Fiesta fun

CELEBRATE the Fiesta of San Juan at Zenia Boulevard! On June 23 and 24, the Boulevard will hold a series of activities to mark this celebration.

On June 23 enjoy DJ Ariel and Fuego Cabaret Duo and on June 24 a fantastic tribute to Tina Turner.

BUSINESS EXTRA Linda Hall

Sun spots

UNIVERSITIES and tech companies will receive £4.3 million (€5 million) in funding from the government to develop spacebased solar power, which collects energy from the sun using satellite­mounted panels and beams it to Earth. The scheme has huge potential, Energy Security Secretary, Grant Shapps, said.

Shanghai deal

GRIFOLS, Catalonia ­ based multinational pharmaceutical and chemical manufacturer, is taking steps to reduce its debt with a corporate manoeuvre within the Chinese company, Shanghai RAAS. If the transaction goes ahead, Grifols will receive $1.5 billion (€1.4 billion) while remaining ‘a significant’ Shanghai RAAS shareholder.

Shell payout

SHELL intends to boost its dividends by 15 per cent as part of the company’s plans to hand back more cash to its shareholders under its new chief executive Wael Sawan. Shell has told investors that the dividend increase would become effective from the second quarter of its financial year.

No vote

PORTUGUESE company Western Gate, with a 2.18 per cent stake in the Dia supermarket chain, will vote against Benjamin Babcock as a major shareholder­director representing LetterOne, which owns 77 per cent of the company. Minority shareholders should have more weight on Dia’s board, Western Gate said.

Not the same

FREETRADE, the investment app, has slashed its pre­money valuation by 65 per cent while blaming current conditions and a “different market environment.” Freetrade’s valuation rose to £650 million (€760 million) during the pandemic, but the company announced that it has since fallen to £225 million (€263 million).

THE UK economy recovered from the impact of strikes and returned to growth in April. Official figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) registered a 0.2 per cent upturn owing to increased car sales and more spending in shops, bars and restaurants.

Growth over the first quarter increased by 0.1 per cent.

“Gross domestic product (GDP) bounced back after a weak March,” announced Darren Morgan, ONS’ director of Economic Statistics.

Bars and pubs had a comparatively strong April while car sales rebounded. Education partially recovered from the effect of the previ­