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  • Today's business and finance round up 19th August 2022

Today's business and finance round up 19th August 2022

Man United centre of bid talk

19th August 2022

Bite-sized business news from the UK and beyond

Good morning Yesterday it was revealed that 20-year-old US university student made a $110m profit with a one-month bet on the meme stock Bed Bath & Beyond. It's worth noting that initial investment cost $25m which the student raised from friends and family.

Today's stories

  • Man United centre of bid talk

  • Disgraced founder given second chance

SPORTMan United centre of bid talk

Other stories to keep you in the loop

  • Warning that Tory leadership candidate tax cut pledges are unrealistic

  • P&O Ferries owner reports record-breaking profits after mass sacking

  • Travelodge on hunt for 140 new sites under £3bn expansion plans

  • Made.com confirms fundraising search to shore up business

  • Bust taxpayer-backed events company Pollen lays off bulk of staff

  • Swedish gaming giant buys Lord of the Rings and Hobbit rights

  • Apple discloses serious security vulnerabilities for iPhones, iPads and Macs

STARTUPSDisgraced founder given second chance

What happened?This week Adam Neumann, the fallen founder of shared office startup WeWork, returned with a new property startup called Flow which has received a $350m investment from one of the biggest Silicon Valley investors.How did we get here?

Neumann was forced out of WeWork last year after famously presiding over a spectacular downfall in the company's fortune. During his tenure:

  • The company tried and failed to list on the stock market and saw its value plummet by $39bn

  • He faced backlash from employees who called out the company’s toxic work culture

  • His wife also came under fire for firing staff because of their “bad vibes”

But this hasn’t deterred put off heavyweight investor, Andreessen Horowitz, from taking a punt in his newest venture Flow.

Andreessen is known for early investments in Facebook, Airbnb and Twitter and is seen a real stamp of approval for any startup. The $350m for Flow is the largest individual check the firm has ever written.

What does Flow do?Kind of like what WeWork did for offices, Flow wants to transform the residential real estate market with branded apartments that include community services and fun features. Neumann has already purchased 3,000 apartment units in four US cities, and the company will reportedly offer to run buildings for third-party landlords. Why it matters: Andreessen's investment has sparked a debate over whether women and ethnic minorities would be granted the same privilege if their business was to fail in such a major way.

Stat of the day

The percentage of top A-level results has fallen since last year - 36.4% of exams were graded at A* or A, compared to 44.8% in 2021

Interesting links from around the web

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