Blackstone’s plans for data centre unlikely to generate thousands of jobs failed startup promised with Northumberland battery plant The site in north-east England previously owned by the failed battery startup Britishvolt is to be bought for £110m by a US private equity firm, which plans to build one of Europe’s largest data centres. Blackstone Group is to buy the 95-hectare (235-acre) site near Cambois in Northumberland to take advantage of its links to renewable energy, according to the receivers for one of the Britishvolt companies ..read more

Company manages €186bn of assets, including stakes in the Six Nations rugby and Lipton Teas Business live – latest updates CVC Capital Partners, one of Europe’s largest private equity groups, has announced plans to raise more than €1.25bn (£1.1bn) in an initial public offering in Amsterdam. The company, which manages €186bn of assets, including a stake in the Six Nations, has confirmed it will go ahead with the highly anticipated IPO on Amsterdam’s Euronext ..read more

Exclusive: Charities concerned at profits being made from government contracts to help victims David Rowland: Why is nobody holding private equity to account? Millions in taxpayer funds are being paid to private equity-backed firms to provide specialist support services for rape and sexual assault victims, with charities concerned at the profits being made by investors on these contracts, the Guardian can reveal. The government contractor G4S and Mountain Healthcare Ltd, which is ultimately owned by a private equity group set up by the former boss of the outsourcing group Capita, run 26 of t ..read more

Opaque ownership structures and bumper profits point to an early years sector gone wrong Childcare and nursery education in England is in the process of being transformed. Following ministers’ decision to make it a priority as a way to tackle labour shortages, public funding is set to double by 2027-28. In a few years 80% of all early years places will be government-funded, compared with 50% today. At the same time, pressure on providers caused by long-term underfunding and rising costs has led to a situation in which private equity and investment company-backed nurseries are expanding at the ..read more

Independent owners are declining fast in a sector now dominated by big companies and private equity UK watchdog plans formal investigation into vet pricing “Multiple concerns,” said the Competition and Markets Authority about the veterinary practice market. You bet. Semi-captive customers, rapid consolidation, lack of transparency and inflation-beating prices do not necessarily add up to a conspiracy against the consumer, but such a market is definitely worth a closer look. That’s before one mentions, as the CMA didn’t explicitly, the presence of the private equity industry, which tends to h ..read more

With more public money on its way, Joseph Rowntree Foundation calls for commitments on value for money and staff pay Why those profiting from childcare in England need to be kept in check Campaigners are calling for tougher regulation of the childcare market to safeguard taxpayers’ money, as new analysis shows more than £1 in every £5 spent at English nurseries backed by large investment companies ends up as profit. Jeremy Hunt announced an extra £500m funding in last week’s budget, to help meet his promise of 30 hours a week of free childcare for under-threes by September next year – which ..read more

Essex-based hub to pass into hands of private-equity firm after agreement on £194m debt Southend airport is to pass into the control of the US private-equity group Carlyle after an agreement to settle a debt, in the latest takeover of a UK firm by a foreign company. The London-listed aviation group Esken, formerly Stobart Group, said it had reached a deal over the £193.75m debt that its subsidiary London Southend airport owed to Carlyle Global Infrastructure Fund (CGI ..read more

A local authority leader claims private equity groups are exploiting vulnerable youngsters in care homes in the pursuit of profit Care companies are insisting on unnecessary and expensive support packages for vulnerable children to boost their profits, a council leader has claimed. Barry Lewis, the Tory leader of Derbyshire county council, said that former family-run businesses acquired by private equity groups were trying to get “as much cash as possible” out of local authorities ..read more

Billions in private equity and corporate taxes could be rolled back, along with what critics say is a sop for child tax credits Some of largest and most profitable companies in the US are primed to save billions of dollars from a congressional tax deal that critics say gives “billions in tax credits to the biggest corporations while giving pennies to middle-class children and families”. And private equity funds could be among the deal’s biggest beneficiaries, a Guardian analysis suggests. The tax cuts passed the House of Representatives at the end of January as part of an agreement that pairs ..read more

UK electronics retailer’s board says bid from Waterstones owner undervalues the company The UK electrical goods chain Currys has rejected an improved takeover offer worth £742m from the US investment group Elliott Advisors. The new offer from Elliott, which owns the Waterstones book stores and has a controlling stake in the restaurant chain Wasabi, was pitched at 67p a share, up from its earlier bid of 62p a share in mid-February, Currys said in a statement to the London Stock Exchange ..read more