Snakes and Ladders: Who is moving jobs in the City this week? November 4, 2020 Snakes and Ladders provides a roundup of the most important hires and job moves across the City, every Wednesday afternoon. Email citymoves@cityam.com to be featured. Firms are continuing to adapt to the challenges and opportunities presented by the pandemic as they vie to be in prime position to recover from the economic fallout of the crisis. This week, [...]
UK economy set to return to growth in third quarter after coronavirus chaos June 23, 2020 The UK economy’s coronavirus-induced downturn eased in June as key health indicators hit a four-month high, according to a closely-followed survey. The UK’s economic output hit a measure of 47.6 on IHS Markit’s flash purchasing managers’ index (PMI), a four-month high. Anything below 50 represents a contraction. But it was a stark improvement from May’s [...]
UK retail sales jump 1.6 per cent in January after Tory election victory February 20, 2020 UK retail sales excluding fuel jumped the most in almost two years in January, official figures showed today. Retail sales rose excluding fuel 1.6 per cent compared to the month before as the new year got underway, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) said. And retail volumes rose 0.9 per cent to recover from falls [...]
Exclusive: UK tech startup confidence slumps amid Covid-19 crisis April 22, 2020 Confidence levels among tech startups have slumped since the start of the year as the coronavirus crisis takes its toll on the UK’s thriving tech sector. Just 32 per cent of businesses are confident or very confident that their turnover will increase in the year ahead, City A.M. can reveal. This marks a quarterly drop [...]
Housing transactions collapse in April as lockdown hits UK property market May 21, 2020 Housing transactions plunged in April as the UK property market was brought to a standstill by the coronavirus crisis. The latest data from HM Revenue and Customs showed that the number of residential property transactions last month was down 53.2 per cent compared to April 2019. Housing transactions were also 46.1 per cent lower than [...]
Business confidence rises across manufacturing and services sectors February 10, 2020 Business confidence rose across the manufacturing and services sector for the first time in 18 months during January. Accountancy firm BDO’s optimism index increased for a third consecutive month in January. The index, which weights macroeconomic data from the UK’s main business surveys, now stands at 95.84, slightly above the 95 mark which indicates growth. [...]
N Brown shares drop as profit falls on ‘year of restructuring’ June 25, 2020 Fashion retailer N Brown has today posted falls in both profit and revenue for the last financial year, blaming the drop on a lengthy period of “restructuring” the business. In the 12 months to 29 February 2020, the owner of the Simply Be and Jacamo brands said adjusted profit before tax fell 28.8 per cent [...]
Coronavirus: Consumers prepare to cancel holidays over virus fears February 24, 2020 A third of British consumers are prepared to cancel holiday plans if the coronavirus persists. New research from Retail Economics shows that 31 per cent of consumers are prepared to cancel travel plans. It puts £17.2bn of holiday spending on hold as people await clarity over the virus. A disparity in the perception over the [...]
Estate agent Purplebricks reports record-breaking July instructions August 3, 2020 Estate agent Purplebricks recorded its highest ever month for instructions in the UK in July due to the stamp duty holiday and pent-up demand following the coronavirus lockdown. Shares in the company jumped 4.59 per cent this morning after it announced that it listed a record-breaking 7,000 homes in July. The figures Purplebricks this morning [...]
UK new car sales fall in January as industry condemns 2035 ban February 5, 2020 The number of UK new car sales fell 7.3 per cent at the start of 2020, according to industry figures released today. Sales of new diesel cars plummeted 36 per cent year on year in January, their worst performance in 20 years, statistics released by the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) showed. And [...]