Quarter of small businesses concerned they cannot weather financial shocks December 9, 2024 HSBC's research found small and medium enterprises (SMEs) are increasingly being held back by business and borrowing costs.
Inside one fund’s £20,000 bet against Fundsmith December 9, 2024 Mark Ellis, manager of the Nutshell Growth fund, is on the brink of winning £20,000 for his boss in an unusual way. Ellis spoke to City AM following the news that City grandee Michael Spencer had become chair of his firm, Nutshell Asset Management, while upping his stake in the business from 25 per cent [...]
Asda needs to ‘dig down into its soul’ and recover sense of purpose, say analysts December 9, 2024 Asda needs to “dig down into its soul” and reshape its pitch to customers if it wants to tackle the rising threat from the likes of Aldi and Lidl following a rollercoaster 2024, analysts have warned. The Leeds-headquartered supermarket giant has not been far from the headlines all year amid debt struggles, strikes, falling sales [...]
OakNorth boss says ‘wealth creators’ leaving UK over tax hikes December 9, 2024 The co-founder and chief executive of challenger bank OakNorth has warned that “wealth creators” are fleeing the UK over tax hikes as he accused the new government of falling short on entrepreneurship. Rishi Khosla, whose start-up bank has lent more than £10bn to businesses since launching in 2015, told City AM that “even when you [...]
No Christmas cheer for employers as 2024 draws to a close December 9, 2024 There are plenty of reasons to be cheerful at this time of year, but the state of the economy isn’t one of them. As Christmas trees go up and celebrations get underway, there are worrying signs that large parts of corporate Britain are preparing to end the year in a state of nervousness and pessimism. [...]
Cabinet minister pledges to make government more ‘start up’ December 8, 2024 A cabinet minister is set to pledge that the government will become “more like a start up” ahead of the launch of a £100m fund targeting public service reform. Pat McFadden will call for Whitehall to adopt a ‘test and learn culture’, stating: “If we keep governing as usual, we are not going to achieve [...]
Investors want to see ‘ambition’ from UK on climate change, Pinchbeck says December 8, 2024 Private investors are keen to see “ambition” from the UK government on climate change, the head of an influential emissions body has warned politicians. Emma Pinchbeck, chief executive of the Climate Change Committee, which advises the government on emissions targets, stressed that the private sector “likes a bit of ambition”. The former Energy UK CEO [...]
London coaxes bankers back from political chaos in Europe December 8, 2024 Political chaos across Europe is pushing bankers to stay in London rather than follow through on plans to move to the continent. Following Brexit, many bankS began shifting certain roles across the channel, sometimes due to requests from European regulators, and sometimes to stay better connected to the continent. A senior banking source told the [...]
Water firms look to increase bills amid fears of £400m National Insurance hit December 8, 2024 Water companies are hoping billpayers will carry the cost of a £400m hit from rising national insurance contributions over the next five years, previously announced in the Autumn Budget. The accumulated cost to all water firms’ in England and Wales comes to £80m per year, water industry sources told the Sunday Times. Firms have now [...]
Titanic shipyard Harland & Wolff closes in on rescue deal with Navantia December 8, 2024 Navantia has won approval from the Cabinet Office to take control of the Harland & Wolff's four UK shipyards, Sky News reported.