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The largest shareholder in Galliard Homes, one of London’s leading housebuilders, is exploring a sale of the company that bankers believe could value it at close to £1bn.
Sky News has learnt that Stephen Conway, who co-founded Galliard in 1992, has appointed bankers to examine options for the sale of a minority or controlling stake in the business.

Jefferies, the investment bank, has been asked to oversee the sale process, according to City sources.
Galliard, which develops roughly 3,500 homes annually, also operates in Birmingham and the West Country, and is one of London’s biggest privately owned housebuilders.
The company was set up by Mr Conway and John Black, with its first project consisting of 110 apartments in Enfield, north London.

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The nearest main road to the development was Galliard Road, from which the company took its name.

People close to the process said Mr Conway, who is in his early 70s, was likely to seek an investment partner with whom he could work for five years before potentially selling the remainder of his stake.

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Along with other board members and an employee share trust, he controls roughly 85% of the company.
Cain Hoy, the real estate investor, owns a 10% stake.
One source said that a transaction would see Galliard being valued at at least £600m, and potentially close to £1bn.
Galliard’s growth has not been without difficulties.
In 2019, residents of a luxury housing complex at Greenwich peninsula said they would take legal action against the company over the cladding installed at the site, after the Grenfell Tower disaster drew attention to the risks of such materials.
The company’s other major development projects have included a site close to Arsenal FC’s Emirates Stadium, and Great Scotland Yard, the Metropolitan Police’s former headquarters.
Mr Conway and Galliard declined to comment on Friday.

Ryanair says it expects the troubled Boeing 737 MAX to return to service in the US within the “next month or so”.
It would pave the way for the company to start receiving its order early next year, one of its senior executives said.

The aircraft has been grounded worldwide since two deadly crashes just a few months apart.
Eddie Wilson, chief executive of Ryanair’s main airlines business, told Ireland’s Newstalk radio it had 200 of the planes on order.
He added: “The first of those (orders) we would hope to arrive in very early 2021.

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“The FAA (Federal Aviation Administration) finished their test flights last week and it looks like it’s going to go back into service in the US in the next month or so and we’ll take our first deliveries as part of that order.

“EASA, the European agency, (and the FAA) are working very closely.”

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It comes a day after it was reported that Boeing was in talks about supplying the aircraft to Alaska Air.
Both businesses declined to comment, but it’s understood to be part of negotiations between Boeing and several airlines over orders or compensation linked to the plane’s grounding.
The ban in March 2019 came after an Ethiopian Airlines flight crashed just minutes after take-off from Addis Ababa, killing 157 people.
That followed another involving the 737 MAX in October 2018, when a Lion Air flight crashed off Indonesia, killing 189 people.
Boeing was forced to compensate airlines affected, leading to its first annual loss since 1997 in January, while major work has been ongoing to correct dangerous flight systems and get the plane signed off again as safe.
A damning report from the US House of Representatives’ transportation and infrastructure committee last month said the crashes were “not the result of a singular failure, technical mistake, or mismanaged event”.
“They were the horrific culmination of a series of faulty technical assumptions by Boeing’s engineers, a lack of transparency on the part of Boeing’s management, and grossly insufficient oversight by the FAA.”
Test flights were allowed to resume in June, but the regulator also demanded further design work.
On Tuesday the FAA issued a draft report on revised training procedures for the aircraft, a major step as it works towards a return to service.
Boeing’s finances were hammered by the crisis, closely followed by a fall in demand for air travel due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Eat Out To Help Out was designed to lift spirits on both sides of the bar, an August freebie intended to boost hospitality businesses returning to trade after lockdown, and customers who had endured months at home.
If the chancellor was hoping it would also help keep economic recovery on track, however, he may be disappointed.

The August GDP estimate from the Office for National Statistics is a case of glass half empty, showing growth of just 2.1%, a marked slowdown on the 6.6% recorded in July and almost 9% in June.
The disappointment will be felt beyond the Treasury.
Economists had earmarked August as the last month that might deliver “chunky” growth comparable with the last three months, before autumn and the return of the outbreak took a further bite out of consumer confidence.

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Instead, the levelling off of the recovery leaves the economy still a huge 9.2% smaller than it was in February, and the longed-for V-shaped recovery looking more optimistic than ever.

With expectations of growth of up to 5% in August, the hangover has kicked in fast.

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Eat Out To Help Out did help deliver growth in restaurants and bars.
Taken together with accommodation, which benefited from people holidaying at home, whether they wanted to or not, the services sector grew 71%, and contributed more than half of the overall economic growth for the month.
Elsewhere the economy appeared to flatline, with only the construction, transport, education, health and other services managing growth of more than a single percentage point.

