UK start-up funding falls but life sciences sector picks up October 15, 2024 UK start-ups secured $2.9bn (£2.2bn) in new venture capital (VC) funding during the third quarter of 2024, a sharp drop from the $5.7bn (£4.4bn) raised in the previous quarter, according to fresh data from HSBC. The global VC market also slowed, marking its weakest quarter in over four years, driven largely by a downturn in [...]
Purplebricks boss: Rental market is ‘completely broken’ and is a ‘disaster for first-time buyers’ October 15, 2024 The rental market is "completely broken" and is a "disaster for first-time buyers", the boss of Purplebricks has said.
How BT, EE, Plusnet, Talktalk, O2 and Virgin Media misled customers over mid-contract price rises October 9, 2024 Six of the UK’s biggest broadband providers, BT, EE, Plusnet, Talktalk, O2 and Virgin Media, failed to make mid-contract price increases clear to consumers, the advertising watchdog has ruled. The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) said the companies misled consumers by placing important information about price rises separately to headline prices and in areas of less [...]
Retail bosses urge Chancellor to reform business rates to boost growth October 7, 2024 The letter, co-ordinated by the British Retail Consortium (BRC), argued the retail industry paid 7.4 per cent of all business taxes when it only made up five per cent of the overall economy.
Nationwide completes Virgin Money takeover to create high street banking titan October 1, 2024 Nationwide has completed its £2.9bn takeover of Virgin Money in the UK's biggest banking merger since the financial crisis amid increasing consolidation among mid-sized lenders.
Deliveroo partners with Not On The High Street in boost for small retailers September 24, 2024 Deliveroo has partnered with e-commerce distributor Not On The High Street to provide personalised gifts on demand in the latest expansion of the on-demand service’s shopping offering. The partnership, which Deliveroo has said could see gifts on customers’ doorsteps in as little as 25 minutes, will allow users to order from 15 independent small brands [...]
Kingfisher shares soar: B&Q owner sales dip as customers shun ‘big-ticket’ items September 17, 2024 B&Q owner Kingfisher has reported a “resilient” set of results after a series of profit warnings last year, but weaker sales in France continued to weigh on profit. According to its half-year earnings for the six months ended 31 July 2024, sales fell by 1.8 per cent overall, to £6.75bn from £6.9bn, while gross profit [...]
Virgin Media O2 to offload stake in mobile tower network September 13, 2024 Virgin Media O2 has reportedly agreed to offload roughly eight per cent of Britain's biggest mobile tower network as the telecoms group looks to fund the expansion of its fibre broadband and mobile operations.
Renters’ Rights Bill: What is it and what does it mean for the market? September 12, 2024 Labour’s Renters’ Rights Bill, which landlord groups have said will be the biggest change in the sector for over thirty years, entered parliament this week. Legislation will be introduced “to give greater rights and protections to people renting their homes”, including removing no-fault evictions, tightening housing standards and loosening rules on pet ownership, King Charles [...]
UK’s biggest residential landlord praises government’s new Renters’ Rights Bill September 12, 2024 The UK’s largest listed residential landlord Grainger has praised the government’s new Renters’ Rights Bill, which was presented in Parliament on Wednesday. If approved, the bill would introduce a range of measures aimed at balancing the scales between tenants and landlords, as the government pledges to “clean up the mess” left in the rental market by [...]