UK court upholds watchdog's finding on excessive NHS thyroid drug prices
"In a unanimous judgment, the Court of Appeal has confirmed the Competition and Markets Authority's (CMA) finding of excessive and unfair pricing in the supply of liothyronine tablets in the UK," the CMA said.
($1 = 0.7504 pounds)
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The Independent
7 minutes ago
- The Independent
Map: House prices climbing at fastest rate in more than a year - here's where they are highest
House prices climbed at their fastest pace in more than a year last month, as the market rebounded from disruption caused by changes to stamp duty. The average UK property value rose 3.7 per cent to £269,000 in the 12 months to June, up from 2.7 per cent growth in May, according to the Office for National Statistics (ONS). The acceleration came after the threshold at which buyers pay stamp duty was cut from £250,000 to £125,000 in April, a move that briefly cooled activity before prices bounced back. It comes amid a backdrop of cooling interest rates, which dropped again to 4 per cent earlier this month. Jean Jameson, chief sales officer at Foxtons, said more people will be buying houses following the interest rate cut, and we can expect to see this pick up in the autumn. Average house prices increased to £291,000 (3.3 per cent) in England, £210,000 (2.6 per cent) in Wales, and £192,000 (5.9 per cent) in Scotland, in the 12 months to June. Meanwhile, average UK monthly private rents increased by 5.9 per cent, to £1,343, in the 12 months to July, the statistics body said. Average rents increased to £1,398 (6.0 per cent) in England, £807 (7.9 per cent) in Wales, and £999 (3.6 per cent) in Scotland, in the 12 months to July. Kensington and Chelsea remains the most expensive place to buy a home in the UK, with the average property costing £1.46 million, according to the ONS. Prices there edged up by 2 per cent over the past year. The City of Westminster took second place, with homes averaging just over £1 million, although values fell by 3.3 per cent. Camden came in third, where prices rose 4.1 per cent to £876,065, followed by the City of London at £845,614 after a 0.4 per cent increase. Richmond upon Thames saw one of the strongest annual rises, with prices climbing 6.2 per cent to £825,299. At the other end, sharp declines were recorded in Wandsworth (-7 per cent) and Islington (-5 per cent), despite average prices still topping £679,000 and £701,000 respectively. Elmbridge in Surrey had the fastest growth among the top 10, as prices jumped 7.4 per cent to £755,879, while Haringey saw a 5.4 per cent rise to £626,67. Elliott Jordan-Doak, senior UK economist at Pantheon Macroeconomics, said: 'House prices are recovering quickly from the disruption caused by the hike to stamp duty in April. 'Month-to-month house price inflation can be volatile at the best of times, so the sharp gains in house prices in May and June could be partly undone by a fall in July's data. 'But cutting through the noise, we think fundamental housing demand remains solid, indicating that house prices can continue to rise steadily over the course of the second half of 2025.'
Reuters
8 minutes ago
- Reuters
Healthcare firms see growing activist investor involvement in the past year
Aug 20 (Reuters) - Activist investors have targeted major healthcare companies over the past year to push them to improve their performance, with some campaigns only coming to light after announcements of board changes. Below are some notable healthcare companies that came under activist pressure in the last 12 months. MEDTRONIC (MDT.N), opens new tab In August 2025, the medical device maker appointed two new independent directors to its board and created independent committees focused on improving its performance, after Elliott Investment Management took a large stake, making it one of the company's biggest shareholders. AVANTOR (AVTR.N), opens new tab Engine Capital targeted the life sciences firm in August 2025, urging it to bring in new board directors, cut costs and even consider a sale. CHARLES RIVER LABORATORIES (CRL.N), opens new tab The contract research firm settled with Elliott Investment Management in May 2025 by agreeing to add four new board directors and launch a strategic review of the business. Activist hedge fund Parvus Asset Management is building a stake in the company, as investors have grown concerned that the Danish drugmaker has lost its first-mover advantage in the lucrative weight-loss drug market, the Financial Times reported in June 2025. Reuters has not independently verified the report. GERRESHEIMER ( opens new tab London-based investment fund Asset Value Investors in June 2025 pressed the German medical packaging maker to find ways to restore its market value. AVI, with a 3.5% stake in Gerresheimer, said the company needs a new financial leadership to regain its credibility. ILLUMINA (ILMN.O), opens new tab In March 2025, the gene-sequencing maker said activist investor Keith Meister would join its board. HENRY SCHEIN (HSIC.O), opens new tab In January, private equity firm KKR (KKR.N), opens new tab built a large stake in the medical and dental supplies distributor and reached a deal to add members to the company's board. Henry Schein was also under pressure from other investors, including Ananym Capital Management. PFIZER (PFE.N), opens new tab Activist hedge fund Starboard Value in October 2024 called for management accountability for the company's underperformance. This month, Starboard increased, opens new tab its holding in the drugmaker to 8.5 million shares, which represented about 0.15% of the outstanding shares as of June end. KENVUE (KVUE.N), opens new tab In October 2024, Starboard Value took a significant stake in the Band-Aid maker, criticizing the weak performance of its skin health segment, which houses Neutrogena, Aveeno and other brands. After a proxy battle, the companies reached a deal in early 2025 that gave Starboard CEO Jeffrey Smith and two independent directors board seats. CVS HEALTH (CVS.N), opens new tab In November, CVS Health added Glenview Capital's top boss and three others to its board as part of a deal with the hedge fund. The company had been under pressure from investors, including Glenview, to improve operations after missing financial targets several times due to rising medical costs in its health insurance business. Glenview reduced its stake in the company after CVS posted strong results in May.
Daily Mail
8 minutes ago
- Daily Mail
Santander closes popular bank account with 3% cashback perk
Santander is axing a popular bank account from tomorrow, leaving customers to look elsewhere for cashback perks. The bank will shut its 123 Lite current account as of Thursday 21 August. The account, launched in 2016, came with 3 per cent cashback on household bills for a £2 monthly fee. Customers could earn 3 per cent cashback on their gas and electricity bills with this account. Santander 123 Lite customers will be moved automatically to Santander's Everyday current account, but this offers no interest on balances or cashback. Santander said: 'Following a review of our 123 Lite current account, which was last on sale to new customers in November 2022, and to simplify our product range, we have decided that now is the right time to withdraw the account.' Santander is also scrapping the 1 per cent cashback offer on supermarket, fuel and travel spending on its Santander Edge current account from 9 September. It will continue to pay 1 per cent cashback on bills, however. This account comes with a £3 monthly fee which would see customers paying £36 a year. Where can you still get cashback on your spending? If you are a Santander 123 Lite current account customer and are not happy about losing out on cashback on your bills, there are a hand. What's more, most of them are free. JP Morgan's digital bank, Chase offers 1 per cent cashback on groceries, travel and fuel spending up to a maximum of £15 per month. Nationwide's FlexDirect account comes with 1 per cent monthly cashback, up to £5 a month, on debit card spending. The account also pays 5 per cent interest on balances in the account up to £1,500. This would earn £75 over the year if the maximum amount was kept in the account. After a year the interest rate drops to 1 per cent. Meanwhile Zopa Bank's new current account pays 2 per cent cashback on up to £1,500 of bill direct debits per year, with the rate guaranteed for 12 months. Zopa also offers 2 per cent interest on cash balances, with no limit on how much customers can earn. The rate is fixed for 12 months and will then become variable.
