UK must install 700 electric vehicle charge points a day to hit 2030 target March 25, 2021 The UK must install 700 electric vehicle (EV) charging points every day for the rest of the decade to support the transition away from the internal combustion engine. From 2030, the government will ban the sale of all new petrol and diesel cars in order to help the country hit its ambitious 2050 climate goals. [...]
Business rates from the 16th century are ruining the high-street and an online sales tax isn’t enough February 23, 2021 The pandemic is in many ways not a break from the past but a rapid accelerator, and nowhere has the world sped up as much as in our shopping habits. In the last year, more retail sales shifted onto the internet than had done so in the previous decade. UK consumers spent £24 in every [...]
The companies finding the perfect house plant for you March 12, 2021 Before lockdown, house plants were around to brighten up the place. Now for many of us, they are our best friends and sole confidants, helping pull us through the long, lonely days. During the pandemic, sales of indoor plants have spiked, with a host of new subscription delivery services cropping up to meet the demand [...]
Countryside Properties makes progress with separation of housebuilding division January 21, 2021 Countryside Properties is making progress with the separation of its two divisions after a strong performance in the first quarter. The FTSE 250 firm said trading in the three months to 31 December was in line with expectations and is 80 per cent forward sold for the year. Total completions are up 17 per cent [...]
SSE sells energy from waste plants for £1bn October 13, 2020 SSE today announced that it would sell its stake in two energy from waste plants for £995m as it continues to raise money to invest in low-carbon projects. Shares in the FTSE 100 company rose 3.9 per cent in the morning’s trading. The divestment, which is expected to complete by the end of the year, [...]
Nissan’s £1bn gambit in Sunderland is worth every penny of subsidies for Boris Johnson July 5, 2021 The campaign for the Brexit referendum seems a long time ago. By the calendar, it was only five years ago, and yet we remember it like another world: David Cameron was prime minister, Barack Obama was in the White House, François Hollande was sneaking out of the Elysée palace on the pillion of a scooter [...]
Housebuilders Persimmon and Vistry report growing customer demand post-lockdown July 9, 2020 UK housebuilders Persimmon and Vistry this morning reported a boost in customer demand since reopening sales offices after months at a standstill during the coronavirus lockdown. Persimmon said demand was “positive”, with reservations up 30 per cent year on year. The FTSE 100 firm’s share price jumped more than six per cent following the announcement. [...]
The investment trust sector and the Four Horsemen – a review of Q2 22 July 13, 2022 Conquest and War – Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and the ongoing conflict between the two countries; Famine – at the very least the increased threat of global food shortages as supplies from Ukraine, the ‘bread basket of Europe’, increasingly become weaponised; Death – despite the roll-out of vaccines, Covid-19 continues to mutate and take lives [...]
UK housing market enjoys ‘mini-boom’ as asking prices soar in July, says Rightmove July 20, 2020 Residential property asking prices soared in July as coronavirus lockdown restrictions were lifted, sparking a “mini-boom” in the UK housing market. The average asking price of property coming to market in July was up 2.4 per cent compared to March, before the coronavirus lockdown was announced. The 3.7 per cent annual rate of increase recorded [...]
Kingfisher profit jumps as online sales rise during lockdown September 22, 2020 B&Q-owner Kingfisher increased its pre-tax profit by 62.4 per cent in the first half of the year as a strong second quarter and online sales growth boosted the retail group. The FTSE 100 firm also said it had seen “an encouraging start to the second half of the year”. It said like-for-like sales were up [...]