Coronavirus: Boris Johnson ‘plans to return to work on Monday’ April 24, 2020 Boris Johnson is intent on returning to work as soon as Monday to continue tackling the coronavirus crisis, it is reported. Earlier this month, the Prime Minister was discharged from St Thomas’ Hospital following his own battle with coronavirus. He has since been recovering at Chequers, his countryside residence. But Johnson – who spent three [...]
Dixons Carphone to close all Dixons Travel airport stores as it repays £73m furlough cash April 28, 2021 Dixons Carphone will close all of its Dixons Travel stores, having made the decision to shut down the business after the government removed airside tax free sales for most retailers. All 35 stores, found in airports around the UK including at Heathrow and Gatwick, as well as two concessions on P&O Cruises, will close, after [...]
Weakening Chinese economy weighs on London markets October 18, 2021 A weakening Chinese economy weighed on London markets this morning as investor sentiment soured on concerns the global supply chain crisis will last longer than expected. The capital’s premier FTSE 100 edged down 0.12 per cent to 7,226.20 points during the opening session. China’s economy was dragged down by energy shortages, soaring commodity prices and [...]
UK services firms and consumers grow cheerier despite coronavirus February 28, 2020 Optimism in the UK services sector rose at its fastest pace in almost five years in the three months to February, a survey has shown, in the latest sign that the removal of some political uncertainty has cheered businesses. A separate survey today showed that UK consumers also became more optimistic in February, with rising [...]
UK supermarket chiefs call for online sales tax on firms like Amazon February 8, 2021 Some of the UK’s largest retailers, including Tesco and Asda, have called for Rishi Sunak to “rebalance the tax base” between online and bricks and mortar retail in an apparent push for a new digital sales levy on firms like Amazon. In a letter to Sunak, 18 chief executives and union bosses said “online retailers [...]
UK small businesses rack up £3.5bn in Amazon export sales July 7, 2021 Small and medium-sized British businesses selling on Amazon recorded over £3.5bn in export sales last year, according to figures released by the tech giant. Amazon said more than 14,000 UK SMEs surpassed £100,000 in sales in 2020, while over 1,000 reached £1m in sales for the first time. The top five categories in which customers [...]
Brooks Brothers UK goes into administration as suits fall out of fashion April 9, 2021 The UK division of US business attire retailer Brooks Brothers had gone into administration, after suffering from a lack of demand for its products as people worked from home. Begbies Traynor were yesterday appointed the company’s administrators, website Bisnow first reported. “The reason for my appointment as administrator of the UK company is of course [...]
Made.com shares fall after £775m London IPO June 16, 2021 Shares in Made.com fell in their debut this morning after the furniture retailer listed in a £775m London initial public offering. The online furniture brand, which has enjoyed rapid sales growth during the pandemic, set its offer price at 200p per share. This will give the company a market capitalisation of roughly £775m. It was [...]
Exclusive: City investors know regulation is on the horizon for buy now pay later firms October 19, 2021 The Buy Now Pay Later sector (BNPL) has seen a surge of activity since the start of the pandemic as consumers turned to online shopping and welcomed the option to purchase trending items of clothing, beauty products and other goods without parting with all of their cash up-front. More and more BNPL options, including Klarna [...]
Wall Street: Bulls run again as S&P 500 climbs 20 per cent above October low June 9, 2023 Stocks rose just enough for Wall Street to barrel into a new bull market on Thursday as the S&P 500 keeps rallying off its low from last autumn. The index rose 0.6 per cent to carry it 20 per cent above a bottom hit in October. That means Wall Street’s main measure of health has [...]