Source: www.guardian.co.uk
Tesco pays £10.8m for 91 per cent stake in WE7 - menmedia.co.uk
Tesco has paid £10.8m for a majority stake in an online music venture founded by Cheshire entrepreneur Steve Purdham and rock star Peter Gabriel.
The supermarket chain has acquired a 91 per cent stake in internet radio service WE7, which has a catalogue of 11 million songs that users can listen to for free, with advertisements played at the beginning of each track.
Tesco said it would buy the remaining shares within weeks.
The move follows Tesco's acquisition last year of online movie service blinkbox and is part of a strategy to offer new ways of accessing digital entertainment.
Mr Purdham was chief executive of SurfControl, a Congleton-based internet security company, until its sale for £201m in 2007.
He founded WE7 with £5m backing in 2008.
Mr Purdham said: “With its loyal customer base, numerous marketing channels and international reach, we believe Tesco is the perfect partner to bring WE7’s music services to a wider audience. Tesco has been an innovator in entertainment retailing for many years and we look forward to continuing this innovation digitally.”
The service is available via the internet and a smartphone app.
Tesco said it plans to launch additional digital music services from the WE7 platform in the coming months.
Tesco digital director Mark George said “Tesco is already one of the UK’s largest retailers of CDs. This move will help us offer a greater choice for the growing number of customers who want to access music instantly on any device, whenever and wherever they want.”
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Source: menmedia.co.uk
London 2012: Tim Brabants 'back to his old self' after injury - BBC News
Tim Brabants can successfully defend his Olympic title at London 2012 despite a "career-threatening" injury, according to Britain's canoeing chief.
Brabants, 35, won gold in the K1 1000m sprint canoe event at Beijing 2008 but had major shoulder surgery last year.
He was named to Team GB for his fourth consecutive Olympics on Thursday having won a selection battle for his place.
Analysis: GB medal hopes
Tim Brabants is coming into form at the right time after his injury but look to the men's 200m sprint distances for Britain's best hopes of gold.
Ed McKeever won the 2010 world title in the K1 200m class, adding silver in 2011, while Liam Heath and Jon Schofield also won silver in the two-man K2 event that year alongside the European title. The trio should earn Britain two medals at the Games.
GB's women's K4 boat finished fourth at the 2011 World Championships. The four-woman event is seen as the priority over individual races for Rachel Cawthorn and Jess Walker and the ever-improving crew are capable of a medal.
In the men's C1 races, talent ID success Rich Jefferies will be aiming to reach the finals and is considered a hotter prospect for Rio 2016.
Performance director John Anderson said Brabants "looked like he was back to his old self" in the deciding race.
Brabants outclassed rival Paul Wycherley at the World Cup in Duisburg, Germany - the third and final selection race for the British Olympic team - to claim the one spot available to a Briton in the men's K1 1000m at London 2012.
"A career-threatening injury two years ago really put him behind where he wanted to be," Anderson told BBC Sport.
"We're talking a serious injury. Last year was difficult for Tim with his rehab and he basically didn't have enough time to get back.
"I think it's the measure of an Olympic champion to come through that adversity and deliver the performances. Tim's aspiration is to go out and defend his Olympic title. On his day, he's capable of challenging the podium in London."
Wycherley, 26, went to the 2011 World Championships instead of a struggling Brabants after beating the latter in a one-off selection race last summer.
Speaking as his place on the GB team for the Olympics was announced, Brabants said: "[For the past year] I've been fighting off the back foot more than in previous years, because of the shoulder surgery I had. Now we're back where we want to be.
"Four years later, it doesn't get any easier. We know what we did to achieve what we did in Beijing - the training, the work and the mental preparation - now it's following a similar pattern but it's harder, because I'll need to go faster to win in London."
Reigning world champion Adam van Koeverden of Canada, Norway's Eirik Veraas Larsen and Australia's Ken Wallace are among the candidates looking to challenge Brabants this summer.
Source: www.bbc.co.uk
London 2012 Olympics: Locog release 50,000 more Olympic Park tickets on general sale - Daily Telegraph
Townsend added: "For those people who are no longer able to attend, or cannot give their tickets to friends or family, they can now use our resale platform. This will enable people to resell their tickets in a safe and legal way."
London 2012 have announced that the tickets will be validated and released for sale on a sport-by-sport basis. If a ticket is sold, the ticketholder will get an email and then a refund within 10 working days of the sale. The original ticket should go back to London 2012. If the ticket remains unsold it will be returned to the customer's account.
Tickets are on sale on the London 2012 Ticket website or by phone on 0844 847 2012. People who want to purchase tickets can only pay with a debit, credit or prepaid card.
Any potential purchasers wanting to check for wheelchair spaces should call the same number and speak to the London 2012 Accessibility team.
Source: www.telegraph.co.uk
London stocks lifted by policy action - Financial Times
Last updated: June 15, 2012 10:20 am
Source: www.ft.com
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