THE DAILY BRIEFING

SETTLING NERVES

The City watchdog’s new chief executive has taken up the reins with a brief to steady the ship.

Former Prudential Regulation Authority boss Andrew Bailey joins the Financial Conduct Authority at a time of widespread nerves in the banking industry. Insiders said he would be seeking to soothe the 70,000 firms it oversees after the Brexit vote.

BOARDROOM BID

Sports Direct boss Mike Ashley wants to replace outgoing chairman David Sugden at Findel and is being supported in his pursuit by shareholder Toscafund.

Findel said the Newcastle United owner could ‘make a valuable contribution’ to the board, but has ‘ not concluded’ whether he should be chairman.

INTERNET DEAL

Broadband company CityFibre has signed a deal worth £2m with outsourcing company Serco.

The AIM-listed firm, which lets businesses use its fibre optic cables to offer their own internet services, has teamed up with Serco to extend its network in Peterborough for CCTV and traffic control.

Shares went up 1.6pc, or 1p, to 64p.

GREAT RESULT

Iceland’s performance in the Euro 2016 football tournament – beating England in the last 16 – may have put the country on the map.

June flight reservations rose 60pc compared to the same month last year, according to website Cheapoair.co.uk.

Iceland’s popularity as a tourism destination has risen since the government sought to drive visitors to the country after the financial crisis.

DOMAIN DEMAND

Website name company Donuts Inc has had a rush in demand for the .Ltd internet address, which went on sale this week. Around 17,000 sites were registered under the name within days of it going on sale. Donuts Inc has made £70m over two years selling domain names.

DIVISION SOLD

Testing and advisory group Exova has sold the food, water and pharma division of its UK and Ireland business to international life sciences firm Eurofins Scientific for £18m.

MARKET PROMOTION

Shares in GVC Holdings rose 7.5pc (or 42p to 605p) after its shift from the junior AIM market to the FTSE 250 was approved. The betting firm will make the move on August 1.