, 0.1%, at 8,832.28. The FTSE 250 ended up 128.63 points, 0.6%, at 21,285.91, and the AIM All-Share climbed 7.01 points, 0.9%, at 763.89. In Paris, the Cac 40 fell 0.2%, while Frankfurt's Dax 40 ended 0.5% lower. The pound was quoted at 1.36 dollars late on Monday afternoon in London, higher compared to 1.35 at the close on Friday. The euro stood at 1.142 dollars, higher against 1.139 on Friday. On London's FTSE 250, Spectris leapt 64% after receiving a more than £3.7 billion cash and shares bid from private equity firm Advent International LP. Should a firm offer be made, 'the board has carefully considered the proposal together with its advisers and concluded that the proposal is at a value that the board would be minded to recommend unanimously to Spectris shareholders', said Spectris. Meanwhile, Alphawave IP soared 19% as it agreed to a 2.4 billion dollars takeover from US semiconductor firm Qualcomm. The cash deal values the London-listed high-speed connectivity solutions firm's shares at 2.48 dollars each, or around 183 pence. 'Qualcomm's acquisition of Alphawave represents a significant milestone for us and an opportunity for our business to join forces with a respected industry leader and drive value to our customers,' said Alphawave chief executive Officer Tony Pialis. Charles Hall at Peel Hunt noted there have been 30 bids for UK companies at more than £100 million market value year-to-date, with a total value of £25 billion. At the same time there has been just one initial public offer offer year-to-date of more than £100 million, he pointed out. 'Companies in the UK seem to be far more attractive to acquirers than investors. The root cause is the consistent outflow of capital from domestic markets. If we want the UK equity market to thrive, an urgent rethink is required to ensure that UK capital backs UK companies,' Mr Hall said. 'The scale of M&A and lack of IPOs is resulting in a material reduction in the number of UK listed growth companies. It is essential that action is taken to ensure the health of the ecosystem and enable companies to grow, scale and stay in the UK. We believe this can be done through reform of pension funds, ISAs, and stamp duty,' Mr Hall added. In New York, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 0.2%, the S&P 500 climbed 0.1% and the Nasdaq Composite sat 0.3% higher at the time of the closing bell in London. After a round of talks in Geneva last month, the US and China will sit down at the negotiating table in London on Monday to attempt to preserve a fragile truce on trade, despite simmering tensions. US treasury secretary Scott Bessent, commerce secretary Howard Lutnick and trade representative Jamieson Greer will lead the US delegation, President Donald Trump announced Friday. Chinese vice premier He Lifeng – who led Beijing's negotiating team in Geneva – will also lead the team in London, the foreign ministry announced at the weekend. On the FTSE 100, M&G rose 3.2% as UBS upgraded to 'buy', but WPP fell 2.8% after it said Mark Read will step down as chief executive officer at the end of 2025 after seven years leading the company. Mr Read has spent more than 30 years at the company and took on the role of CEO in September 2018, following the abrupt departure of founder Martin Sorrell. In London, shares in Cordel plunged 12% after it warned full-year revenue will be lower than forecast. The London-based company, which uses artificial intelligence to supply transport corridor analytics, expects to report revenue in the range of £4.7 million and £5.0 million for the financial year to June 30. It would represent growth of up to 12% from £4.4 million a year prior. But chief executive John Davis said it will be 'lower than forecast', despite the firm making 'excellent strategic progress' in the financial year. Broker Cavendish lowered its financial 2025 revenue forecast to £4.8 million from £6.2 million. Mr Davis said economic uncertainty, particularly in the US, has 'unfortunately led to protracted sales cycles and delayed revenue, which has impacted our normally strong second half revenue'. Elsewhere, Dunelm fell 3.9% after RBC Capital Markets downgraded to 'sector perform' from 'outperform'. 'We view Dunelm as a high quality business. It's cash generative, has executed well in recent years and expansion potential has stepped up. But we think this is now more reflected in its valuation,' the broker said in a research note. Meanwhile, Trustpilot slid 5.8% as Panmure Liberum slapped a 'sell' rating on the company. Analyst Sean Kealey thinks Trustpilot finds itself 'at the foothills of a complex multi-year' business transition. He argued that the current valuation assumes 'perfect execution' over a 'multi-decade time horizon despite near-term macro risks and medium-term business profile uncertainty.' The biggest risers on the FTSE 100 were Melrose Industries, up 16.80 pence at 484.60p, Spirax, up 190.00p at 5,940.00p, M&G, up 7.40p at 251.20p, JD Sports Fashion, up 2.04p at 82.60p, and Fresnillo, up 32.00p at 1,374.00p. The biggest fallers on the FTSE 100 were WPP, down 15.40p at 543.40p, Hiscox, down 33.00p at 1,318.00p, Aviva, down 11.80p at 615.00p, Marks & Spencer, down 6.90p at 359.80p and Haleon, down 7.40p at 397.80p.
Western Telegraph
24 minutes ago
- Western Telegraph
Spending review is ‘settled', says Downing Street
Chancellor Rachel Reeves is expected to announce funding increases for the NHS, schools and defence along with a number of infrastructure projects on Wednesday, as she shares out some £113 billion freed up by looser borrowing rules. But other areas could face cuts as she seeks to balance manifesto commitments with more recent pledges, such as a hike in defence spending, while meeting her fiscal rules that promise to match day-to-day spending with revenues. Home Secretary Yvette Cooper was the last minister still to reach a deal with the Treasury (Jacob King/PA) On Monday morning, Home Secretary Yvette Cooper was the last minister still to reach a deal with the Treasury, with reports suggesting greater police spending would mean a squeeze on other areas of her department's budget. Speaking to reporters on Monday afternoon, the Prime Minister's official spokesman said: 'The spending review is settled, we will be focused on investing in Britain's renewal so that all working people are better off. 'The first job of the Government was to stabilise the British economy and the public finances, and now we move into a new chapter to deliver the promise and change.' The Government has committed to spend 2.5% of gross domestic product on defence from April 2027, with a goal of increasing that to 3% over the next parliament – a timetable which could stretch to 2034. Ms Reeves' plans will also include an £86 billion package for science and technology research and development. Last week the Chancellor admitted that she had been forced to turn down requests for funding for projects she would have wanted to back, amid the Whitehall spending wrangling. Mayor of London Sir Sadiq Khan's office is concerned that Wednesday's announcement will include no new funding or projects for London. Mayor of London Sadiq Khan (Lucy North/PA) The mayor had been looking to secure extensions to the Docklands Light Railway and Bakerloo line on the Underground, along with the power to introduce a tourist levy and a substantial increase in funding for the Metropolitan Police. A source close to the mayor said on Monday that ministers 'must not return to the damaging, anti-London approach of the last government', adding this would harm both London's public services and 'jobs and growth across the country'. They said: 'Sadiq will always stand up for London and has been clear it would be unacceptable if there are no major infrastructure projects for London announced in the spending review and the Met doesn't get the funding it needs. 'We need backing for London as a global city that's pro-business, safe and well-connected.'