Coronavirus: Where the jobs have been lost

Other services rose just 2.4% month-on-month, with uncertainty over the future shape of the pandemic restraining consumption, and the boost delivered by the initial return to shops in mid-June having worn off.
Construction, helped by house building, bounced back 3% but manufacturing remains stricken with just 0.7% of growth, with car production stalled and aviation grounded.
These figures show the economy is still 9.2% smaller than it was in February, a yawning gap that is unlikely to be clawed back by the end of this year, and perhaps next.
Responding to the figures as he prepared to revive the furlough scheme for businesses caught in local lockdowns, Chancellor Rishi Sunak did not mention Eat Out To Help Out. He focused instead on “four consecutive months of recovery” and his familiar script about protecting jobs being a priority.
He has previously acknowledged that the UK economy is heavily reliant on consumer services, and these figures suggest that has never been more true.
That puts the economy in a perilous state.
Having spent the summer paying us to go out for dinner and urging us to go back to work, the government has now reversed the message and has highlighted hospitality as a primary cause of the second wave (despite disputed evidence).
With winter about to bite, consumers confused as well as wary, and “local” lockdowns about to close hospitality businesses across northern England as well as Scotland, services cannot be relied on to keep the economy moving over the coming months.
It may be that the most significant impact of Eat Out To Help Out was on infection rates rather than economic wellbeing. No-one will raise a glass to that.

Workers at businesses forced to shut due to stricter lockdown measures will have two-thirds of their salaries paid by the government.
Chancellor Rishi Sunak unveiled the expansion of the Job Support Scheme, which is a successor to the furlough scheme, saying: “It will provide a safety net for businesses across the UK who are required to temporarily close their doors, giving them the right support at the right time.”

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Analysis: Expansion of Job Support Scheme is pre-empting winter of local lockdowns

The government will pay employees who cannot work 67% of their salaries, up to £2,100 a month.
The scheme will come into force on 1 November and run for six months before being reviewed. Employees must be off work for a minimum of seven days to be eligible.

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The chancellor added: “Throughout the crisis the driving force of our economic policy has not changed.

“I have always said that we will do whatever is necessary to protect jobs and livelihoods as the situation evolves.”

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Cash grants to businesses which are forced to close will also be increased, with up to £3,000 per month payable every fortnight to help them with fixed costs.
It comes amid speculation that England will be carved into three different lockdown tiers next week, with millions of people facing tougher restrictions – particularly in the north – as the government tries to handle rising coronavirus cases.

The new rules are likely to see pubs, cafes and restaurants effectively shut down in the worst-hit places, similar to what has happened in Scotland, where alcohol sales are being restricted for 16 days from today.
Anneliese Dodds, Labour’s shadow chancellor, said: “The fact the chancellor is having to tear up his Winter Economic Plan before the autumn is out demonstrates the chaos and incompetence at the heart of government. His delay in delivering support has caused unnecessary anxiety and job losses.
“Even at this late stage, he still has no plan to support sectors that are currently unable to operate at full capacity.
“None of this was inevitable if the chancellor had just taken his fingers out of ears and listened to the warnings from Labour and others.”
Mayors from the north of England have said the action was a “start” but may not go far enough.

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Are more lockdown measures inevitable?

Greater Manchester mayor Andy Burnham, Mayor of North Tyne Jamie Driscoll, Mayor of Sheffield City Region Dan Jarvis and Mayor of Liverpool City Region Steve Rotheram said in a joint statement: “We are pleased that the government has listened and recognised that any new system of restrictions must come with a substantial package of financial support.
“What has been announced by the chancellor today is a start but, on first look, it would not appear to have gone far enough to prevent genuine hardship, job losses and business failure this winter.”
Confederation of British Industry director general Dame Carolyn Fairbairn said: “The chancellor’s more generous job support for those under strict restrictions should cushion the blow for the most affected and keep more people in work.
“But many firms, including pubs and restaurants, will still be hugely disappointed if they have to close their doors again after doing so much to keep customers and staff safe.”

Coronavirus: Where the jobs have been lost

Frances O’Grady, general secretary of the Trades Union Congress, said: “Firms which aren’t required to close but will still be hit by stricter local restrictions need a more generous short-time working scheme. And there needs to be extra help for self-employed people in local lockdown areas too.
“Nationally, industries like the arts, hospitality, retail and aviation face a long, tough winter. These sectors need targeted help. And we need proper investment to create good new jobs in the green tech of the future.”

