Broadband challenger Hyperoptic raises £250m from eight top banks | City A.M. August 3, 2018 Gigabit broadband provider Hyperoptic today announced a debt raise of £250m from eight leading international banks, aimed at powering its full fibre optic network across the UK. The round was led by ING and BNP Paribas, with RBS, Societe Generale, RBC, HSH, NIBC and Barclays also participating. The raise will fully fund Hyperoptic’s project to [...]
FTSE 250 housebuilder Redrow boosts profits but calls for Brexit clarity September 4, 2018 Housebuilder Redrow called for clarity over Brexit and the government’s Help to Buy scheme today to improve the health of the UK housing market, as it reported its full-year results. The figures Despite the deflating nature of the UK housing market, the FTSE 250 firm managed to buck the trend, posting a 16 per cent [...]
Champions Cup: Have reports of English clubs’ struggles in Europe been greatly exaggerated? October 15, 2018 Last season was not England’s best in European rugby. After Saracens’ dominant successive Champions Cup wins, the Premiership endured something of a coming back to earth moment in 2017-18. While Saracens reached the quarter-finals for the sixth consecutive campaign, they were not joined by any of their domestic rivals. Exeter Chiefs – 2016-17 Premiership champions [...]
Amazon tops UK customer satisfaction rankings as Iceland becomes the UK’s top supermarket for the first time July 5, 2018 Amazon has been named the top company in the UK for customer satisfaction for the sixth consecutive year, while Iceland scored the number one spot in food retail for the first time. Amazon scored 86.7 out of a potential 100 points, followed closely by John Lewis which scored 86.5. Yorkshire Bank took joint third in [...]
Donald Trump’s second travel ban has been blocked nationwide March 15, 2017 A federal judge in Hawaii has blocked Donald Trump's second travel ban nationwide with a temporary restraining order. The last-minute order put an emergency hold on the US President's ban, which was meant to take effect tomorrow. Trump's revised executive order removed Iraq from the list of countries barred from entering the US, among other changes. The new measures were designed [...]
Focus On Harrow: Why this west London suburb is popular with families and first time buyers September 28, 2018 With inner city London gradually dividing itself into a series of ‘villages’, mimicking the community, farmers markets and independent high streets of semi-rural life, what’s the point of suburbs anymore? Places like Harrow have traditionally been quite pedestrian places, attracting families to its healthy stock of semi-detached houses and good quality schools. The ultimate – [...]
UK bank HSBC holds on to the title of Europe’s largest – but Barclays and RBS slip down the ranks May 16, 2018 HSBC has held on to the title of Europe’s largest bank once again, according to new data, as the top four remained unchanged. Ranked by total assets, HSBC tops the chart with €2.1 trillion (£1.8 trillion), research from S&P Global Market Intelligence showed. Unchanged from last year, the UK institution was followed by France’s BNP [...]
Banking bigwigs appointed to decide bank winners of £425m RBS competition fund May 2, 2018 Banking bigwigs Godfrey Cromwell and Brendan Peilow were today appointed to head the body which will decide which small business challenger banks receive chunks of a £425m cash pot put up for grabs by Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS). Banking Competition Remedies Ltd (BCR) will judge the applications from lenders such as Metro Bank, Virgin [...]
Trump’s immigration ban has been blocked nationwide by a Seattle judge February 4, 2017 A US judge in Seattle has issued a temporary nationwide block on President Donald Trump's ban on citizens from seven Muslim majority countries. The Department of Justice (DoJ) has though, said it will appeal against the Seattle ruling. Trump's executive order had halted the US refugee programme and banned anyone from the countries Iraq, Iran, Somalia, Yemen, Sudan, [...]
Lloyds loses mortgage market share as HSBC and RBS rise July 18, 2018 Lloyds lost market share in UK mortgages last year as Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS), HSBC and a host of challengers gained, according to new data published today. Competitors to Lloyds bit off almost one per cent of their market share, which fell from 22.1 per cent to 21.2 per cent of mortgage balances outstanding [...]