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Daily Mail
2 days ago
- Business
- Daily Mail
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.
New Straits Times
21-05-2025
- Business
- New Straits Times
Malaysia's general insurance industry to grow at 6.6pct CAGR from 2025-2029
KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia's general insurance industry is projected to grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 6.6 per cent from RM24.6 billion in 2025 to RM31.8 billion by 2029 in terms of gross written premium (GWP), according to data and analytics company GlobalData. In a statement, it said this growth is attributed to increased premium rates across lines, strong demand for natural catastrophe insurance, economic recovery, rising vehicle sales, and escalating healthcare costs. "Motor, property, and personal accident and health (PA&H) insurance lines contributed 82.6 per cent of the general insurance GWP in 2024," it said. Its senior insurance analyst Swarup Kumar Sahoo said regulatory initiatives to develop the insurance market and increase insurance penetration will drive the growth of the general insurance industry in Malaysia. "The rising traffic accident rate and increasing frequency of natural disasters will support higher policy uptake and premium growth in the industry," he said. The company also said the introduction of the new Risk-Based Capital 2 (RBC2) framework starting in Jan 2027 will strengthen the insurance industry, boosting customer confidence and supporting growth. Additionally, Sahoo said higher healthcare costs heightened health consciousness among consumers, supporting the demand for health insurance policies. "Premium rates will continue to increase in the presence of the ageing society, rising non-communicable diseases, and a strained public healthcare system. "PA&H insurance is forecasted to grow at a CAGR of 7.6 per cent during 2025-2029," he said. Globaldata further said other general insurance lines, such as financial lines, liability, and marine, aviation, and transit, are estimated to account for the remaining 17.7 per cent share of the general insurance GWP in 2025. "The growth of Malaysia's general insurance market remains positive. Rising consumer awareness, regulatory developments, and the increasing frequency of natural disasters will play a pivotal role in shaping the industry's trajectory over the next few years. "However, the expected new reciprocal tariffs from the United States will create uncertainties and change the dynamics," he added.
BBC News
06-04-2025
- Entertainment
- BBC News
DIY: Are Britons losing their ability to do it themselves?
Are Britons losing their ability to mend, preferring instead to call in a professional at the first sight of a blown fuse? BBC News takes a dive into the Simon King makes an interesting point, as he holds his well-thumbed copy of Collins Complete DIY Manual, acquired when he bought his first house 30 years ago: "You don't see comedies on the TV poking fun at DIY mishaps these days, do you?"If sitcoms loosely mirror life, it is perhaps no wonder that the likes of hapless DIYer Frank Spencer, played by Michael Crawford, no longer draw in prime time all, there is not much comedy gold in a professional fixing a kitchen tap without causing a biblical flood, or putting up a shelf - and it staying attached to the wall."People just aren't doing as much DIY," reports Mr King, offering a view from the coalface. Matt Walton, senior analyst at Globaldata, a company that provides insights on various industries, including retail, believes the boom period of DIY, seen during the Covid pandemic, has "been and gone"."When people were furloughed they had time on their hands to do jobs around the house," he says. "But we've moved on."Mr Walton cites difficulties in getting on the housing ladder as another reason for the DIY says: "We have a lot of people in Britain in rental accommodation. In many cases, they are not permitted to carry out work on properties themselves."I also think these skills are just not being passed down to younger generations, as they once were." Mr King, 55, who operates out of Lincoln, thinks Britain has lost its "make do and mend" culture. "My dad was from that era... and I think most people from his generation would at least have had a go at stuff, which is where a lot of the comedy stuff came from when it went wrong." Mr King recalls taking TVs apart "just to see how they worked", before screwing them back together. "These days, though, they're not designed to be taken apart and there's not really much you can do to repair them without the right diagnostic equipment."Many of his customers are homeowners without the skills, confidence, time, or frankly, the inclination, to attempt even the most basic of DIY tasks, he reports."Lots of people call me just to put a picture up on the wall. My son said to me once, 'Dad, I can't believe people actually pay you just to do that'." Mr King still refers to his trusty manual."I got it when I bought my first house," he says. "I didn't have the money to spend on hiring someone to do the work so I had to learn to do it myself."He believes people changing lifestyles has led to a general malaise for DIY home improvements. "If you're working that hard, you don't want to spend your weekend doing DIY jobs," says Mr King. "So people will ring up a local handyman instead."But while Mr King is happy with the status quo - it is keeping him in work - in East Yorkshire, Alan Dalgairns and his Hull Repair Cafe are working on a people can bring in items, which would ordinarily be thrown out, to be fixed - for free - by experienced DIYers. A charge is only applied for parts needed to carry out repairs. "People will sit with our repairers while the work is carried out, in the hope that next time they might feel confident to have a go themselves," says Mr Dalgairns, 51. He also thinks skills are not being passed down family the cafe, Mr Dalgairns runs Hull Library of Stuff, which loans - for a nominal fee - items ranging from extension ladders to angle grinders and chisel sets."A lot of younger ones who come in to borrow equipment don't have a clue how it works," he says. "I'll then spend time showing them how to use the item properly and safely.""I think we are losing those basic skills, and I think it's because younger generations are not seeing their parents carrying out these type of jobs. "I am a dad to a 10-year-old who watches me repair stuff but we're probably in a minority."I'm very much of the mindset what if something is broken, what is the worst that can happen?"He recalls watching his parents "mend and make things"."I remember coming home from school one day and finding a new chair. My mum had made it from an old bed. My dad would do all the repairs around the house." Mr Dalgairns believes many young people today "don't have a clue what's inside products".He says: "They think stuff works using black magic. But what they don't seem to get is that a lot of time something stops working because of something really simple. That's especially true when it comes to sound systems, for example."Mr Dalgairns says some young people are turning to social platforms like YouTube for instructional videos "usually recorded by older people who know what they're doing". Kids' club But he believes nothing beats learning practical skills, hands on, from someone experienced."That's why we have set up a kids' club, encouraging children to get under the hood and take things apart," he Dalgairns explains the organisation has teamed up with Dove House, a local hospice, which runs a re-use shop at a council-run household recycling says they get electrical items that no longer work and encourage children to take them apart and "examine the various components".The club is on a hiatus at the moment, says Mr Dalgairns. "We're confident it'll return next year." Listen to highlights from Hull and East Yorkshire on BBC Sounds, watch the latest episode of Look North or tell us about a story you think we should be covering here.
