Russian oligarch s UK broadband deal sparks calls for crackdown
Mikhail Fridman s LetterOne is backing a £1bn plan by Upp to upgrade parts of the telecoms network in East Anglia
3 June 2021 • 6:00am
Campaigners are calling for a crackdown on foreign deals with telecom companies following a major investment in UK broadband infrastructure by the Russian billionaire Mikhail Fridman.
Tory MPs and foreign policy experts said that greater scrutiny is needed after LetterOne, an investment company co-founded by Mr Fridman, announced that it is backing a £1bn plan by the broadband builder Upp to upgrade parts of the network in East Anglia.
Throne of Glass and Harry Potter help Bloomsbury cash in during lockdown
Children s fantasy titles have proven wildly popular with readers during the pandemic
2 June 2021 • 1:21pm
Readers searching for escapism during lockdown have helped publisher Bloomsbury outstrip the market with surging sales and profits.
The company said people had turned to reading for a ray of sunshine in an otherwise dark year , pushing pre-tax profits up 22pc to £19.2m for the year to February.
Harry Potter to the
Throne of Glass series.
Sales across the wider publishing industry rose by just 2pc last year, according to the Publishers Association.
The bright performance prompted the third upgrade of its financial outlook this year, with revenues and profits now poised to be comfortably ahead of market predictions.