The Times - UK (2022-01-26)

the times | Wednesday January 26 2022 2GM 35

Business

Callum Jones
US Business Correspondent

Microsoft beat expectations in the
latest quarter as more businesses
shifted to remote work, fuelling the
growth of its cloud computing division.
The technology giant’s revenue and
profit increased by a fifth amid robust
demand for its services from compa-
nies and consumers. However, shares
in Microsoft came under pressure after
another volatile day on Wall Street and
with its cloud sales failing to meet the
high end of analysts’ forecasts. The
shares fell by 4.9 per cent, or $14.01, to
$274.48 in late trading last night.
While its fast-growing cloud unit,
made up of its Azure public cloud com-
puting platform and server software,
expanded by 26 per cent with revenue
of $18.3 billion, the growth of Azure
slowed to 46 per cent.
Its earnings were released one week
after Microsoft agreed to buy Activi-
sion Blizzard, the games developer, for
$68.7 billion in its biggest ever deal.
Microsoft, valued at about $2.2 tril-
lion, fleetingly surpassed Apple as the
world’s largest publicly traded com-
pany last autumn. Its operations
include Azure, as well as Windows, the
operating system, LinkedIn, the social
network, and Xbox, the gaming enter-
prise. The Washington State-based
group was founded in 1975 by Bill Gates,
66, and Paul Allen, who died in 2018.
Gates left its board two years ago.
The company’s total revenue
increased by 20 per cent to $51.7 billion
in the three months to the end of
December. Net income rose by 21 per
cent to $18.8 billion.
Satya Nadella, its chairman and chief

commoditiescommodities currenciescurrencies

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£/$

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world markets (Change on the day)

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$1,852.06 (+15.32) $

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$87.85 (+1.96)

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Britain is more attractive to global
financial services businesses as a place
to expand than at any time since the
Brexit referendum, according to poll
conducted by EY.
A survey of senior decision-makers
at international banks, insurers and
asset managers found that 87 per cent
planned to expand their operations in
the UK or to establish a first operation

Britain recovers its lustre as a place for finance firms to expand

Patrick Hosking Financial Editor here. That was the highest since 2016,
when sentiment was hit by Britain’s
vote to leave the European Union, and
a dramatic improvement from the 11 per
cent figure recorded in 2019, before the
pandemic hit.
While some in the City worry that
London — dubbed Jurassic Park by
one frustrated hedge fund manager
recently — is losing out to other
financial centres as a destination for
flotations and securities trading, the

survey showed that overseas finance

firms are bullish about the UK.

More than half of respondents cited

Britain’s success in addressing the pan-

demic as the most important factor in

influencing investment. Its strength in

ESG (investment according to environ-

mental, social and governance factors)

was also mentioned by many.

Anna Anthony, UK financial ser-

vices managing partner at EY, said the

poll showed that Britain was continu-

ing to “ably withstand the material

challenges and uncertainty of both the

pandemic and Brexit”.

Among overseas finance firms

expanding in Britain, JP Morgan, of the

United States, bought Nutmeg, the

British-based wealth manager, for £700

million last year, while Raymond James

Financial, another American business,

bought Charles Stanley, the 229-year-

old stockbroker. Overseas private

equity also has been looking at UK

financial services assets, with Carlyle

and Apollo interested in acquiring

Metro Bank, while Bain Capital had

planned to buy LV=, the mutual insurer,

before a member revolt in December.

The poll was of more than 40 large

global finance institutions.

A poll this month by PwC found that

Britain had dramatically improved in

the eyes of US chief executives as the

most attractive territory to expand,

partly because assets are seen as cheap.

Remote working helps boost profit by a fifth

Cloud is ray

of sunshine

for Microsoft

executive, said: “Digital technology is

the most malleable resource at the

world’s disposal to overcome con-

straints and reimagine everyday work

and life. As tech as a percentage of

global GDP continues to increase, we

are innovating and investing across

diverse and growing markets.”

Dan Ives, a technology analyst at

Wedbush Capital, said tht Microsoft

shares were retreating because Azure

had fallen short of the most bullish pro-

jections. “We would be buyers on this

modest sell-off,” he told clients, arguing

that it had been oversold.

With Tesla and Apple due to publish

earnings in the coming days, some of

America’s largest technology stocks

have been at the heart of the stock

market slide amid concerns that the

results might disappoint.

Since Monday American markets, in

particular, have been extremely vola-

tile, with sentiment largely dominated

by rising tensions between Russia and

Ukraine and how quickly the Federal

Reserve might raise interest rates.

When policymakers conclude their

latest policy meeting today, the Fed is

widely expected to signal when it plans

to start raising interest rates.

Last night the technology-domina-

ted Nasdaq closed down 315.83 points,

or 2.3 per cent, at 13,539.29, having

pared some of its earlier heavy losses.

The index is now more than 13.5 per

cent lower since the beginning of Janu-

ary. The broader S&P 500 finished

down 53.68 points, or 1.2 per cent, at

4,356.45 and the Dow Jones industrial

average ended down 66.77 points, or

0.2 per cent, at 34,297.73. Brent crude,

the international benchmark oil price,

was 2.2 per cent up at $88.20 a barrel.

CORBIN & KING

Corbin and King ‘could not pay bill’

Dominic Walsh

The London restaurant group behind

the fashionable Wolseley on Piccadilly

has been placed in administration after

a bitter dispute between its founders

and their Thai owner.

Jeremy King, 67, and Chris Corbin,

68, sold a controlling stake in their

Corbin & King business to Minor Inter-

national four years ago, but the two

sides have since fallen out, culiminating

in the appointment last night of FRP

Advisory as administrator.

Corbin & King brought in an inde-

pendent monitor to try to block insol-

vency proceedings and held talks with

Knighthead Capital Management, a

US investor, about securing tens of mil-

lions of pounds of new funding.

Minor said that FRP had been

appointed after Corbin & King “was un-

able to meet its financial obligations”

and “contrary to the picture Mr King

was trying to paint, had become insol-

vent”. It added: “Prior to the appoint-

ment, an attempt to place an unauthor-

ised moratorium filing was made. This

was undertaken without board appro-

val and was subsequently withdrawn.”

Minor, a Thai hotel group, said that

although Corbin & King had defaulted

on its loans and required “strong finan-

cial support”, it remained committed to

supporting the business, having

already provided loans and guarantees

of £38 million.

It claimed that King had obstructed

its repeated attempts to recapitalise the

company and had left it with “no other

viable option than to appoint adminis-

trators to the business”. The Thai group

said it was confident that with the right

financial support, Corbin & King “will

not only survive, but thrive in the post-

pandemic environment”.

Minor bought a 74 per cent stake Cor-

bin & King in 2017 in a deal valuing it at

£58 million. Today, it has nine restau-

rants, including The Delaunay and

Brasserie Zédel, that are popular with

celebrities and captains of industry.

King and Corbin, who remained

shareholders under Minor, made their

names at London restaurants including

Langan’s Brasserie and Joe Allen, then

in 1981 bought Le Caprice and opened

The Ivy in 1990. Caprice Holdings was

sold to Signature Restaurants in 1998

and the duo launched a new business,

opening the Wolseley on Piccadilly in

2003.

King, said: “There is absolutely no

need to go into administration — we

are trading extremely well and all

suppliers, staff etc continue to be paid.”

Chris Corbin and Jeremy King, right, were behind some of London’s top restaurants, including the fashionable Wolseley