The rate of high street shop closures at five-year low as coffee shops and takeaway food outlets take their place March 14, 2016 British high streets lost 14 stores a day in 2015, though the rate of closure has slowed to its lowest level in five years, research out today shows. Around 5,138 shops closed down in town centres in 2015 compared with 5,839 in the previous year, according to data from PwC and the Local Data Company (LDC). [...]
Tech and engineering firms are flocking to a new tech hub in Silverstone May 27, 2016 Look out Silicon Roundabout, there's another tech hub out for the crown. Silverstone, the home of British motor racing, has been flooded recently with a raft of high-tech engineering businesses – and is now being branded as the Silverstone Technology Cluster. Property investment and development business MEPC – which is behind the development of Silverstone Park – has identified over [...]
Fitzrovia cafe Caffix, which once sold everything for £1 has shut down to review its business model April 20, 2016 A pound shop cafe in swish Fitzrovia has shut down after almost 12 months as it has to review its business model. Caffix, which opened on Newman Street in west London last June, said it set itself a mission "to enable the people of London to eat fresh and pay less," charging punters in the area [...]
UK pensions: Public opinion on how pensions should be taxed is divided, but experts agree that better education on the topic could encourage people to save more March 9, 2016 Pension experts were pretty vocal about what possible changes chancellor George Osborne could have made to pensions at next week's Budget, but the public at large is more conflicted in its feelings, research published today has found. According to a study by professional services firm PwC, 42 per cent admit that they have no clue [...]
Seven things we’ve discovered so far this year about cybersecurity June 4, 2016 Next week, technology experts will flock to West London for Infosecurity Europe – one of the largest information security exhibitions. If you're going and are worried you'll run short of water cooler conversation topics to discuss with your fellow delegates, here's seven things that have come to light about cybersecurity so far this year: Cybersecurity is [...]
Commodities trader Noble swings to second quarter loss August 11, 2016 Embattled commodities trader Noble swung to a loss in the second quarter, as it continued with a turnaround plan to regain investor confidence. The Hong-Kong based group said today that it had initiated the sale of its power marketing business Noble Americas Energy Solutions, with the proceeds due to be ploughed into its turnaround plan. "Interest in [...]
Further growth forecast for hotel industries in London and other European cities after “bumper” 2015 March 7, 2016 Growth in the European hotel industry is set to continue this year but will not reach the levels of a "bumper" 2015, new research suggests. PwC's European hotels forecast suggests a robust outlook for European travel will continue to drive the industry this year and next. The report also noted that 2015 saw an almost 30 per [...]
Lots of shopping stopped the economy from dropping… maybe May 19, 2016 Brits did not let poor weather, referendum nerves or weak confidence stop them from hitting the shops last month. Retail sales volumes were 4.3 per cent higher in April than last year, according to the Office for National Statistics (ONS), as falling prices brought shoppers out in their droves. Over the month, sales were up [...]
Brexit, what Brexit? UK economy grows by 0.5 per cent – slower than the previous quarter but better than economists had expected October 27, 2016 GDP is estimated to have grown by 0.5 per cent in the third quarter of the year, in a sign the economy has – so far – shrugged off the effects of Brexit. The statistics from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) are the first to cover the full three months after the UK voted to leave the [...]
Cyber crime rockets: Shocking rise in senior staff attacking businesses as threat levels continue to soar following hacks at TalkTalk and Sony Pictures February 24, 2016 Cyber crime targeting British businesses has rocketed 130 per cent over the past two years, with so-called “silver fraudsters” stepping up their fraudulent activity. The full scale of computer crime is laid bare in a new investigation by accountancy giant PwC that ranges from senior managers dipping their fingers in the digital till to large-scale cyber [...]