Thomas Cook: Regulator ‘very sorry’ for refund delay as customers wait more than two months December 10, 2019 Britain’s aviation regulator has apologised to thousands of Thomas Cook customers facing delays to refunds owed to them after the travel firm collapsed. Paul Smith, director of the Civil Aviation Authority, said the organisation was “very sorry,” adding that the CAA was “working tirelessly” to put the payments through. Read more: Gatwick airport to lose [...]
British engineering firm Goodwin suffers 17 per cent dive in share price on profit drop December 19, 2019 British engineer Goodwin’s shares shed over 17 per cent this morning after reporting a “deterioration” in profit for the six months to 31 October. Pre-tax profit fell 5.1 per cent from £7.8m to £7.4m and the group expects similar profitability for the next six months. Read more: CBI urges PM to end uncertainty amid gloomy [...]
Watches of Switzerland boosted by luxury watch demand in first half-year results since listing December 10, 2019 Watches of Switzerland said today that strong demand for luxury watches had helped it boost sales and profit in its first half-year results since floating in May. The high-end retailer said revenue grew 17 per cent to £428.7m in the six months to 27 October and adjusted profit before tax was up 112 per cent [...]
Next sales beat guidance, but store performance worries investors October 30, 2019 Next sales beat guidance in the retailer’s third quarter with a two per cent rise, it revealed today. However, retail sales dropped 6.3 per cent in the three months to the end of October, saved by a 9.7 per cent increase in online revenue. Read more: Next defies retail gloom with rise in profits Warm [...]
French Connection in the red after ‘worse than expected’ trading March 10, 2020 French Connection reported a loss last year after trading in the second half was “considerably worse than expected”. The figures The high street retailer this morning said it fell to a loss of £2.9m last year compared to profit of £800,000 in the comparative period. Group revenue fell 11.4 per cent to £119.9m due to [...]
Job retention scheme: Rishi Sunak extends furlough scheme until October May 12, 2020 Chancellor Rishi Sunak has extended the government’s coronavirus job retention scheme until October and has promised furloughed workers they will not see a further dip in their salary until it ends. Sunak announced today that the scheme will remain the same until the end of July, but from August to October there will be “greater [...]
The Week Ahead: ITV, Rolls Royce, Morrison, ECB and UK GDP data March 8, 2021 It’s Monday morning. City A.M. looks ahead at what this week has in store. China Trade for February This morning – The Chinese economy finished 2020 on a strong note, its surplus hitting a record high in December. Exports rose by 18.1 per cent, slightly down from November’s 21.1 per cent but still better than expected, [...]
Investors in Neil Woodford’s frozen fund to incur £10m in charges January 29, 2020 Investors trapped in Woodford Equity Income face charges of £10m from the wind-up of the fund. In a letter to investors, administrator Link Fund Solutions detailed costs of £5m accrued since mid-October when it sacked Neil Woodford and announced liquidation plans. Provision for a further £5.3m of costs has also been made. The charges will [...]
UK GDP growth revised up but ‘shows underlying slowing of economy’, ONS December 20, 2019 A revised estimate showed UK gross domestic product (GDP) grew by 0.4 per cent in the third quarter of 2019 showing an underlying slowing of the UK economy. This was higher than the expected 0.3 per cent but reflected high domestic and global uncertainty, the Office of National Statistics (ONS) said today in its quarterly [...]
City calls for deeper tax relief as UK sinks into recession August 12, 2020 Business groups have called on the government to take “bold action” after the UK economy plunged into recession last quarter as GDP contracted by 20.4 per cent between April and June, the biggest single quarter decline on record. With vast swathes of the economy closed due to the coronavirus lockdowns, activity flatlined in April, before [...]