Latest news with #Hertfordshire
Yahoo
8 hours ago
- Business
- Yahoo
UK chipmaker considers breakup as it is rocked by Trump's tariff assault
One of Britain's leading microchip businesses is racing to complete a $1bn (£740m) sale as it grapples with the impact of Donald Trump's trade war. Imagination Technologies, which designs graphics processor technology for customers such as Apple, has held sale talks with two US rivals. Bosses of the Chinese-owned company are also considering a potential break-up to get a deal over the line, which could include selling its valuable patent portfolio. It is understood that executives have put a $1bn price tag on Imagination, with bankers from Lazard overseeing the process. In a memo to staff, Ray Bingham, Imagination's chairman, said 'the Galway Project', which refers to the sale talks, 'continues to progress well'. The memo added: 'The second-to-none creativity and expertise of our teams is an incredible asset to capture the unique opportunity created by the current AI revolution.' It comes after the president's trade war with China has rocked the tech industry, including at UK-based Imagination. Pressure has arisen after the US introduced increasingly stringent sanctions on China's chip industry, as Mr Trump seeks to limit China's access to Western technology. This stems from fears that it could be used by Beijing's military. Imagination, which is based in Hertfordshire, was taken private by US-based investor Canyon Bridge in a £550m deal in 2017. However, the business was later engulfed in a political storm after Canyon Bridge's Chinese backers attempted an unsuccessful boardroom coup. This led to the departure of the then-chief executive, Ron Black, who blew the whistle on the Chinese effort to take control of the business. Last year, an employment tribunal ruled Imagination had unfairly sacked Mr Black, who had sued the company for £200m. Damages are yet to be determined. Canyon Bridge has been considering its options for Imagination for several years, at one stage exploring a Chinese float and then a US listing. According to its latest accounts for the year ending December 2023, Imagination's revenues increased by 3.6pc to £124.6m, although its profits plunged by 78pc to £2.6m. At the time, the company warned that 'US and UK export controls' on its Chinese customers had 'stymied top-line revenue growth'. As for its management, staff were told earlier this month that Simon Beresford-Wylie, the current chief executive, is preparing to leave the business. Didier Lamouche, a board member, will lead the business in the interim while it appoints a successor. A spokesman for Imagination declined to comment. Broaden your horizons with award-winning British journalism. Try The Telegraph free for 1 month with unlimited access to our award-winning website, exclusive app, money-saving offers and more. Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
Telegraph
9 hours ago
- Business
- Telegraph
UK chipmaker considers breakup as it is rocked by Trump's tariff assault
One of Britain's leading microchip businesses is racing to complete a $1bn (£740m) sale as it grapples with the impact of Donald Trump's trade war. Imagination Technologies, which designs graphics processor technology for customers such as Apple, has held sale talks with two US rivals. Bosses of the Chinese-owned company are also considering a potential break-up to get a deal over the line, which could include selling its valuable patent portfolio. It is understood that executives have put a $1bn price tag on Imagination, with bankers from Lazard overseeing the process. In a memo to staff, Ray Bingham, Imagination's chairman, said 'the Galway Project', which refers to the sale talks, 'continues to progress well'. The memo added: 'The second-to-none creativity and expertise of our teams is an incredible asset to capture the unique opportunity created by the current AI revolution.' It comes after the president's trade war with China has rocked the tech industry, including at UK-based Imagination. Pressure has arisen after the US introduced increasingly stringent sanctions on China's chip industry, as Mr Trump seeks to limit China's access to Western technology. This stems from fears that it could be used by Beijing's military. Imagination, which is based in Hertfordshire, was taken private by US-based investor Canyon Bridge in a £550m deal in 2017. However, the business was later engulfed in a political storm after Canyon Bridge's Chinese backers attempted an unsuccessful boardroom coup. This led to the departure of the then-chief executive, Ron Black, who blew the whistle on the Chinese effort to take control of the business. Last year, an employment tribunal ruled Imagination had unfairly sacked Mr Black, who had sued the company for £200m. Damages are yet to be determined. Canyon Bridge has been considering its options for Imagination for several years, at one stage exploring a Chinese float and then a US listing. According to its latest accounts for the year ending December 2023, Imagination's revenues increased by 3.6pc to £124.6m, although its profits plunged by 78pc to £2.6m. At the time, the company warned that 'US and UK export controls' on its Chinese customers had 'stymied top-line revenue growth'. As for its management, staff were told earlier this month that Simon Beresford-Wylie, the current chief executive, is preparing to leave the business. Didier Lamouche, a board member, will lead the business in the interim while it appoints a successor.