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Federation of Small Businesses national chairman Mike Cherry said: “We now need to look at what comes next in terms of further evolution of support mechanisms, especially for those who will not directly benefit from today’s announcement.
“They include those who have been forced to close but don’t occupy premises, as well as those who are being told to stay shut regardless of location – among them bulwarks of our night-time economies and event industries.
“While support is being more closely targeted at certain kinds of businesses, we must be alert to suffering right the way down supply chains.”

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‘Hospitality is 30% of the infection rate’

The chancellor announced a national furlough scheme in March, shortly after the country went into lockdown, in an effort to limit the spread of COVID-19.
The scheme began to wind down in August – when the ONS estimated 12% of employees were still using it.
Also among the schemes designed to shield workers from unemployment was Eat Out To Help Out – a government subsidy encouraging people to dine out in August.
However, despite its popularity, it appears to have had a smaller effect on the economy than hoped – August’s GDP grew by just 2.1%, well off analysts’ forecasts of 4.6% and still 9.2% below its February level.

The economy grew 2.1% in August but remained 9.2% below its February level, official figures show.
Even the Eat Out To Help Out scheme, where the government subsidised those dining out, failed to get the economy anywhere near the 4.6% rise analysts had been expecting.

The Office for National Statistics said the manufacturing sector grew by 0.7% (still 8.5% below February’s figure) and construction grew by 3% (10.8% below February).

The services sector, which accounts for around 80% of the UK economy, grew by 2.4%, leaving it 9.6% below the level seen in February.
More than half of the economic growth in August came from the accommodation and food sector – this was boosted by the Eat Out to Help Out scheme and ‘staycations’, according to ONS deputy national statistician for economic statistics Jonathan Athow.

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The lockdown sparked the largest recession in UK history in the second quarter of the year – a slump of 20.4% – driven by the first full month of COVID-19 restrictions in April.

Month-on-month growth was recorded in May and in June.

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Coronavirus: Where the jobs have been lost

It comes as restrictions are expected to be announced for pubs and restaurants in the north of England and the Midlands on Monday.
It also comes amid warnings of a deepening employment crisis as the Job Retention Scheme, that has supported the wages of almost 10 million people during the crisis, is wound down.
The Bank of England has predicted that the UK could have three million unemployed by the end of the year, while business groups say an exit from the EU without a trade deal in January risks deepening the damage.
Chancellor Rishi Sunak will today be setting out the next stage in measures to support businesses that may have to close in the coming weeks and months, due to the increasing number of coronavirus cases.
Responding to the GDP figures, he said: “Today’s figures show our economy has grown for four consecutive months, but I know that many people are worried about the coming winter months.
“Throughout this crisis, my single-focus has been jobs – protecting as many jobs as possible, and providing support for people to find other opportunities where this isn’t possible. This goal remains unchanged.
“That’s why we’re investing billions to help people back to work and provide fresh opportunities to those that have sadly lost their jobs so that nobody is left without hope.”

Image: Chancellor Rishi Sunak will be setting out the next stage of the job support scheme later today
British Chambers of Commerce head of economics Suren Thiru said: “The increase in activity in August largely reflects a temporary boost from the from the economy reopening and government stimulus, including the Eat Out to Help Out Scheme, rather than proof of a sustained ‘V’-shaped recovery.
“Although the UK remains on course to exit recession in the third quarter, the looming triple threat of surging unemployment, further restrictions and a disorderly end to the transition period means the recent rally in economic output is likely to be short-lived.”
Jeremy Thomson-Cook, chief economist at Equals Money said: “So much for the V-shaped recovery. The UK GDP data released this morning shows August’s rate of growth fell to a third of what it was able to reach in July, confirming that the UK’s recovery is not V-shaped.”

The economy grew 2.1% in August but remained 9.2% below its February level, official figures show.
Even the Eat Out To Help Out scheme failed to get the economy anywhere near the 4.6% rise analysts had been expecting.

The Office for National Statistics said the manufacturing sector grew by 0.7% (still 8.5% below February’s figure) and construction grew by 3% (10.8% below February).
Live coronavirus updates from UK and around world

The services sector, which accounts for around 80% of the UK economy, grew by 2.4%, leaving it 9.6% below the level seen in February.

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More than half of the economic growth in August came from the accommodation and food sector – this was boosted by the Eat Out to Help Out scheme and ‘staycations’, according to ONS deputy national statistician for economic statistics Jonathan Athow.

The lockdown sparked the largest recession in UK history in the second quarter of the year – a slump of 20.4% – driven by the first full month of COVID-19 restrictions in April.

