Oil prices slide on Israel vow to avoid Iran refineries with retaliation October 15, 2024 Oil prices tumbled by over four per cent on Tuesday after soft economic readings from China and reports that Israel has assured the US it would avoid oil and nuclear facilities in its expected retaliation on Iran. The price of Brent crude dropped 4.4 per cent – or $3.42 (£2.61) a barrel – and WTI [...]
Let them tax cake! Top accountant gives alternatives to business-bashing tax hikes October 14, 2024 While rumours swirl of potential hikes to Capital Gains Tax and the employer National Insurance rate, one top tax accountant has said the government should look elsewhere instead of targeted business-related taxes. His suggestion: Cake.
Taco Bell returns to profit ahead of administration woe October 11, 2024 The UK and European arm of Taco Bell returned to profit in 2023 ahead of one of its franchise partners entering administration. The Surrey-headquartered division has reported a pre-tax profit of $2.2m (£1.6m) for 2023. The total comes after Tac Bell reported a pre-tax loss of $1.8m (£1.3m) for 2022. Newly-filed accounts with Companies House [...]
Mark Kleinman: Will Reeves step back from a Hallowe’en nightmare? October 10, 2024 Mark Kleinman is Sky News’ City Editor and is the man who gets the City talking in his weekly City AM column.
Shein parks tanks on Boohoo’s lawn as UK sales pass £1.5bn ahead of IPO October 8, 2024 UK sales at Shein, the Chinese-founded online retailer on track for a bumper IPO on the London Stock Exchange, passed £1.5bn last year, the company has revealed. The division generated a revenue of £1.55bn for 2023, up from the £1.12bn it achieved in 2022. Shein also posted an annual profit of £18.7m, a significant rise [...]
S&U fires barbs at regulator after motor finance probe dents profit October 8, 2024 Specialist lender S&U fired another salvo at the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) today as it blamed regulatory pressure for the “uninspiring performance” of its motor finance business in the first six months of the year. Pretax profit across the London-listed firm slumped by nearly half to £12.8m for the six months to 31 July, down [...]
What does it take to be the best… at Karaoke? October 7, 2024 Barging past a swarm of small children jostling upwards from the seafront, I arrive at the Bournemouth Pavilion Theatre. It is, with the best will in the world, an ugly building, like a bingo hall had sex with a secondary school. Inside is a different story. Its intestines are a marbled maze of tiles and [...]
Ageas: Belgian insurer mulls UK takeover after failed Direct Line bid October 6, 2024 Belgian insurance giant Ageas is open to making further takeover bids for British companies after a failed attempt to snap up Direct Line earlier this year.
Booking.com: Wages and bonuses surge as UK sales jump October 4, 2024 Wages and bonuses surged at the UK arm of Booking.com as its turnover jumped by £50m during its latest financial year. The division’s wage bill jumped from £20.7m to £32.2m in 2023 because of a surge in salaries and bonuses handed out to top staff. The increase comes as its headcount grew to almost 300 [...]
Bumper pay day for ‘Chicken King’ Boparan October 2, 2024 Ranjit Singh Boparan, the so-called ‘Chicken King’, received a bumper pay day after profit at his private office jumped to almost £125m. Boparan’s private office includes high street restaurant brands like Carluccio’s and Gourmet Burger Kitchen as well as Bernard Matthews, Banham Poultry and Elkes Biscuits. Newly-filed accounts with Companies House have revealed that the [...]