BBC News
11 hours ago
- Health
- BBC News
St Albans mental heath unit pays £2.5m damages to former patients
More than 60 former patients of a teen psychiatric unit have each been awarded a five-figure sum in damages totalling more than £ settlement is for patients at Hill End Adolescent Unit in St Albans, Hertfordshire, who were subject to alleged sexual abuse or mistreatment during the late 1960s to early Burridge, 59, who was admitted twice aged 13, said: "The violence was for the sake of it."Hertfordshire Partnership University NHS Foundation Trust, which now provides mental health services in the county, said it was "deeply sorry to those people who had such a traumatic and unacceptable experience". A spokesperson for the Department of Health and Social Care said: "Apologies have been issued for the events at Hill End and we will do everything in our power to make sure other families do not suffer such an appalling breach of trust in the future." Mr Burridge said he was forcibly sedated and "in my case there was a huge amount of sexual abuse".He spent almost 300 days at Hill End after being admitted twice - from May 1979 to September 1979 and from March to September described his time there as "like some experiment".He recalled the staff members using physical violence if they felt the children were not being claims have been settled under a compensation scheme launched in July last year by law firm Leigh Day on behalf of about 90 former were unlawfully sedated and/or subjected to physical or sexual abuse or mistreatment during the time they lived at the unit which was set up for young people aged under follows an investigation by Hertfordshire Police which concluded there was "insufficient evidence" to support any prosecution and no arrests were made. Leigh Day partner Emma Jones, who has been working with clients from Hill End for more than seven years, said: "The claims are being settled, but not, at times without a further battle, for my already vulnerable clients."She added: "Despite Victoria Atkins, the then secretary of state for health and social care in her apology letter recognising how incredibly difficult it must be for my clients to have to relive their trauma, this is exactly what a number of them are being forced to do in order to justify what happened to them." Mr Burridge said: "Only a few who worked at Hill End will remain working in the field, but I think it is safe to say that those who do, will have some seniority, and they can influence how care delivery methods are implemented, and that includes dangerous, abusive and damaging working practice."We need a concerted effort that challenges the official bodies and government to strengthen the policies and bring about sustainable change."He added that there should be more robust protections for Partnership University NHS Foundation Trust said: "The legal process is ongoing and we are not aware of any outstanding claims that are waiting for the trust to respond."A spokesperson for the Department of Health and Social Care said: "Every patient deserves to be treated with dignity, care and safety." Follow Beds, Herts and Bucks news on BBC Sounds, Facebook, Instagram and X.
Yahoo
a day ago
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
The British Wheeler Dealer who ended up dating Hollywood royalty
After making four Bridget Jones films, Renée Zellweger has admitted that she became an Anglophile. The Oscar-winning actress, 56, has spoken about her love of English breakfast tea, the London Underground and mushy peas. She even has a British boyfriend – a former British bobby turned footballer-turned-car mechanic, no less. Meet Ant Anstead – a quintessentially British bloke from Hertfordshire who's now dating Hollywood royalty. Anstead has been in a relationship with Zellweger since 2021 and is best known for presenting the TV show Wheeler Dealers. But after rumours of an engagement in January, there's now speculation that they're no longer living together amid his alleged money troubles. So who is this self-described 'British Boy who builds'? And how did he come to date one of the world's most famous women? Anthony Anstead was born in Cambridge in 1978 but grew up in Hertfordshire. As a car-mad teen, he was already building and selling kit cars when he was still at school and used the profits to buy himself an MG. At 18, he became a police officer with the Hertfordshire Constabulary and guarded the notorious 'Railway Murderer', John Duffy, in a police safehouse. At 22, he was made one of the youngest Tactical Firearms Team officers in the country, receiving two commendations for acts of bravery. But, in 2005, he resigned from the police force to pursue a career as a mechanic, building and restoring cars for private clients. In his free time he was a semi-professional footballer, playing over 700 games over 17 years at Ryman League (now known as Isthmian League) level, as both a goalkeeper and a striker. He started his own TV company in 2014 and hosted a number of motoring shows for Channel 4 and the BBC, and appeared on stage at some of the UK's biggest car shows. He met Mike Brewer, who would become his Wheeler Dealers co-host, when they were both presenting classic car shows at the National Exhibition Centre (which hosts the Lancaster Insurance Classic Motor Show among others). 