Outsourcer Mitie Group has announced a deal to sell its catering business to royal warrant holder CH&Co
for as much as £85m, in a move which will narrow the firm’s focus amid intense scrutiny on the industry.
The disposal includes the Gather & Gather and Creativevents brands across the UK. It will fetch an initial
£73m in cash upon completion, as well as a deferred £12m over the next four years if certain performance
targets are met. Buyer CH&Co holds a royal warrant for its services, with clients including the Historic
Royal Palaces, ZSL London Zoo, and Kew Gardens. PA
Safestore launches in Holland and adds Heathrow site
Self-storage company Safestore has announced a joint venture which will see it enter the Dutch market for
the first time, as well as a separate acquisition in London. The group said it had formed a partnership with
Carlyle European Real Estate Fund to acquire M3 Self Storage, which has six locations in Amsterdam and
Haarlem. Safestore will invest €5m (£4.6m) for a 20 per cent equity stake and expects a return on
investment of 8 per cent before transaction costs. Following the completion of the first deal, the joint
venture plans to buy up other locations. PA
Dividend payouts hit new highs
Shareholders and investors in listed companies across the world received a record payout of $513.8bn
(£422.7bn) in dividends in the second quarter of the year, according to new research. However, the latest
Janus Henderson Global Dividend Index also saw that the rate of growth in the payments slowed to levels
not seen for more than two years. Analysts said payouts were 1.1 per cent higher, compared with the same
period last year, due to the strength of the US dollar, with underlying growth of 4.6 per cent. The best-
performing country was Japan, with Europe underperforming the rest of the world. PA
Three switches on 5G home broadband
Telecomms company Three is the latest firm to switch on its 5G network, starting with a 5G home
broadband service across parts of London. The firm is the third operator to kick off next-generation
connection speeds in the UK, although it will not be available to 5G-capable smartphones until later this
year. 5G technology is the next generation of mobile network and is expected to offer internet speeds
several times faster than that of current-generation 4G. Three follows EE and Vodafone, which launched
their 5G offerings in May and July respectively. PA