Taking the higher ground rent: How homeowners can stop themselves falling victim to dubious leasehold contracts May 28, 2019 Finally able to buy your first home, you skip away from the rat race that is the rental system, proudly boasting the much-revered title of “homeowner”. And yet, if you’ve bought a leasehold property, it might not be the picket-fenced dream that you’d bargained for. Millions of UK properties, typically flats, are sold as leasehold. This [...]
Lender Amigo hails soaring profits as it fights to dispel guarantor loans ‘myths’ May 28, 2019 Lender Amigo saw profits grow almost 70 per cent to £111m in its latest financial year, amid the threat of a regulatory crackdown on the guarantor loan market. Read more: Profit leaps at guarantor loans provider Amigo following its London float The figures Profit before tax soared 68 per cent to £111m year on year [...]
DEBATE: Is the government right to ban single-use plastics like straws in a bid to reduce ocean pollution? May 28, 2019 Is the government right to ban single-use plastics like straws in a bid to reduce ocean pollution? Amelia Womack, deputy leader of the Green Party, says YES. The government’s ban on straws, drinks stirrers and plastic-stalked cotton buds is an important development in the right direction. It should be supported, but on the understanding that it [...]
Goals Soccer Centres warns of weaker results amid accountancy blunder May 28, 2019 Five-a-side football venue operator Goals has warned that its 2018 and 2019 performances will likely be significantly weaker than previously expected in the wake of a major accountancy error. The embattled firm, which has been suspending its shares since March, said this morning it is forecasting both its 2018 and 2019 financial results to be "materially below expectations and [...]
Victims of fast-growing fraud could get refunds from today May 28, 2019 A mew code that will allow victims of one of the UK’s fastest growing forms of fraud to receive reimbursement from banks comes into force today. Authorised push payment fraud occurs when a victim authorises a bank transfer into an account they believe is legitimate, but is actually controlled by a fraudster. The number of reported [...]
Less than one per cent of cyber crimes lead to prosecution, report states May 28, 2019 Less than one per cent of cyber crimes result in prosecution, new figures have revealed, highlighting the difficulty of tracking down online hackers. There were 65 prosecutions for computer hacking in the UK last year, up 38 per cent on the 47 recorded in 2017, according to City law firm RPC. But the figures still [...]
Sir Philip Green to close Miss Selfridge’s flagship Oxford Street store amid Arcadia restructuring May 27, 2019 The troubles for Sir Philip Green’s beleaguered retail empire Arcadia showed no sign of abating this evening as it emerged the mogul is to close the flagship central London branch of Miss Selfridge this summer. Arcadia hopes its creditors will next week approve a company voluntary arrangement (CVA), an insolvency procedure which enables the closure [...]
Aston Villa hit £170m jackpot after promotion gambles pay off against Derby County May 27, 2019 It tends to take a gamble to escape the bear pit of the Championship. Aston Villa have bet bigger than most and now, with victory in the play-off final over Derby County on Monday, they have scooped the £170m jackpot that promotion to the Premier League guarantees. Villa were rewarded for rolling the dice on [...]
England build confidence for the World Cup despite comfortable nature of Afghanistan win May 27, 2019 In the end it wasn’t so much a warm-up as a cool down – an opportunity to get loose before Thursday’s World Cup grand opening. England craved a win after Saturday’s 12-run defeat by Australia, but when it came at The Oval against Afghanistan its nature diminished its significance, the home side chasing 160 in [...]
Johanna Konta’s long-awaited first French Open win is British No1’s latest cause for optimism May 27, 2019 It took seven visits to Roland Garros but, finally, Johanna Konta is into the second round of the French Open and entitled to feel cautiously optimistic that her campaign in Paris will not end there. The British No1 – beaten in the first round for the last four years and defeated in qualifying in both [...]