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The independent review into the closure of Nigel Farage’s Coutts account and the discussion of his banking with a journalist by the head of the bank has found “a number of shortcomings” in the closure process.

But law firm Travers Smith, who were commissioned by the board of NatWest to conduct the review, said the closure of Mr Farage‘s account, “was predominantly a commercial decision”.

“Coutts considered its relationship with Mr Farage to be commercially unviable because it was significantly loss-making.”

In response to the key findings of the report, NatWest chairman, Sir Howard Davies, said “a number of serious failings” were set out in the treatment of Mr Farage.

Shortcomings were also identified in how NatWest, which owns Coutts, communicated with the former UKIP and Brexit Party leader and how it treated his confidential information, according to the review.

The finance watchdog, the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) said potential “regulatory breaches and a number of areas for improvement” were identified.

These include NatWest’s processes on how it considers potential accounts closures and customers complaints as well as the effectiveness of governance mechanisms.

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NatWest’s share price fell to more than a two year low on Friday morning despite just published results showing £1.33bn in profit over the three months ending in September, 23% higher than at the same point a year before.

On market open a NatWest share cost 173 pence, a low not seen since February 2021.

The share price fall, from 205.2 pence on Thursday evening, was the biggest fall since the 2016 Brexit vote.

Former chief executive, Dame Alison Rose, exited the state-backed lender after she admitted making a “serious error of judgment” by speaking to a journalist about Farage’s banking at Coutts.

After the news piece was published Mr Farage released the content of a subject access request, which suggested the move was taken partly because his views did not align with the firm’s “values”.

Key findings by Travers Smith are:
• The decision to close the account was lawful and was made in accordance with bank policies and processes.
• Dame Alison Rose played no part in the decision to close the account.
• Other factors were considered in the decision-making process: Coutts thought there could be reputational harm from Mr Farage holding an account these factors did not drive the decision.
• Mr Farage’s stated beliefs were not a determining factor in closing the account but they did support the decision.
• The way the closure was communicated to Mr Farage was broke the bank’s policies and processes, especially by giving reasons to customers when non-financial crime was committed. No adequate reasons were given.

In response, Mr Farage has said:
• “The report’s authors claim it was “predominantly a commercial decision” to close my accounts but, crucially, they also noted that evidence given to them by witnesses in relation to this episode was not entirely consistent.”
• “Travers Smith has taken a very mealy-mouthed approach to this complex issue. The law firm argues that my political views “not aligning with those of the bank” was not in itself a political decision. This is laughable.”
• “Travers Smith did not find “any evidence” that my “pro-Brexit stance were factors in the exit decision”. The word Brexit appeared no less than 86 times in my subject access request”.
• “The letters that were sent to me confirming the closures of my accounts without explanation were sent on a paper headed template usually reserved for those suspected of fraud”.

Earlier this week the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) said there were two privacy breaches involved in Dame Alison’s disclosure to BBC News business editor Simon Jack.

A broader FCA review of banks closing accounts on the basis of customers’ political opinion found no evidence of the practice.

However only closures between July 2022 and June 2023 were considered and more work to verify the data supplied by banks was needed as was examination as to why and when they close accounts due to reputational risk.

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Music video streamer ROXi lands backing from US broadcasters

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Music video streamer ROXi lands backing from US broadcasters

A music video-streaming service whose shareholders include the U2 bassist Adam Clayton will this week announce that it has sealed a management buyout after months of talks.

Sky News understands that the assets of MagicWorks, which trades as ROXi, have been sold to a new company called FastStream Interactive (FSI), with backing from two major US-based broadcasters.

Sources said that Nasdaq-listed Sinclair and New York Stock Exchange-listed Gray Media were among the new shareholders in FSI, with the launch of new interactive TV Channels in the US expected to take place shortly.

The deal, which has involved raising millions of pounds of new equity from new and existing investors, has resulted in previous creditors of the business being repaid in full, according to the sources.

Its search for funding from the US was seen as vital because of the programme to roll out its FastScreen technology.

Founded in 2014, ROXi described itself as the world’s first ‘made-for-television’ service, allowing viewers to stream millions of songs and download hundreds of thousands of karaoke tracks.

Its broadcast channels allow viewers to skip through content in which they have no interest.

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Simon Cowell, Kylie Minogue and Robbie Williams were among the prominent music industry figures who had previously been named as ROXi investors.

Financiers including Guy Hands and Jim Mellon are said to be part of the new ownership structure.

In response to an enquiry from Sky News, Rob Lewis, FSI chief executive, said: “The new technology, FastStream, will revolutionise broadcast TV.

“For the first time in history, consumers tuning into a normal TV channel will find they automatically start at the beginning of the programme, and that they are able to skip, pause or search, even though they are watching normal broadcast TV”.

Begbies Traynor Group, the professional services firm, and Rockefeller Capital Management advised on the process.

