Apax Partners-backed Authority Brands, a home services franchise platform, completed the acquisition of Clockwork, which provides residential plumbing services, from Centrica, a British multinational energy and services company, for $300m. "The disposal of the Clockwork portfolio is aligned with our intention to drive channel and brand simplification across the Group focusing on our owned channels and is the first part of our £500m divestment programme of non-core assets we announced today alongside our 2018 Preliminary Results. We will continue to drive capital discipline and returns across our portfolio," Iain Conn, Centrica Group Chief Executive.