Balance of Power Late Edition 8/14/2025
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Trump's son-in-law Kushner takes stake in UK lender OakNorth
The private equity firm set up by Jared Kushner, President Donald Trump's son-in-law, is to take a stake in OakNorth, the British-based lender which has set its sights on a rapid expansion in the US. Sky News has learnt that Affinity Partners, which has amassed billions of dollars in assets under management, has signed a deal to acquire an 8% stake in OakNorth. The deal is expected to be concluded in the coming weeks, industry sources said on Friday. Mr Kushner established Affinity Partners in 2021 after leaving his role as an adviser to President Trump during his first term in the White House. He is married to Ivanka, the president's daughter. Affinity manages money for a range of investors including the sovereign wealth funds of Qatar and Saudi Arabia. Insiders said that Affinity Partners was buying the OakNorth stake from an unidentified existing investor in the digital bank. The valuation at which the transaction was taking place was unclear, although OakNorth was valued at $2.8bn in its most recent funding round in 2019. OakNorth, which was founded by Rishi Khosla, is targeting substantial loan growth in the US in the coming years. Earlier this year, it agreed to buy Community Unity Bank (CUB), which is based in Birmingham, Michigan, in an all-share deal. The transaction is awaiting regulatory approval. OakNorth began lending in the US in 2023 and has since made roughly $1.3bn of loans. The bank is chaired by the former City watchdog chair Lord Turner, and is among a group of digital-only British banks which are expected to explore stock market listings in the next few years. Monzo, Revolut and Starling Bank are all likely to float by the end of 2028, although London is far from certain to be the destination for all of them. Similarly, OakNorth's ambition to grow its US presence means it is likely to be advised by bankers that New York is a more logical listing venue for the business. Launched in 2015, the bank is among a group of lenders founded after the 2008 financial crisis. Its UK clients include F1 Arcade and Ultimate Performance, both of which have themselves expanded into the US market. Its existing backers include the giant Japanese investor SoftBank, GIC, the Singaporean state fund, and Toscafund, the London-based asset management firm. Since its launch, OakNorth has lent around £12.5bn and boasts an industry-leading loan default ratio. Last year, it paid out just over £30m to shareholders in its maiden dividend payment. OakNorth has been growing rapidly, saying this year that it had recorded pre-tax profits of £214.8m in 2024, up from £187.3m the previous year. It made more than £2.1bn of new loans last year. On Friday, a spokesperson for OakNorth declined to comment.
Yahoo
2 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Iceland to offer customers £1 reward for reporting shoplifters
Supermarket chain Iceland is to offer customers a £1 reward if they spot shoplifters in the act. The retailer's boss, Richard Walker, said any shoppers who point out offenders to members of staff will receive a payment to their membership card. Iceland said the business faces a roughly £20 million hit from the cost of shoplifting each year. Mr Walker, executive chairman of Iceland, told Channel Five news that shoplifting is not a 'victimless crime'. 'I'd like to announce that we will give £1 to any customer who points out a shoplifter. 'We'll put it on their bonus card, if they see any customers in our stores who is undertaking that offence. 'Some people see this as a victimless crime; it is not. 'It also keeps prices from being lowered because it is a cost to the business. 'It's a cost to the hours we pay our colleagues, as well as it being about intimidation and violence.' He said the £20 million cost of theft limits the amount that the company can pay back out to its colleague and restrains its ability to lower prices. 'We'd like customers to help us lower our prices even more by pointing out shoplifters,' Mr Walker added. Last month, official figures revealed that the number of shoplifting offences recorded by police in England and Wales climbed to another record high. Some 530,643 offences were logged in the year to March 2025, up 20% from 444,022 in 2023-24 and the highest total since current police recording practices began in 2002-03. At the time, retail bosses warned that shop theft was spiralling out of control and that business owners need to see immediate results as ministers have pledged thousands more officers for neighbourhood policing by next spring. Association of Convenience Stores chief executive James Lowman said the recorded figures show more crimes are being reported, but this is still 'far too low', with many retailers having 'no faith' in incidents being investigated.
Yahoo
2 minutes ago
- Yahoo
How Atlético could hand Real Madrid a massive financial boost before the window closes
The brass at La Liga giants Real Madrid could yet be afforded a welcome boost on the monetary front by none other than city rivals Atlético this summer. That's according to , who have confirmed that the Rojiblancos are expressing a keen interest in the signature of Takefusa Kubo. Diego Simeone and co. are eager to add further depth to Atlético's options out wide before the summer is out. Two names, in turn, have emerged as the leading candidates to make the move to Spain's capital. Juventus frontman Nico González, and the aforementioned Take Kubo, of Real Sociedad. And in the case of the board at the Metropolitano moving ahead with a big-money move for the latter, Sociedad would not be the only ones to benefit… As part of the deal which sent Kubo to Anoeta back in 2022, Real Madrid secured for themselves a 50% sell-on clause. Should Atlético opt to activate the Japanese international's €60 million release clause, Los Blancos would therefore be entitled to a hefty €30 million cut. Conor Laird – GSFN
