Turned off

NETFLIX lost more than one million Spanish viewers in the first quarter of this year, consultancy company Kantar found.

Vetoing shared accounts was responsible for the plunge and the future looks even bleaker now that 10 per cent of current subscribers plan to leave Netflix within the next three months.

“Losing some users was to be expected,” said Mayte Gonzalez, from Kantar’s Worldpanel division. “But losing more than one million in so little time has major consequences for Netflix and will influence its decision to continue with this measure worldwide.”

Loud and clear

MARSHALL GROUP is more likely to increase its commitment to Britain than leave, its new owners said.

The family­owned amplifiers firm was bought by Swedish company, Zound Industries, which makes Bluetooth speakers, in a deal that valued the combined group at £325 million (€367 million).

All Marshall brands were acquired by Zound, for an undisclosed amount.

“We will preserve and probably enhance our UK presence even more, because it is so important to who we are,” said Jeremy de Maillard, who heads the new business.

Dow Jones

Family affair

SPAIN’S National High Court in Madrid is investigating Santiago Alarco, the former brother­in­law of ex­Cabinet minister Rodrigo Rato, for hiding money abroad. Alarco has been summonsed to give evidence on May 24 to answer charges of money laundering and creating a financial network to keep cash out of the reach of Spain’s tax authorities.

Deaf ears

HSBC’s biggest shareholder said that it was “extremely disappointed” in the bank’s refusal to consider splitting up and separating its Asia business, criticising its inflexibility towards restructuring proposals. Ping An Asset Management, which has an 8 per cent holding in the banking giant, would prefer to see a separate Honglisted business headquartered in Asia.