Doubly depressing takeover by a US buyer deprives the UK market of a property company that is genuinely different For a few hours on Wednesday, it seemed possible we were about to witness a rare stock market event: a FTSE 100 company holding out against a hostile raider from the US and defying some of its own large shareholders to defend its independence. Sadly, it didn’t happen. Segro, the FTSE 100 warehouse landlord known as Slough Estates for much of its corporate life, capitulated minutes before the deadline and said it was “minded to recommend” the “best and final” offer of £14bn, or £10.32 a share, from the US giant Prologis of San Francisco. The two sides now have until 12 August to hammer out a firm agreement. Continue reading…
‘Bernard Arnault’s Empire’ (4/6). Since the 1990s, the CEO of LVMH has built a small media galaxy in print and radio, which he uses to convey his ideas and tastes, but also to promote his brands.
When it comes to driving an agenda from No 10, the prime minister seems to have learned important lessons from his predecessor’s failure Before entering Downing Street, Andy Burnham cited the overcentralisation of power as a cause of Britain’s social and economic malaise. In his first week, the new prime minister has signalled his intent to bolster No 10 as an organ of executive power. The apparent contradiction – fortifying the centre to pursue an agenda of decentralisation – arises from a perversity in the way the British state works or, rather, fails to work. The prime minister is right that too much policy has historically been directed from Whitehall. Reforms in recent years have created institutions with varying degrees of local autonomy – elected mayoralties like the one in Manchester that afforded Mr Burnham a platform for national prominence. But genuine control, especially when it comes to fiscal policy, has not matched the rhetoric of devolution. The Treasury is wary of facilitating profligacy in lower tiers of government. Heads of devolved administrations are also adept at claiming credit when things go well and, when they go badly, diverting the blame on to national government. Do you have an opinion on the issues raised in this article? If you would like to submit a response of up to 300 words by email to be considered for publication in our letters section, please click here. Continue reading…
Unveiled in January by Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu in an attempt to quell farmers’ anger, the legislation abandoned environmental protections. It also exposed divisions within the centrist bloc over pesticides.
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