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Month-on-month growth was recorded in May and in June.
Analysis – Hangover time as Eat Out fails to keep recovery on track

Coronavirus: Where the jobs have been lost

It comes as restrictions are expected to be announced for pubs and restaurants in the north of England and the Midlands on Monday.
It also comes amid warnings of a deepening employment crisis as the Job Retention Scheme, that has supported the wages of almost 10 million people during the crisis, is wound down.
The Bank of England has predicted that the UK could have three million unemployed by the end of the year, while business groups say an exit from the EU without a trade deal in January risks deepening the damage.
Chancellor Rishi Sunak will today be setting out the next stage in measures to support businesses that may have to close in the coming weeks and months, due to the increasing number of coronavirus cases.
Responding to the GDP figures, he said: “Today’s figures show our economy has grown for four consecutive months, but I know that many people are worried about the coming winter months.
“Throughout this crisis, my single focus has been jobs – protecting as many jobs as possible, and providing support for people to find other opportunities where this isn’t possible. This goal remains unchanged.
“That’s why we’re investing billions to help people back to work and provide fresh opportunities to those that have sadly lost their jobs so that nobody is left without hope.”

Image: Chancellor Rishi Sunak will be setting out the next stage of the job support scheme later today
British Chambers of Commerce head of economics Suren Thiru said: “The increase in activity in August largely reflects a temporary boost from the economy reopening and government stimulus, including the Eat Out to Help Out Scheme, rather than proof of a sustained ‘V’-shaped recovery.
“Although the UK remains on course to exit recession in the third quarter, the looming triple threat of surging unemployment, further restrictions and a disorderly end to the transition period means the recent rally in economic output is likely to be short-lived.”
Jeremy Thomson-Cook, chief economist at Equals Money said: “So much for the V-shaped recovery. The UK GDP data released this morning shows August’s rate of growth fell to a third of what it was able to reach in July, confirming that the UK’s recovery is not V-shaped.”

One of Britain’s biggest privately owned providers of specialist mental health services is to be put up for sale four years after it was created through a buyout from The Priory Group.
Sky News has learnt that BC Partners, the private equity firm, has appointed bankers at JP Morgan to run an auction of Elysium Healthcare.

The company, which is expected to change hands in the coming months, was formed in 2016 from the acquisition of 22 Priory and Partnerships in Care hospitals.

Image: Elysium offers services including children’s mental healthcare
Since then, it has expanded significantly, and now operates 75 sites providing disability services, neurological and specialist mental healthcare, as well as child and adolescent mental health services, rehabilitation and acute and intensive care.
Last month, Elysium acquired a hospital in the south-west of England which specialises in treating patients with serious eating disorders.

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BC Partners’ price expectations from a sale of the company are unclear, although it will seek a valuation far above the roughly £300m it paid for the original 22 sites.

Joy Chamberlain, the chief executive, is expected to be a big beneficiary of any transaction.

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News of JP Morgan’s appointment comes as the Priory Group itself is being marketed for sale by Acadia Healthcare, a US-based company.
An attempt to offload Priory – best-known for its rehab clinics’ treatment of celebrities such as Kate Moss and Robbie Williams – stalled earlier this year during the initial phase of the coronavirus pandemic.
BC Partners and JP Morgan declined to comment on Thursday.

The National Trust is to cut almost 1,300 jobs as it seeks to save £100m a year after its income was crushed by the coronavirus crisis.
It follows a consultation launched in July when the organisation had said 1,200 roles were under threat – with “almost every aspect of its income” hit by the pandemic.

The conservation charity, which runs stately homes and countryside visited by millions every year, said the process had enabled it to cut the number of compulsory redundancies by half to 514.

Image: The trust has welcomed back millions of visitors since reopening
It has also accepted 782 voluntary redundancies.
The trust’s director general Hilary McGrady said: “No leader wants to be forced into announcing any redundancies, but coronavirus means we simply have no other choice if we want to give the charity a sustainable future.

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“We have exhausted every other avenue to find savings, but sadly we now have to come to terms with the fact that we will lose some colleagues.”

The charity’s staff cuts aim to save £60m a year while £41m a year will be clawed back through reductions to other costs in areas such as travel, marketing and IT.

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The redundancies are in addition to 162 roles axed in August as the trust announced it was stopping or deferring £124m of projects.
It adds up to a total of 1,458 job losses at the charity linked to the pandemic.