'Ant's an incredible presenter and car builder, he really knows his stuff,' says Brewer, who bought the used cars for the show for Anstead to fix up. 'When we moved Wheeler Dealers to the US in 2017, [former show mechanic] Edd China wanted to go back to the UK so I pushed for Ant to join the show. I knew he'd be amazing.' Before he moved to California, Anstead and his first wife – Louise Herbert – divorced. The couple had been dating since he was 19 and they have two children together, Amelie, 21, and Archie, 18. 'We spent 22 years together from teenagers to adults, and to this day remain very close friends and we stay in regular contact. Almost daily,' said Anstead. 'We have two amazing kids together who we are incredibly proud of and we will forever be family. I wish them a lifetime full of happiness.' In October 2017, Anstead began dating Christina Haack, an American TV presenter who specialises in property shows. They tied the knot a year later in a secret 'winter wonderland' wedding at their home in Newport Beach and their son, Hudson, was born in September 2019. But less than a year later, Haack announced that they had split. In 2021, Anstead's life took another twist when Zellweger was a guest on his US show Celebrity IOU Joyride. The premise of the series was for celebrities to fix up old cars and give them to important people in their lives, and the Bridget Jones' Diary star refurbished a 1970s Bronco and presented it to the twin brothers, Jerome and Jerald, who cared for her late publicist, Nanci Ryder, after she was diagnosed with ALS in 2014. 'I'm really grateful to the show because these amazing things happen in your world and sometimes when things collide, they collide at the most obscure times when you least expect them,' Anstead has said of meeting Zellweger. The new couple were seen spending the Fourth of July weekend together at Anstead's beach home in Laguna Beach, and in September, Anstead went 'Instagram official' with the movie star, sharing a black-and-white selfie of them looking loved-up. Although they largely kept out of the spotlight, they attended a few events together in the US. 'Renée and my relationship is something that's really private,' said Anstead. 'It's something I'm not really willing to talk too much about. It's really early in our relationship and I don't want to put any pressure on that.' But in November 2021, Anstead shared an Instagram photo of Zellweger holding his son Hudson at a New Orleans Saints football game. He has also shared photos of him and Zellweger kissing and sharing anniversaries together. Zellweger, who filed for an annulment from her country singer husband, Kenny Chesney, in September 2005 after four months of marriage, has been a little more cryptic. This year, she confirmed that she lives near San Diego 'because that's where my fellow lives, and his little boy'. However, there was no being coy in January 2025, when the couple posed for photos with Anstead's children, Amelie and Archie, at the London premiere of Bridget Jones: Mad About the Boy. He posted a picture from the red carpet with the caption: 'Midweek movie night with the kiddos.... The Movie was absolutely utterly brilliant and the lead actress was mesmerising and smoking HOT (I have a mega crush on her!) I've let the missus know she's my hall pass..... X.' There was even speculation that the pair were engaged, after Zellweger, who is worth a reported £67 million, appeared at the premiere with plasters on her ring finger, possibly to cover up a ring. But the jury's out on whether he's a dependable Mark Darcy type or a cad like Daniel Cleaver. In May there were reports that Zellweger and Anstead had split up, after he was seen spending time at the cliff-top mansion of a divorced Laguna Beach spin instructor named Julia French. 'Sadly, the recent reports in the press are disrespectful and misleading,' Anstead's publicist says. '[Anstead] stayed just a handful of days in Julia French's separate, and detached, guest house. They have been long-time friends with similar aged children within a circle of local Laguna Beach friends.' Anstead might also be having money troubles, as his supercar company Radford Motors filed for Chapter Seven bankruptcy in a Delaware court in May. In recent months, he has faced a series of lawsuits from clients worth over £2 million. Anstead has said he remains 'fully committed' to the company despite its current 'challenges'. According to Anstead's publicist, he has been 'spending the majority of his time working in the UK', while Zellweger has been filming the TV show Only Murders in the Building in New York City. Mike Brewer says he's not surprised that his friend and co-host has ended up dating a Hollywood A-lister: 'He's a good looking guy and he's very charming,' he says. 'It was inevitable he'd hook up with somebody great, as people just gravitate towards him. Whatever the 'X factor' is, he's got it. Renée and Ant have a wonderful relationship. My wife and I meet up with them and hang out with them all the time.' According to Anstead's representative: 'Renée and Ant remain in a cherished relationship that they ask to keep private.' Maybe the Bridget Jones star will get her happily ever after, after all. Broaden your horizons with award-winning British journalism. Try The Telegraph free for 1 month with unlimited access to our award-winning website, exclusive app, money-saving offers and more.
