Rank Group to hike investment in wake of bingo tax cut March 19, 2014 European gaming business Rank Group has announced a new programme of investment and job creation in response to George Osborne's halving of bingo duty from 20 per cent to 10 per cent. The company said it had identified a number of new towns where it will be able to develop new bingo clubs. Rank Group [...]
Suitors abuzz over Maplin after backers plug in for £200m sale March 3, 2014 HIGH Street electronics retailer Maplin has been put up for sale with a price tag of up £200m after its private equity owners decided to exit the business. Maplin, which reported sales of £213.5m for the year ending 2012, is owned by Montagu Private Equity and has about 230 stores across the UK and Ireland, [...]
Personal allowance and 40p threshold to rise for two years March 19, 2014 THE PERSONAL allowance for income tax will rise to £10,500 from 2015-16, as the threshold for the 40 per cent rate starts to climb. The tax-free slab has risen in each of the coalition’s Budgets, and chancellor George Osborne yesterday confirmed that it will be increased from the current £9,440 this financial year to £10,000 [...]
City Moves for 04 March 2014 | Who’s switching jobs March 3, 2014 Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer The law firm has named London-based corporate partner Martin Nelson-Jones as co-head of its infrastructure and transport sector group. He joined in 1991 and became a partner in 2001. BNY Mellon The investment management firm has announced the appointment of Frank La Salla as chief executive of its alternative investment services business. He [...]
HSBC shakes up auditors for first time in over two decades replacing KPMG with PwC August 2, 2013 HSBC has announced that it will be switching its current auditor KPMG for PricewaterhouseCoopers for the year ended 31 December 2015 (release). The change will be recommended to shareholders at HSBC's 2015 AGM. KPMG will continue to undertake the audit of the bank's consolidated accounts for the year ended 31 December 2013, and subject to [...]
UK slides down progress ranks as crisis bites February 4, 2014 THE BRITISH economy has displayed “persistent structural weaknesses” in comparison to many other countries, losing a significant part of its competitive edge since the millenium. According to a report released by PwC this morning, the UK ranked 19th on a list of 30 large economies in 2012, when accounting for 20 major economic, political and social [...]
Most public sector workers to get 1pc pay rise March 13, 2014 Most public sector workers will get a pay rise of one per cent next year, the government’s confirmed. Ministers have said the 600,000 NHS employees who get automatic “progressional pay” increases, which are “typically worth over three per cent”, won’t get the additional one per cent rise. Around 400 senior NHS managers also won’t get [...]
Game’s court case sees “pay as you stay” introduced February 24, 2014 The Court of Appeal has made a big change to the way retail administrations are handled, deciding that landlords should be paid even when the company has collapsed just after receiving a rent bill. The test case involved Game Group, which filed for administration the day after its quarterly rent was due in March 2012, [...]
Firms of the future are expected to hire four generations of staff March 3, 2014 BRITISH workplaces could soon have four generations of employees on staff, as an ageing population and a rise in flexible jobs mean people must work for longer. Meanwhile, a boom in business technologies could make many semi-skilled and white-collar jobs obsolete and force those who have been left behind to retrain, according to the UK [...]
Chinese developer ABP sets up global headquarters in Newham February 6, 2014 THE BOSSES of Advanced Business Park (ABP), the Chinese developer that wants to overhaul London’s Royal Albert Docks, are to move into Newham today after a striking a deal to open global headquarters there. At a formal signing ceremony yesterday between ABP chairman Xu Weiping and Mayor of Newham Sir Robin Wales, the developer announced it [...]