Image: Millions visit National Trust sites every year
The organisation has already introduced a recruitment squeeze and made use of emergency coronavirus loans from the Bank of England as well as government support.
But it said while these had helped reduced the financial impact, the “short-term hit, coupled with the longer-term implications of social distancing and suppressed trading” had resulted in it having to conduct a full review of spending.
The lockdown earlier this year saw the National Trust, which has 5.6 million members, shut all its houses, gardens, car parks, shops and cafes as well as stopping events and holidays.
“Since May the trust has reopened its places following government guidance, and by the end of September it had welcomed more than five million visitors,” it said.
Mike Clancy, general secretary of trade union Prospect, said: “The current plan, while devastating for those who are losing jobs they love, is a reasonable way to move forward, minimising job losses while hopefully safeguarding the National Trust’s future.”

Trustpilot, one of the world’s leading online business review platforms, is accelerating plans for a London flotation that will provide a boost to the City’s credentials as a magnet for leading technology companies.
Sky News has learnt that Trustpilot, which is based in Copenhagen, held talks this week with a number of major investment banks about an initial public offering (IPO) that could take place as soon as the first quarter of next year.

The company, which was founded in 2007 by Peter Muhlmann, a Danish entrepreneur, is a leading name in Europe’s internet economy.

Image: The float will be a boost for the City
It boasts hundreds of thousands of merchants on its platform, and is viewed billions of times every month.
Most of its revenue is generated from companies which subscribe to its services.

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Trustpilot now records more than $100m (£76m) in annual sales, meaning a $1bn (£774m) valuation at IPO – which would make it the latest European tech company to achieve ‘unicorn’ status – is far from unrealistic.

The company has worked with Morgan Stanley, the Wall Street bank, on earlier private capital-raisings, but is likely to appoint a syndicate of firms to work on a flotation in the coming weeks, according to banking sources.

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Raising money from a public listing would enable the company to accelerate its expansion, the bankers said.
The site has offices as far afield as Melbourne, New York and Berlin, and employs more than 700 people globally.

Image: Companies including Deliveroo are also in talks about going public in the UK
Trustpilot last raised $55m (£42m) from investors in a Series E round in March last year.
Among the funds which participated in the round were Draper Esprit, the London-listed venture capital group, and Sunley House Capital Management, a fund affiliated to the private equity group Advent International.
The online reviews site is chaired by Tim Weller, the British serial entrepreneur who has steered a number of successful tech and media companies through public listings.
Last year, it appointed Angela Seymour-Jackson, a director at public companies including the insurer Esure and asset manager Janus Henderson, to its board.
Further appointments are likely ahead of an IPO.

Image: Trustpilot recently announced measures aimed at strengthening consumers’ faith in reviews on its platform. File pic
Like other review sites, Trustpilot has at times attracted scepticism over its ability to weed out fake reviews.
To improve users’ trust in content posted on the site, it has introduced features such as one which allows consumers to see how many complaints have been deleted.
“There has never been a greater need for trust online and in the world which is why we keep pushing the boundaries of what’s possible in the review space,” Mr Muhlmann said at the time of its last fundraising.
In August, it announced further measures aimed at strengthening consumers’ faith in reviews posted on its platform.
Its preparations for an IPO are a further boost to what has in 2020 been a lacklustre market for flotations in London.
THG Holdings, the parent company of online beauty retailer The Hut Group, was by far the City’s biggest float of the year.
A string of other tech-led companies, including Deliveroo, Darktrace and Moonpig Group, are also in talks about going public in the UK.
Trustpilot was unavailable for comment.

Shares in TalkTalk have risen by 17% after the broadband provider said it had received a takeover bid from an investment fund.
The FTSE 250 company revealed that hedge fund Toscafund had made an approach to take the telecoms company private with a cash offer of 97p per share.

The deal will value TalkTalk at £1.1bn but is conditional on receiving the full support of its founder and executive chairman Charles Dunstone, who owns nearly 30% of the firm.
Sky News revealed in July that a bid by Toscafund in 2019 for 135p a share was rejected by TalkTalk. That offer was dismissed by TalkTalk’s board on the basis that it failed to provide sufficient value for investors.
Toscafund, which is headed by the prominent investor Martin Hughes, currently owns 29% of TalkTalk.

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TalkTalk said Toscafund has until 5 November to make a formal offer under the City Code on Takeovers and Mergers.

Consolidation within the telecoms and broadband sector has seen a series of substantial corporate deals, the most notable of which has been the £31bn merger of Liberty Global’s Virgin Media with O2, the mobile network owned by Spain’s Telefonica.

TalkTalk itself recently sold its fibre broadband infrastructure arm to CityFibre Holdings.
Sir Charles, who co-founded The Carphone Warehouse and still holds a stake in its successor company, Dixons Carphone, established TalkTalk in 2004.
TalkTalk, which has more than four million customers across its range of services, says it has weathered the coronavirus pandemic successfully so far, with cost reductions offsetting the impact of trading restrictions and the absence of live sport for several months.