Weekend Read: Foreign investors flee Myanmar as regime strengthens grip May 16, 2021 Businesses have continued to bow out of Myanmar after the bloody coup has killed more than 750 people and seen over 5,000 arrested for protesting the military’s forced reign. Companies began to flee Myanmar in March, like Japanese beverage group Kirin which had a $1.7bn stake in Myanmar Economic Holdings Public Company Limited, a company [...]
Pandemic set to land SMEs ‘extra £173,000 debt’ each year February 16, 2021 The pandemic will likely land small businesses an additional £173,000 debt pile each year as loans taken out during the coronavirus crisis continue to pile up, according to a new report. Half of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in the UK have taken out a Covid-related loan, according to a survey of more than 1,000 [...]
GDPR is three years old this month – has it really disrupted the business of data? May 9, 2021 We all remember it: the onslaught of emails from every newsletter we had ever signed up to asking us to confirm we were happy to stay in their database. The introduction of the General Data Protection Regulation three years ago threatened to cause ruptures in the way we dealt with our information. It can seem [...]
UK signs £15bn free trade deal with Japan October 23, 2020 Britain has officially signed a trade deal with Japan, marking a major milestone in Brexit negotiations as the UK secured its first agreement as an independent trading nation. The British embassy in Tokyo today announced it has formed the UK–Japan Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA), which was agreed in principle last month. The government said [...]
Casino giant Caesars in ‘advanced discussions’ over £2.9bn William Hill takeover September 28, 2020 US casino giant Caesars Entertainment has confirmed it is in “advanced discussions” over a £2.9bn takeover deal of UK betting firm William Hill. Caesars has put forward a cash offer of 272p per share for the British bookmaker, which is 25 per cent higher than the company’s trading price last Thursday and a 57.6 per [...]
Sainsbury’s half-year profit plunges 92 per cent November 7, 2019 Sainsbury’s has suffered a 92 per cent drop in half-year profit, as costs from store closures took a toll on the grocer’s balance sheet. Read more: Sainsbury’s former boss wants government to halve business rates and raise VAT The figures Statutory pre-tax profit fell from £107m last year to just £9m in the three months [...]
Hot weather fails to heat up high street retail sales in August September 6, 2019 Bricks and mortar retailers suffered a further blow last month as soaring temperatures failed to heat up high street sales. Like-for-like in store sales dropped 0.1 per cent in August from a base of minus 2.7 per cent in the same month last year as retailers were unable to convert rising footfall into purchases. Read [...]
Social factors must be at the heart of pension schemes’ ESG strategy March 24, 2021 Environmental, Social and Governance – or ESG – is the boardroom buzzword of our time. But it must become more than a buzzword, and we must go beyond short-term financial returns in our investment thinking. We need to adopt investment strategies which deliver long-term value, by considering the risks and opportunities relating to supply chains [...]
British Land acquires the Woolwich Estate near Crossrail/Elizabeth line in south east London for £103m February 9, 2018 British Land has bought the Woolwich Estate for £103m, with plans to regenerate the space and bring in more retailers. The Woolwich Estate comprises 56 retail units and has footfall of 6m, and the company said it “benefits from an improving local demographic with over 40 per cent of residents falling within the top three [...]
Shamima Begum’s radicalisation was our failure to address online extremism and protect our kids February 26, 2021 Regardless of who Shamima Begum is today, the fact that a group of British teenage girls could be groomed online for sex and violence in a faraway land, should be taken as a cautionary tale for us all. Earlier this month, a 16 year old from Cornwall was sentenced for terrorist offences. He was 13 [...]