Telegraph
a day ago
- Entertainment
- Telegraph
Watch: Camera phones are out – inside the King's carriage
For the Marchioness of Salisbury, such a grand arrival at Royal Ascot had to be captured for posterity. No matter that she was travelling alongside the King and Queen, the Marchioness could not resist whipping out her mobile phone to photograph the moment. The Marquess and Marchioness of Salisbury joined the King and Queen in the first carriage of the royal procession on Thursday, the third day of the racing spectacle. As their carriage sailed onto the Berkshire course, the Marchioness plucked her phone from her handbag and held it aloft to capture the cheering crowds. If their Majesties were surprised, they did not show it, waving happily at delighted racegoers as their guest documented the moment. The Marquess is Robert Gascoyne-Cecil, 78, who worked in banking before being elected Tory MP for South Dorset in 1979. As Viscount Cranbourne, he became leader of the Lords in 1994 and later, Lead of the Opposition in the Lords, when he negotiated with Tony Blair's Labour Government to retain a certain number of hereditary peers. He was knighted in 2012 and in 2019 was appointed a Knight of the Order of the Garter. He and his wife, Hannah, 81, also joined the King and Queen for lunch at Windsor Castle, followed by the traditional Garter Day procession and service on Monday. The couple have five grown up children and live at the family seat, Hatfield House in Hertfordshire. Following swiftly behind them in the second carriage were the Duke and Duchess of Edinburgh, who are celebrating their 26th wedding anniversary, alongside the Princess Royal and her husband, Vice Admiral Sir Tim Laurence. In the third carriage was Princess Beatrice with her husband, Edoardo Mapelli Mozzi, Princess Zahra Aga Khan, elder daughter of the late Aga Khan, and William Haggas, a horse trainer. Zara and Mike Tindall, who have attended every day this week, were in the fourth carriage alongside, William Parente, only grandson of William 'Chopper' Cavendish-Bentinck, 7th Duke of Portland, and his wife, Alison Swan Parente, founder of the School of Artisan Food. The royal tour de force on Gold Cup day – otherwise known as Ladies' Day – at the Berkshire course, came after the Princess of Wales pulled out of a planned appearance on Wednesday at the last minute. The carriage list, published at 12pm, listed the Princess alongside the Prince of Wales in the second carriage of the royal procession. However, 20 minutes after it was released, a Kensington Palace source said she would not be attending as she continued to prioritise her recovery following cancer treatment. The Princess had made three public appearances within the last week, at a solo engagement at the V&A Museum in east London last Tuesday, at Trooping the Colour on Saturday and then at the Garter Day service in Windsor on Monday. She was said to be disappointed to miss out on Ascot but her absence was seen as a reminder of the complexities of 'the cancer journey', which she acknowledged last September was 'scary and unpredictable for everyone'. The King and Queen were left disappointed on Wednesday when their horse, Rainbows Edge, slumped to a seventh place finish in the Kensington Palace Stakes, just a day after their first runner, Reaching High, bred by Elizabeth II, came in ninth place in the Ascot Stakes. They will now be pinning their hopes on Purple Rainbow, their runner in the Sandringham Stakes on Friday and The King's Falcon, in the Golden Gates Stakes Handicap on Saturday.
