Commercial news round-up: Article 50, Co-op, Dyson, Tesco, London Stock Exchange
updated on 30 March 2017
The much-discussed triggering of Article 50 has happened, and two long years of negotiation now stretch ahead. At the end of that period, the United Kingdom will leave the European Union, regardless of whether an agreement has been reached. Any certainty on what it all means is entirely elusive at this point, but the Law Society has published a short explanation of some of the implications for lawyers. For Brexit and more, read on:
- The Co-operative Bank has been relieved to receive some “credible” offers to buy it, after having been forced to put itself up for sale after it was unable to satisfy the Bank of England's regulatory requirements.
- Sir James Dyson has tried to allay fears about a hard Brexit, stating that despite the company having to pay WTO tariffs, it recorded massive annual sales in 2016 of £2.5 billion and enjoyed a profit surge of 41%.
- Tesco has agreed to pay a £129 million fine – as well as £85 million in compensation to consumers – as part of a deal related to overstated profits in 2014.
- The £21 billion merger between the London Stock Exchange and Deutsche Börse has been blocked by the European Commission. The EU competition regulator said the deal between the London and Frankfurt exchanges would create a “de facto monopoly”.
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