Green King’s Cross development receives £69m boost July 24, 2020 A new sustainable development in the heart of King’s Cross has received a boost with a £69m green loan facility from HSBC and Natwest. Property developer Argent secured the loan to complete the Cadence project, which will offer 163 flats, including 60 “intermediate affordable” rent apartments. The deal follows a similar £400m green loan for [...]
The City View: Andrea Rasca on Mercato Metropolitano July 22, 2020 Subscribe to The City View Podcast: Apple / Google / Spotify / RSS Today Andy Silvester is joined by Andrea Rasca, the food lover and entrepreneur behind Mercato Metropolitano. They talk about the journey so far – from Milan to Mayfair via the Elephant and Castle – for the food and drink market, his approach to sustainability and ensuring that London remains [...]
‘Historic’ day as RBS formally changes name to Natwest July 22, 2020 RBS has formally changed its name to Natwest, removing Scotland from the bank’s parent company for the first time since it was founded. The group will remain headquartered in Edinburgh, and the name change will not affect RBS bank branches. The intention to change the name was first announced in February when it reported its [...]
The FTSE 100 is lagging behind soaring global markets – but why? July 13, 2020 Stock markets around the world have soared in recent months even as economies crashed, aided by central banks pumping trillions of dollars into the system. But although all stock markets are rising, some are rising faster than others. Britain’s FTSE 100 is lagging behind almost all other major stock indices. It has risen just over [...]
Decline in London’s business activity eases as economy reopens July 13, 2020 There was a marked easing in the downturn in business activity across the capital last month, as the economy picked up and lockdown restrictions loosened. Natwest’s London Business Activity Index – which monitors the combined output of London’s manufacturing and service sectors – rose from 30.3 in May to 46.2 in June. Anything below 50 [...]
Help young Londoners take their first step on the career ladder June 29, 2020 For so many young people, the coronavirus pandemic has left them questioning their educational future and career pathways. It has been such an uncertain time for pupils across the capital. And that’s why this year we were even more determined than ever before to host the London Careers Festival (LCF), albeit in a new format. [...]
Young’s pub chain taps investors for £88m ahead of pubs reopening June 25, 2020 Young’s pub chain has raised more than £88m from its investors via a share placing ahead of the reopening of pubs from next week. The firm said it had placed a total of 4,263,453 placing shares at 1,160p per share and 4.9m non-voting shares at 735p per share to raise £85.5m. Young’s also raised a [...]
RBS extends business account switching deadline amid coronavirus June 23, 2020 Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) has given business customers another six months to switch their accounts to other banks under the terms of its financial crisis state aid package. RBS said fewer customers have used the Incentivised Switching Scheme to swap banks during the pandemic. As a result the deadline for switching applications will be [...]
Businesses are cautiously optimistic as downturn in activity eases June 17, 2020 Signs of a turnaround in business activity has prompted UK firms to feel more optimistic about the outlook for the next few months. Natwest’s small business activity index shows small steps towards recovery. The index monitors output at private sector firms with between one and 49 employees in the services, construction and manufacturing industries. It [...]
Cloud-based phone system Aircall raises $65m amid home working boom May 27, 2020 Cloud-based phone system Aircall has raised $65m in Series 3 funding led by DTCP, as demand for the firm’s technology has surged during the remote-working boom sparked by the coronavirus pandemic. The round was led by DTCP with participation from new investors Swisscom and Adam Street, as well as existing investors Balderton Capital, Draper Esprit, [...]