Coronavirus: The tax questions facing those stuck in the UK March 26, 2020 Covid-19 is impacting everybody in one way or another, including those who were not expecting to be UK tax residents but now find themselves unable to leave the country. City A.M. asks Helen Jones, a tax partner at BDO, the key questions that need answering for those stuck in Britain during the pandemic. What residency [...]
Primark refuses to pay rent bill amid coronavirus crisis March 25, 2020 Budget retailer Primark has today reportedly refused to pay its rent bill after closing all of its stores due to the coronavirus pandemic, as fears mount that some retailers will never reopen after the outbreak. Primark has written to landlords to tell them it would not meet its quarterly rent payment due on 110 leasehold [...]
UK coronavirus: Death toll reaches 465 March 25, 2020 The coronavirus death toll in the UK has reached 465 after a further 28 people in England died after contracting the virus. In total, 414 people in England have died from Covid-19, while 22 have died in Scotland and Wales and seven died in Northern Ireland, the Guardian reported. Today’s overall UK increase of 43 [...]
Coronavirus: Off-licences added to list of essential retailers March 25, 2020 Off-licences have been added to the government’s list of essential retailers that are permitted to stay open during the UK coronavirus lockdown. Off-licences and “licenced shops selling alcohol, including those within breweries” have today been reclassified as essential stores, amid reports that supermarkets were beginning to sell out of beer and wine. Customer stockpiling saw [...]
Brompton Bikes boss: long-term thinking is needed after coronavirus March 25, 2020 Coronavirus may have stopped everyday life in its tracks, but the boss of one of London’s manufacturing success stories says employers must adopt long-term strategies now for when the wheels start turning again. Will Butler-Adams, the boss of Brompton Bikes, says this applies to macro: the future of transport, as well as the micro: the [...]
Coronavirus: Wetherspoon to pay workers under jobs retention scheme March 25, 2020 JD Wetherspoon will pay its 43,000 workers under the coronavirus jobs retention scheme after the pub chain faced backlash from employees. All staff will be paid on Friday for hours worked last week, and the first payment under the new scheme will be made on 3 April and weekly from then on, the company said [...]
MWC to offer refunds after conference scrapped due to coronavirus March 25, 2020 Mobile World Congress (MWC) will offer refunds to anyone who paid to attend the conference in a move that could “lay down the gauntlet” for other events cancelled due to coronavirus. Organiser GSMA scrapped the telecoms extravaganza in February following a string of high-profile withdrawals, saying health concerns made it “impossible” for the event to [...]
Coronavirus: Government recruits 405,000 volunteer army March 25, 2020 More than 400,000 people have registered to join the government’s volunteer army in a bid to support frontline services grapple with the coronavirus pandemic. Health secretary Matt Hancock yesterday announced that Downing Street was looking for 250,000 fit and healthy people sign up to join the new NHS Volunteer scheme. This afternoon Prime Minister Boris [...]
Cash-poor UK firms lobby for looser rules on stock offerings March 25, 2020 Advisers to cash-strapped British firms are lobbying regulators to loosen rules governing new stock offerings, in the hope it could make it easier for struggling companies to raise funds. An industry body representing investment banks is asking the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) to increase the maximum allowed discount for equity sales on the London Stock [...]
UK coronavirus: Which retailers are open under lockdown rules? March 25, 2020 The government announced a UK coronavirus lockdown on Monday evening, putting limits on work, socialising and going outside. Addressing the nation, the prime minister said “I must give the British people a very simple instruction – you must stay at home”. Boris Johnson said police will break up public gatherings of more than two people, [...]