Intu raises going concern doubts as losses deepen March 12, 2020 Embattled retail landlord Intu raised doubts over its ability to continue as a going concern this morning as it reported a sharp increase in losses last year amid store closures and rent reductions. The figures Shares plunged 16 per cent this morning as the company reported a £2.02bn loss for the year, compared to a [...]
Budget 2020: Sunak pledges extra £175bn to ‘get Britain building’ March 11, 2020 New chancellor Rishi Sunak pledged to “get Britain building” in today’s budget, unveiling an additional £175bn in capital investment to “level up” roads, railways, housing and broadband across the country. The extra money, which forms part of Sunak’s much trailed £640m spending package, means that by 2024 annual expenditure will rise above £110m, triple the [...]
Selfridges’ Christmas sales boosted by vegan food and toys January 10, 2020 Selfridges enjoyed a five per cent growth in sales in the 24 days leading up to Christmas fueled by increasing demand for vegan food. The department store saw growth of 96 per cent in vegan confectionery sales, while a newly-launched vegan hamper sold out. Read more: Selfridges to open permanent cinema on Oxford Street The [...]
Six main contenders for the Ballon D’or: Who gets your vote? November 28, 2019 For 10 of the last 11 years, the question of who will win the Ballon d’Or has been simple a one: Cristiano Ronaldo or Lionel Messi? But their decade of dominance ended last year when Luka Modric picked up the prestigious individual award, which is organised by France Football magazine and voted on by 176 [...]
Coronavirus and sport: A guide to filling the void left by the cancellation of live fixtures March 16, 2020 You don’t know what you’ve got until it’s gone. For many, sport is a steady, reassuring constant – something around which life revolves. Plans are made to accommodate it, socialising takes place alongside it, vast amounts of money is spent facilitating it, almost every hobby is connected to it, weekends are often entirely consumed by [...]
MPs were ‘misled’ on HS2 cost, says former deputy of government review into project January 5, 2020 Parliament was “misled” over the costs of the High Speed 2 rail project, according to the former deputy chairman of the government’s independent review into the line. Lord Tony Berkeley said the cost of the project is “out of control” and could be as much as £107m, three times the original estimate, in his own [...]
Why does investing in UK SMEs matter? May 1, 2020 The UK has seen an explosion of small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) over the past 10 years, bringing with it a love for supporting brave entrepreneurs, innovative start-ups and high street boutiques. The UK currently boasts more than six million SMEs – businesses with fewer than 250 employees – which employ close to 16 million [...]
Women’s Super League season preview: New-look division confident of building on World Cup platform September 5, 2019 The Women’s Super League kicks off a new season on Saturday looking to build on the success of the summer’s World Cup and there is every indication it is on the right path. Even before a ball has been kicked the signs are good. The 2019-20 campaign is the first with Barclays as the title [...]
Five things we learned from Liverpool 3, Manchester United 1: Reds pass another test; Jose Mourinho’s men losing touch with top five; Xherdan Shaqiri proves his worth December 16, 2018 The tests keep on coming for this Liverpool team and, with a new-found composure and a growing sense of destiny, Jurgen Klopp’s side keep on batting them away. On Sunday the challenge was to translate their momentum into a first Premier League win over Manchester United since 2014 and return to the top of the [...]
Tory MP calls on government to extend job retention scheme April 29, 2020 A Conservative London MP has called on the government to extend the job retention scheme that pays “furloughed” workers’ wages to help businesses hit by a plunge in international visitors. Nickie Aiken, MP for Cities of London and Westminster, and the Association of International Retail have written to chancellor Rishi Sunak to say that businesses [...]