Fenwick family takes out £5m dividend despite warning on new cost pressures October 23, 2016 The Fenwick family has taken a £4.8m from their department store chain while warning about the pressure government is placing on the retail sector. According to accounts for the year to the end of January 2016, the company's sales rose by 1.2 per cent in the past year, reaching £431.7m. Pre-tax profits were up by a quarter [...]
Airbnb has introduced a new rule in London which should cut down on “professional” hosts December 1, 2016 Until recently, the sharing economy has been a bit "Wild West" – but all that could be about to change in London, after one of its major players, Airbnb, announced a crackdown on so-called professional hosts. In a statement today the company said it is introducing automated limits on listings to prevent an entire home [...]
Building more homes will not solve London’s housing crisis – here’s why December 5, 2016 Let's be clear, the housing crisis is not a crisis just because there is a shortage in housing. It's a crisis because there is a real problem with our access to affordable housing and not enough is being done about it. London homes are the second most over-priced in the world, according to a recent [...]
The hell of being middle-aged: The financial pressures of children and ageing parents mean that 45 to 54 year-olds are more likely than any other group to be saving nothing for retirement December 14, 2016 New research has found that an overlooked "sandwich" generation is saving surprisingly little for retirement Young people between the ages of 25 and 34 are often singled out as being the most hard done by in the UK today. Rates of home ownership within this group have fallen dramatically since the early nineties, leading many [...]
Government’s Brexit dance is maiming the pound October 18, 2016 Inflation is coming to eat the pound in your pocket. Today, data for September is expected to show that prices in the UK rose by an annual 0.9 per cent rate, up from 0.6 per cent in August, driven by energy and food prices. However, the full impact of the recent plunge in sterling will [...]
From public sector pensions to social care, the government is scarily ill-prepared for major demographic change December 13, 2016 The gap between private and public sector pensions in the UK is the worst in the developed world, according to the OECD. New civil servants can expect to receive a 6 per cent pay rise when they reach retirement, while private sector workers can expect a cut of nearly 50 per cent. Mounting pressures on social [...]
The FA’s background checks for new coaches are necessary – but don’t expect them to rid organisation of scandal December 22, 2016 Now the blushes have subsided following Sam Allardyce's brief reign as England manager, brought to an end after just 67 days when he was recorded having "inappropriate" conversations about third-party ownership rules, the Football Association will appoint external companies to carry out background checks on all prospective employees. Forensic questionnaires that dig into applicants' private [...]
Retail lobby group British Retail Consortium urges government to protect consumers from rising costs post-Brexit October 10, 2016 The British Retail Consortium (BRC) has urged the government to secure a Brexit deal that avoids rocketing prices for consumers. Writing to Liam Fox, the secretary of state for international trade, the BRC said that the retail industry, as the UK's biggest importer, needs tariffs and import costs to remain low. Read more: Retailers in Mayfair [...]
Budget 2017: The full text of chancellor Philip Hammond’s speech March 8, 2017 Philip Hammond has delivered his first – and last – Spring Budget. Headline announcements included more cash for social care and punishing new rules for the self-employed – plus some vague comments on business rates. Read more: City A.M.'s TL;DR version of the Spring 2017 Budget Here's what he said: Mr Deputy Speaker, I report [...]
John Lewis Partnership considers further reforms to staff benefits as squeeze on retailers tightens November 4, 2016 High street stalwart the John Lewis Partnership is considering further curbs on staff benefits as it becomes the latest retailer to fight back against soaring costs for the sector. Documents seen by City A.M. suggest the escalating national living wage could cost the John Lewis Partnership an additional £171m in 2020. Between 2015, when the [...]