BUSINESS LIVE: Games Workshop agrees Amazon deal; Hollywood Bowl sees record sales; Keywords Studios buys The Multiplayer

Industry regulator, the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA), said it was an ‘era defining moment’ for the £17.5bn UK space sector.

SaxaVord would be the first fully licensed spaceport in Western Europe to be able to launch vertically into orbit. The site – a former RAF radar station – would be permitted to launch 30 rockets per year to take satellites into space.

Much has been made of the failure of 60/40 in 2022. And rightly so.

Many investors have put faith in the strategy. It follows a common philosophy in finance, diversifying your assets by putting 60 per cent in equities and the remainder in bonds.

National Grid has dropped a Beijing-backed supplier as concerns mount over China’s involvement in critical infrastructure.

The FTSE 100 firm that runs Britain’s power network took advice from the National Cyber Security Centre – a branch of GCHQ – on the decision.

It terminated contracts with the UK arm of Nari Technology, backed by the Chinese government, in April, and has begun removing its components.

Hollywood Bowl Group enjoyed record revenues of £215.1million, with the firm crediting ‘significant customer demand’ and ‘the success of our customer focused strategy’.

Revenue growth of 16.2 per cent gelped to drive earnings before nasties of £64.9million, up from £60.6million last year.

Boss Stephen Burns said:

‘This is another excellent performance for the Group, achieved against an exceptionally strong prior year. It reflects significant customer demand, as well as the success of our customer focused strategy.

‘Innovation of our offer has led to growth across all our revenue lines while keeping our prices low, with a family of four able to bowl for £25. We have continued to invest in and grow our estate, opening new centres in the UK and Canada where we see significant potential.

‘The strength of our balance sheet and our highly cash generative business model supports our profitable growth strategy in the UK and Canada. This includes continued investment in our estate, technology and enhancing our customer proposition, and the Board’s decision to increase the pay-out ratio for our ordinary dividend to 55% from 50% of adjusted profit after tax. Longer term, we see the opportunity to grow our estate to at least 130 centres.

‘We have had an encouraging start to the year with people looking for ways to enjoy activities with families, friends and colleagues demonstrating the continued strong demand for high quality, great value leisure experiences.’

The world’s biggest unicorn companies have suffered an £8billion slump in value this year, with retailers seeing the biggest drops as households struggled with the cost-of-living crisis.

Research showed the total value of the top 100 unicorn firms – which are private companies with a valuation of at least $1billion (£800m) – dropped 1 per cent in the 12 months to September 2023. There was a 30 per cent increase in value in the previous year.

Games Workshop will work with Amazon to develop films and TV series set within the UK’s firm’s Warhammer 40,000 universe, as part of a 12-month deal agreed with the tech giant.

The agreement also includes an option for Amazon to license equivalent rights in the Warhammer Fantasy universe following the release of the initial Warhammer 40,000 production.

‘The agreement will only proceed once the creative guidelines are mutually agreed between Games Workshop and Amazon.’ the group said.