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Europe

FB Roundup: Trumpf, Bertelsmann, JAB Holding

November 13, 2020

Leibinger family’s Trumpf leads global quantum breakthrough, lockdown book lovers help stabilise Bertelsmann revenues, Reimann family’s JAB Holding sells Coty stake as portfolio hits turbulence.

Leibinger family’s Trumpf leads global quantum breakthrough

The Leibinger family behind the German high-tech company Trumpf says its world-first quantum optical sensor will lead to completely new industrial applications from next year.

‘It is all about damage control’: How the Mack family’s Europa-Park survived coronavirus lockdown

September 14, 2020

The Mack family were excited about the prospects of 2020 at the start of the year—their Europa-Park resort welcomed a record 5.7 million visitors in 2019 and they were eager for returns on their brand new €180 million ($213 million) water world Rulantica and its adjacent hotel, their largest ever investment in their family business’s 45-year history.

FB Roundup: Roche, Henkel, Europa-Park

May 15, 2020

UK joins global clamour for Roche coronavirus testing kits, Henkel quarter rocked by changing consumer demands, Mack family saves the summer season with Europa-Park re-opening.

UK joins global clamour for Roche coronavirus testing kits

The Swiss fourth-generation biotech Roche Group is in demand as the United Kingdom follows the European Union and the United States in approving its coronavirus antibody testing kits for mass use.

FB Roundup: Bosch, Deichmann, Volkswagen

April 30, 2020

Bosch launches rapid Covid-19 test and prepares for global recession, Deichmann manages reputational risk over coronavirus rents, sales-hit Volkswagen reviews all projects as car production resumes.

Bosch launches rapid Covid-19 test and prepares for global recession

Bosch, the family-owned multinational engineering and technology giant, has developed and distributed a test for Covid-19 that delivers results after two and a half hours and is finalising a test that gives a verdict in less than 45 minutes.

FB Roundup: Dyson, Melia Hotels, AB InBev

March 27, 2020

James Dyson says “race is on” to make 10,000 coronavirus ventilators, Escarrer family braces Melia Hotels for coronavirus and world recovery, AB InBev adapts to changing consumer tastes with premiumisation strategy.

James Dyson says “race is on” to make 10,000 coronavirus ventilators

Sir James Dyson, the UK billionaire entrepreneur who made his fortune by inventing a cyclonic vacuum cleaner, has been commissioned by the UK government to make 10,000 critical ventilating machines for the country’s health service in the fight against the coronavirus pandemic.

FB Roundup: Pernod Ricard, L’Oreal and Gebruder Weiss

March 19, 2020

Securing global supply lines, switching to mass production of hand sanitiser and protecting employees while calling for unity are among the ways family businesses are facing down the challenge of the coronavirus pandemic.

FB Roundup special: Family businesses versus the coronavirus

March 15, 2020

Global family businesses are stepping up to the challenge of the deadly coronavirus pandemic by safeguarding staff, adapting production lines and pledging millions of dollars to the medical relief effort.

Lord Bamford (pictured), the second-generation chairman of JCB, said his $5 billion manufacturing family business had been approached by UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson to see if it can help with the production of ventilators. The machines help the breathing of patients whose lungs have been damaged by COVID-19.

Is the UK at the start of a mini-boom?

February 12, 2020

Ronald Reagan ran in 1984 with a famous TV commercial which started with the line ‘It’s morning in America’. This was to signify that the best was yet to come. We think there is a chance, just a chance, that the UK could also be at the start of an exciting period.

Cold War II: A technology war with two dimensions

January 30, 2020

If you listen closely to leading business figures from Asia, you get a sense for their economic fears and expectations. After visiting a leadership summit in Singapore, I am ever more convinced that we will be facing a new global Cold War, which will be fought over technology dominance. Europe needs to prepare for that.

FB Roundup: Pentland Group, Deichmann and Georges Duboeuf

January 10, 2020

Pentland consolidates global Speedo portfolio ahead of Olympics, Heinrich Deichmann on family-funded growth and philanthropy, and family succeeds Georges Duboeuf, France’s “pope of Beaujolais”.

Pentland consolidates global Speedo portfolio ahead of Olympics

British family business Pentland Group has acquired Speedo North America for $170 million, ahead of the 2020 Tokyo Olympics and Paralympics and the competition of many Speedo athletes.

The second-generation $3 billion group announced this week it had entered into a definitive agreement for the business with apparel company PVH Corp. Speedo International licensed the Speedo trademark to a PVH subsidiary for use in North America and the Caribbean.