Your commercial news round-up: pints, Trump, M&A, Birkenstock, Lionesses
updated on 03 August 2023
Reading time: three minutes
Leftover covid rules allow pubs to serve takeaway pints (but not for much longer), Trump’s in legal trouble yet again and M&A is booming. Plus, is Barbie the reason behind a potential new addition to the stock market? All this and the latest football news in this week’s commercial news round-up.
- Special permissions afforded to pubs in England and Wales allowing premises to serve takeaway drinks during covid are set to expire. In 2020 landlords were permitted to serve punters in the street through hatches to save pubs from financial ruin. However, from 30 September the Home Office has said that any pubs that wish to continue serving takeaway drinks will need to apply for new special permission from their local councils. The British Beer and Pub Association has labelled this decision as “disappointing”. Chief Executive Emma McClarkin commented: "We need government to support our pubs and allow them to diversify and innovate, not hold them back with more red tape and unnecessary regulation."
- Donald Trump, ex-president of the United States, has been criminally charged for the third time in four months. The former president’s latest indictments relate to his attempts to overturn the 2020 election result which saw Joe Biden, a democrat, beat Trump to become US president. The four charges against Trump are:
- conspiracy to defraud the US (relating to Trump’s alleged obstruction of the counting and certifying of election results);
- conspiracy against rights (Trump is accused of attempting to rig the 2020 election);
- corrupt obstruction of an official proceeding (referring to the day Trump supporters stormed the Capitol); and
- conspiracy to obstruct an official proceeding (also in relation to supporters storming the Capitol).
Each charge is punishable by a prison sentence of between five and 10 years.
- PwC has reported that the UK’s energy and commodities market saw just under £10 billion worth of M&A between January and June this year, despite the economic struggles of 2023. Research by the Big Four accountancy firm found that there were 86 transactions across the energy, utilities and resources (EUR) industries across the UK, generating £9.9 billion worth of activity. This research reflects an elevated level of M&A activity in recent years, with deal values reaching as high as £31 billion in 2021 and £24 billion in 2022 across the EUR sector, in comparison to £9 billion in 2018, £8.1 billion in 2019 and £12.9 billion in 2020. Lucy Stapleton, head of deals at PwC, remarked: “In spite of the macroeconomic backdrop, dealmakers remain optimistic and there is pent up demand amongst dealmakers.”
- Footwear brand Birkenstock could be listed on the stock market as early as next month. The company’s private equity owner L Catterton announced that it’s considering launching an IPO Birkenstock, with the listing expected to be valued at over $8 billion. The company has recently seen an increase in sales following the release of Greta Gerwig’s Barbie, as the shoes are featured on Barbie in one of the film’s scenes.
- For our final story, we’re celebrating the Lionesses after England beat China 6-1 during their latest match in Adelaide, Australia. The England squad only needed one point to secure their spot in group D, however by half time it was already 3-0. Lauren James had initially thought she’d managed to get a fourth goal in before the break, but this was later ruled out by the referee. China’s only goal was scored by Wang Shuang after the team were afforded a penalty following England’s Lucy Bronze receiving a yellow card. The England squad will participate in the next round of knock-out fixtures set to take place from 5-8 August.
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