British Land splashes £157m on London warehouses amid logistics investment boom February 2, 2022 Real estate investment firm British Land has snapped up three warehouses in Wembley as it looks to tap into soaring demand for logistics hubs across London.
The Square Mile and Me: Paragon Bank CEO Nigel Terrington talks paper rounds, The Lamb and office faux pas July 13, 2023 We dig into the memory bank of the City’s great and good: this week, Nigel Terrington, chief executive of Paragon Bank, takes a stroll down memory lane. What was your first job? I was a paper boy, aged around 14, in Surrey. I had to get up ridiculously early and the biggest challenge was to [...]
Ocado anticipates ‘best-ever Christmas’ as it eyes new Zoom site openings December 14, 2021 Ocado has forecast its “best-ever Christmas ahead” and said it anticipated mid-teens sales growth for 2022. In a trading update for the 13 weeks to 28 November, the grocer said there was “strong momentum in under-lying demand”. It posted retail revenue of £547.8m for the quarter. This was compared to £570.1m in the same period [...]
London titans fear business rates relief cap will leave them with ‘same old headache’ October 28, 2021 Central London businesses and landlords have been left disappointed after a cap on a new business rates discount. At the dispatch box on Wednesday, Chancellor Rishi Sunak announced a one-year discount of 50 per cent for businesses in the hospitality, retail and leisure sectors. Eligible businesses will be able to claim a discount on their [...]
London’s FTSE 100 edges lower as economic gloom knocks risk appetite August 31, 2022 London’s FTSE 100 posted a damp day today driven by economic gloom hitting investors’ risk appetite. The capital’s premier index dropped 1.05 per cent to 7,284.15 points, while the domestically-focused mid-cap FTSE 250 index, which is more aligned with the health of the UK economy, fell 0.45 per cent to 19,063.75 points. A recent string [...]
Westminster council boss vows to crack down on illicit American candy stores May 3, 2023 The boss of Westminster City Council has called for “greater transparency” about who operates in the city as it looks to crack down on the business owners behind illicit American Candy stores which litter Oxford Street, with the chief urging for more progress from central government to tackle the issue. Cllr Adam Hug told members [...]
Shoppers are flocking back to UK high streets faster than EU rivals, footfall data shows November 5, 2021 UK retail destinations have reported footfall recovering to near-pre-Covid levels faster than those in major EU economies. Total UK footfall was down 13.7 per cent in October compared to 2019, the pre-Covid comparative. There was a 3.2 percentage point improvement from September. This was ahead of Spain (-19.8 per cent), Germany (-26.1 per cent), Italy [...]
Shoppers offered shares: WeShop races towards IPO as British tech star launches world’s first community-owned e-com platform July 4, 2022 The world’s first community-owned social ecommerce platform has gone live, offering shoppers shares in the group every time they make a purchase. The new platform, launched by British tech star WeShop is launching itself, plans to give away up to 90 per cent of its business to shoppers, and aims to list on the Nasdaq [...]
The City View: US and UK boycott Russian oil, and Susannah Streeter and Michael Hewson on inflationary pressure March 8, 2022 Today Andy Silvester sits down for a chat with Hargreaves Lansdowns’ Susannah Streeter and CMC Markets’ Michael Hewson. They discuss trading being suspended on the London Metal Exchange after a record price spike in nickel; the Bank of England assessing inflationary pressures; and a whole mélange of financial woes for Brits as energy bills, taxes, [...]
Staff shortages could force business closures in the New Year January 3, 2022 Businesses in the retail and hospitality sectors are being hit hard by staff absences as Omicron surges according to industry chiefs.