All entries located in East (United Kingdom), newest first. tag:eurotrack.ai,2026:en:en/regions/east 2026-09-22T06:00:00Z Eurotrack tag:eurotrack.ai,2026:54c1cb74:en 2026-09-22T06:00:00Z

On 22 Sep 2026 Microsoft began consulting staff on a proposed closure of Hellblade developer Ninja Theory in Cambridge after two separate agreements to sell the studio fell through; it said it would keep exploring other paths. The move is part of an Xbox restructuring with 268 job cuts in total, including at Halo Studios; the number affected at Ninja Theory was not disclosed (Push Square, Engadget, 22 Sep 2026). Update (5 Oct 2026): The first employees report redundancy or job loss on LinkedIn; official confirmation of the closure is still pending (VGC, 5 Oct 2026). — Sources: https://www.pushsquare.com/news/2026/09/microsoft-closing-hellblade-dev-ninja-theory-after-failed-buyout-talks · https://www.videogameschronicle.com/news/hellblade-studio-ninja-theory-has-started-laying-off-staff-following-xboxs-announcement-that-it-faces-closure/

tag:eurotrack.ai,2026:ded2d908:en 2026-08-02T06:00:00Z

Single-source report (Financial Times, 2 August 2026, picked up by CNBC): British-Swedish pharmaceutical group AstraZeneca is said to be in talks about a combination with US group Bristol Myers Squibb. The merged company would be valued at around $400bn, making it one of the world's largest pharmaceutical groups. Neither company commented. No binding agreement exists, and no second independent confirmation of the report was available when this entry was recorded. Update (5 August 2026): the report was denied. A person familiar with the matter told Reuters there is no deal between AstraZeneca and Bristol Myers Squibb, that “there never was a deal to be done” and that there are no discussions between the companies; a second person familiar with the matter confirmed that no active talks are under way. Neither group has issued a formal statement of its own (source: Pharmaceutical Executive citing Reuters, 5 August 2026). — Source: https://www.cnbc.com/2026/08/02/astrazeneca-and-bristol-myers-squibb-mull-400-billion-deal-report-.html

tag:eurotrack.ai,2026:1682da47:en 2026-07-21T06:00:00Z

British Sugar (Associated British Foods) announced on 21 July 2026 that it will close its more than 100-year-old sugar beet factory in Cantley (Norfolk) by February 2027 and concentrate processing at the three remaining plants in Bury St Edmunds, Newark and Wissington; around 104 employees are affected. The company cites low European sugar prices, high energy costs and a long-term decline in volumes. The farmers' association NFU Sugar said it was 'extremely disappointed' as beet growers in eastern England lose a key buyer; consultation with the Unite union has begun. Second source: GB News. — Source: https://www.farminguk.com/news/british-sugar-plans-to-end-cantley-beet-processing_68855.html

tag:eurotrack.ai,2026:159b0ac6:en 2026-07-10T06:00:00Z

Bidding war for easyJet: After several offers from Castlelake (most recently GBP 6.90 per share, with the board inclined to recommend it on 5 July), Apollo tabled GBP 7.15 per share on 8 July; on 10 July 2026 the easyJet board reached an agreement in principle with Apollo. UPDATE (3 August 2026): The two bidders' put-up-or-shut-up deadlines were aligned: Castlelake's deadline, originally expiring on 3 August, was extended with the UK takeover authorities' consent, so that both Castlelake and Apollo must now either table a firm offer or walk away by 5.00 p.m. UK time on 7 August 2026. Update (6 Aug 2026): The bidding contest is settled. Castlelake said that after several weeks of discussions with the board and management it would not proceed to a firm offer — its fifth and final public proposal had stood at £6.90 per share. Apollo then made a firm Rule 2.7 cash offer of £7.15 per share (roughly £5.7bn / $7.7bn), which the easyJet board supports. Shareholder, regulatory and court approvals are still outstanding; Castlelake expressly reserved the right to return should a third party make a firm offer. Sources: Bloomberg and CNBC, 6 August 2026. Update (7 August 2026): Founder Stelios Haji-Ioannou and his family, who hold around 15.3% of easyJet, have agreed to support the transaction — removing one of the largest shareholder hurdles. The structure caps the Apollo funds at no more than 49.9% of the acquisition vehicle; retained qualifying European shareholders and an EU management trust are intended to preserve the European ownership and control easyJet needs for its EU traffic rights, an arrangement regulators still have to assess. Source: Airways Magazine, 7 August 2026. Update (24 Oct 2026): easyJet published the scheme document for the Apollo takeover on 15 Oct 2026, within the deadline; the cash price stays at £7.15 per share (about £5.6bn valuation), the Court Meeting and General Meeting are set for 11 Nov 2026 and completion is still targeted by the end of Q1 2027 (Airways Magazine, 19 Oct 2026). — Sources: https://www.easyjet.com/en/news/airline/article/castlelakes-acquisition-of-easyjet-plc · https://airwaysmag.com/new-post/easyjet-apollo-takeover-employee-opposition

tag:eurotrack.ai,2026:88bbe25c:en 2026-06-28T06:00:00Z

The new Cambridge South station sits at the Cambridge Biomedical Campus near Addenbrooke's Hospital and AstraZeneca's headquarters, about 2.3 km south of Cambridge station, linking the Cambridge Line with the West Anglia Main Line. It has four platforms, 1,000 cycle spaces and only 15 car parking spaces, with an expected 1.8 million passengers a year. Opened on 28 June 2026, it is the first station in the UK to carry the new Great British Railways (GBR) branding. Update (29 Jun 2026): At the opening the Department for Transport put the investment at GBP 250 million (EUR 290 million), which the government decided in June 2023 to fund in full; a further GBP 5 million came from AstraZeneca, the Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Combined Authority and the Greater Cambridge Partnership. Construction began in January 2023; compared with the original 2025 target, the station was delayed by a signalling renewal project in Cambridgeshire, a timetable change on the East Coast Main Line and the insolvency of a subcontractor. Up to 20 trains are to call at peak times at first, and the direct journey from London takes 45 minutes (LOK Report, 29 Jun 2026). — Sources: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cambridge_South_railway_station · https://www.lok-report.de/news/europa/grossbritannien/grossbritannien-eroeffnung-bahnhof-cambridge-south.html · https://www.gov.uk/government/news/cambridge-south-station-opens

tag:eurotrack.ai,2026:667bfe2a:en 2025-10-31T06:00:00Z

The new Beaulieu Park station has opened in Chelmsford (Essex), the first new station on the Great Eastern Main Line in 100 years; it has three platforms and 705 parking spaces and gets passengers to London in 40 minutes. Construction began in March 2023 and finished in October 2025, ahead of schedule (completion had originally been expected at the end of 2025); the project costs £175 million (€200 million) in total, of which £141 million (€162 million) came from the government infrastructure fund. The station, run by Greater Anglia, is meant to relieve Chelmsford's main station (6.5 million passengers a year) and opens up the Chelmsford Garden Community with 10,000 new homes; according to Rail Minister Lord Hendy it enables thousands of homes and over 2,000 jobs. The date is a placeholder: the article names only October 2025 as the month of completion, not an exact opening day (LOK Report, 30 Oct 2025). — Source: https://www.lok-report.de/news/europa/grossbritannien/62575-grossbritannien-englands-neuester-bahnhof-ist-jetzt-in-chelmsford-eroeffnet-worden.html