AJ Bell doubles net inflows as customers flock to its plaform January 21, 2021 AJ Bell doubled its net inflows in the first quarter as it continued to attract new customers to its platform. In a trading update the investment platform said total net inflows in the first quarter reached £1.6bn, double the level reported in the same period last year. Shares in the investment platofrm dipped 0.86 per [...]
UK dividends won’t recover until 2025 at the earliest after bruising year January 20, 2021 UK dividends are unlikely to recover until 2025 at the earliest after a catastrophic year for payouts amid the pandemic. Eight years of growth wiped off UK dividends last year as companies started to make cuts at the beginning of the second quarter following the outbreak of coronavirus. Payouts fell 44 per cent to £61.9bn [...]
Goldman Sachs more than doubles profit on trading boost January 19, 2021 Goldman Sachs more than doubled its profits in the fourth quarter helped by a boom in its investment banking and trading activity. The New York bank reported profit of $4.36bn, up from $1.72bn a year earlier, with revenue rising to a record $11.7bn for the quarter. Earnings per share rose to $12.08 per share, nearly [...]
HSBC set to close 82 branches as customers go online January 19, 2021 HSBC is set to close 82 of its branches across the UK amid a takeup in online and telephone banking. The high street bank announced plans to shut the branches between April and September of this year but redundancies would be minimal as it looked to redeploy employees to “suitable nearby locations”. The decision reflected [...]
End of the office is overstated, says Brookfield boss January 19, 2021 The end of the office has been overegged according to a top asset manager, as he claims investors are underestimating the extent to which people will return to work. Speaking to the Financial Times, Bruce Flatt, chief executive of Brookfield Asset Management is hopeful that office workers will return to the office and shopping centres. [...]
AO World revenue surges on demand for electrical goods over Christmas January 19, 2021 AO World reported significant revenue growth in the third quarter after strong demand for electrical goods in the run-up to Christmas. The online electrical retailer reported UK revenue growth of 67.2 per cent to £457.3m, while German sales jumped 77.4 per cent to €73.6m. The company, which sells washing machines, fridges, TVs and laptops, has [...]
Superdry woes continue as it flags going concern doubts January 19, 2021 Embattled retailer Superdry has flagged going concern doubts after lockdown took another hit to its revenue. Superdry’s underlying losses before tax widened to £10.6m from £2.3m in the same period the previous year. Superdry’s share price plunged more than 11 per cent to 213.40p this morning. It came as revenue plunged 23.4 per cent to [...]
Experian reports ‘better-than-expected’ quarter as revenue grows January 19, 2021 Credit scoring giant Experian (EXPN) reported a better-than-expected third quarter after a strong performance by its North America division. Total revenue at constant exchange rates grew 10 per cent in the three months to the end of December. Experian’s North America and Latin America divisions grew 11 and 16 per cent respectively, but the UK [...]
Fintech firms top list of best London startups to work for January 19, 2021 Fintech firms dominate the list of best startups to work for in London as investment in the sector picks up and expands aggressively. Some 50 startups and scaleups appear on Otta’s Rocket List, which has been curated by Tech Nation and a handful of VC firms including Atomico and Seedcamp. The experts considered a firm’s [...]
British biotech firm Immunocore opts for New York float January 18, 2021 Cancer biotech firm Immunocore is looking to list on the Nasdaq rather than London as it aims to raise up to $100m. The Oxford-based company delivers biological therapies for people suffering with cancer and other serious diseases. Last week Immuncore secured $75m in fresh funding after a Series C round, bringing its total raised through [...]