UK house prices to fall five per cent this year June 23, 2020 UK house prices will continue to fall and won’t recover those losses until the end of 2022, analysts have forecast. Buyers are likely to be nervous about big purchases and house prices as personal finances come under scrutiny amid the coronavirus pandemic, forcing house prices to drop five per cent this year, the 9–22 June [...]
Pound rallies as UK employment hits record high and wages beat 2008 peak February 18, 2020 Wages beat their pre-financial crisis peak for the first time at the end of 2019, as the level of UK employment rose to a record high of 32.9m people. A total of 180,000 people entered the workforce between October and December 2019, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) said today. That took the number of [...]
Senior KPMG restructuring partners set for 25 per cent pay rise to stave-off break up September 15, 2019 Senior partners in KPMG’s restructuring division have received a 25 per cent pay rise as the accountancy giant tries to prevent a potential break-up, it was reported this weekend. The Big Four accountancy firm, which has been involved in high-profile business failures, including the collapse of outsourcer Carillion in January 2018, had been holding talks [...]
UK GDP: Economy stagnates in run up to General Election December 10, 2019 The UK economy stagnated in October under the weight of yet more political uncertainty and a global slowdown, official figures showed this morning. British GDP’s failure to grow was worse than the 0.1 per cent expansion economists had expected. It marked an improvement from the 0.1 per cent fall seen in September, however. Read more: [...]
UK unemployment rate rises as Brexit fears hit labour market October 15, 2019 The UK’s unemployment rate rose in the latest quarter, according to data released today, coming off a long running 45-year low as Brexit hit the labour market. Unemployed workers rose by 0.1 percentage points compared to the previous quarter to 3.9 per cent between June and August, Office for National Statistics (ONS) figures showed. Read [...]
Mamas & Papas to shutter stores in pre-pack administration deal November 8, 2019 Maternity retailer Mamas & Papas has called in administrators in order to shutter loss-making stores just days after the collapse of rival firm Mothercare. Bluegem Capital, the owner of Mamas & Papas since 2014, has regained control through a pre-pack administration – an insolvency procedure – which has allowed the retailer to close six unprofitable [...]
Is the future of the Big Six advertising agencies under threat? March 2, 2020 Navel-gazing about the future is becoming increasingly fashionable in adland. The last few years have been tricky for the industry, as profits have faltered and clients have demanded more and more of the major players. It has led to concerns that the Big Six, the marketing giants which have dominated the sector for the last [...]
KPMG in exclusive talks to sell pensions arm to private equity firm for more than £200m October 23, 2019 KPMG today confirmed it is in exclusive talks to sell its pensions advisory arm to private equity firm Exponent. The Big Four firm is in discussions to sell its pensions unit to the former Quorn-owner for more than £200m, Sky News reported. Read more: KPMG launches £100m cost-cutting programme The division has more than 20 [...]
Halfords’ revenue and profit dip as it snaps up garage chain November 7, 2019 Revenue and profit at Halfords fell in the first half of the year, the bicycle and car maintenance retailer said today. Halfords also announced today it had acquired independent garage chain McConechy’s Tyre Service in a £9.3m deal. Profit before tax slipped 2.5 per cent to £27.5m in the six months to 27 September from [...]
How do you solve a problem like Wirecard? June 19, 2020 It’s been a wild ride for Wirecard. When the German payments firm premiered on the prestigious blue-chip Dax index just two years ago, shares were priced at €200 apiece. Today, prices hit as low as €20 per share, forcing out chief executive Markus Braun and leaving the future of the digital payments firm in question. [...]