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Concierge firm founded by Queen’s nephew hunts buyer

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Concierge firm founded by Queen's nephew hunts buyer

Quintessentially, the luxury concierge service founded by the Queen’s nephew, is in talks to find a buyer months after it warned of “material uncertainty” over its future.

Sky News has learned that the company, which was set up by Sir Ben Elliot and his business partners in 1999, is working with advisers on a process aimed at finding a new owner or investors.

City sources said this weekend that Quintessentially was already in discussions with prospective buyers and was anticipating receipt of a number of firm offers.

Sir Ben, the former Conservative Party co-chairman under Boris Johnson, owns a significant minority stake in the company.

The Quintessentially group operates a number of businesses, although its core activity remains the provision of lifestyle support to high net worth individuals including celebrities, royalty, and leading businesspeople.

It also counts major companies among its clients and offers services such as organising private jet flights and performances by top musicians.

The sale process is being overseen by a firm called Beyond, although further details, including the price that the business might fetch, were unclear on Saturday.

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One insider said parties who had been contacted by Beyond were being offered the option to buy a controlling interest in Quintessentially.

This could be implemented through a combination of the repayment of outstanding loans, an injection of new funding into the business, and the purchase of existing shareholders’ interests, they added.

Quintessentially’s founders, including Sir Ben, are thought to be keen to retain an equity interest in the company after any deal.

In January 2022, newspaper reports suggested that Quintessentially had been put up for sale with a valuation of £140m.

Deloitte, the accountancy firm, was charged with finding a buyer at the time but a transaction failed to materialise.

Sir Ben, who was knighted in Mr Johnson’s resignation honours list, turned to one of Quintessentially’s shareholders for financial support during the pandemic.

World Fuel Services, an energy and aviation services company, is owed £15.5m as well as £3.5m in accrued interest, according to one person close to the process.

The loan is said to include a warrant to convert it into equity upon repayment.

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Quintessentially does not disclose the number or identities of many of its clients, although it said in annual accounts filed at Companies House in January that it had increased turnover to £29.6m in the year to 30 April 2024.

The accounts suggested the company was seeing growth in demand from clients internationally.

“During the last year, we have not only renewed important corporate contracts like Mastercard, but have also expanded by adding new corporate clients like Swiss4 in the UK, R360 in India, and Visa in the Middle East and South America,” they said.

In its experiences and events division, it won a contract to work with the Red Sea Film Festival and to provide corporate concierge services to the Saudi Premier League.

It added that Allianz, the German insurer, BMW, and South African lender Standard Bank were among other clients with which it had signed contracts.

The accounts included the warning of a “risk that the pace and level at which business returns could be materially less than forecast, requiring the group and company to obtain external funding which may not be forthcoming and therefore this creates material uncertainty that may cast ultimately cast doubt about the … ability to continue as a going concern”.

This weekend, a Quintessentially spokesman declined to comment on the sale process.

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Superstar Adele joins backers of music royalties platform Audoo

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Superstar Adele joins backers of music royalties platform Audoo

Adele, the Grammy award-winning artist, has joined the list of music superstars investing in Audoo, a music technology company which helps artists to receive fairer royalty payments.

Sky News has learnt that the British musician and Adam Clayton, the U2 bassist, have injected money into Audoo as part of a £7m funding round.

The pair join Sir Elton John, Sir Paul McCartney and ABBA’s Bjorn Ulvaeus as shareholders in the company.

Changes to Audoo’s share register were filed at Companies House in recent days.

Audoo, which was established by former musician Ryan Edwards, is trying to address the perennial issue of public performance royalties, in order to ensure musicians are rewarded when their work is played in public venues.

Mr Edwards is reported to have been motivated to set up the company after hearing his own music played at football stadia and in bars, without any payment for it.

Estimates suggest that artists lose out on billions of dollars of unaccounted royalties each year.

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London-based Audoo uses a monitoring device – which it calls an Audio Meter – to recognise songs played in public venues, and which is said to have a 99% success rate.

It has struck what it describes as industry-first partnerships with organisations including the music licensing company PPL/PRS to track and report songs played in public performance locations such as cafes, hair salons, shops and gyms.

“At Audoo, we’re incredibly proud of the continued support we’re receiving as we work to make music royalties fairer and more transparent for artists and rights-holders around the world through our pioneering technology,” Mr Edwards told Sky News in a statement on Friday.

“We have successfully reached £7m in our latest funding round.

“This funding marks a pivotal moment for Audoo as we focus on our growth in North America and across Europe, bringing us closer to our mission of revolutionising the global royalty landscape.”

Sources said the new capital would be used partly to finance Audoo’s growth in the US.

The latest funding round takes the total amount of money raised by the company since its launch to more than $30m.

Mr Edwards has spoken of his desire to establish a major presence in Europe and the US because of their status as the world’s biggest recorded music markets.

Adele’s management company did not respond to an enquiry from Sky News.

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