Lib Dems plan free childcare September 2, 2014 NICK Clegg has today promised free childcare for all two-year-olds if he is re-elected next year, paid for in part by scrapping the Tory-backed tax break for married couples. The plan to get rid of the tax incentive will not go down well with the Prime Minister, who pushed hard for the policy. Under the [...]
Direct Line set to join FTSE 100 as Barratt slides down the list September 2, 2014 Insurer Direct Line looks set to join the coveted FTSE 100 listing this week alongside newcomer Dixons Carphone, as the FTSE committee conducts its quarterly review. The changes are likely to be announced later today and could also see homebuilder Barratt demoted out of the top 100 blue chip companies. The developer only joined the [...]
Airport Commission sinks £70bn Boris Island plan as too risky September 2, 2014 LONDON mayor Boris Johnson yesterday refused to throw in the towel over his plans for a Thames Estuary airport, despite the scheme being grounded by the Airport Commission for being too risky. Undaunted by the crushing blow to his proposal, the mayor hit back yesterday against the commission and its head, Sir Howard Davies. Johnson [...]
Uber to be driven off track in Germany after court ban September 2, 2014 Worldwide cab firm Uber yesterday vowed to fight on in Germany after a court issued a temporary injunction against the app-based service, saying its drivers lacked the necessary commercial licences to pick up passengers. The ruling by Frankfurt regional court last week came after a challenge brought by the German taxi industry for non-compliance with [...]
Sainsbury’s celebrates 10 years in fashion September 2, 2014 Sainsbury’s non-food director James Brown said clothing was on track to become a £1bn business as it unveiled its new collection yesterday to mark the 10-year anniversary of fashion brand Tu. The UK’s seventh largest clothing retailer by volume has doubled the number of in-house designers to 30 over the past 12 months and also [...]
Andy Palmer takes the wheel at Aston Martin September 2, 2014 LUXURY carmaker Aston Martin revealed yesterday that Andy Palmer would sit in the driving seat as its new chief executive, after scooping him from Nissan, and bringing to an end a nine month search for a new leader. Palmer’s move to Aston Martin comes as the 101-year-old carmaker, famous for featuring in the James Bond [...]
Former government adviser Guy Levin leads the startup charge September 2, 2014 When Guy Levin left his job as a government adviser last year – where he’d worked since 2010, jumping from the Conservative Campaign Headquarters to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport and finally the Department for International Development – he was passionate about bridging the gap between startups and government. “I’d always been interested [...]
Playtech looks to boost its land gaming with €10.5m takeover September 2, 2014 GAMBLING software firm Playtech, whose shares leapt 8.6 last week after it reported soaring profits in the first half of the year, yesterday announced it had acquired two video lottery machine companies in Norway and Italy for €10.5m (£8.33m). Video lottery allows players to bet on the outcome of a video game, often replicating traditional [...]
Housebuilder Redrow posts record profits September 2, 2014 REDROW posted record sales and profits yesterday after government measures designed to stimulate the housing market boosted the firm’s number of completions last year by 27 per cent. The Flintshire-based housebuilder said it completed 3,597 sales in the 12 months to 30 June, compared with 2,827 the previous year thanks to the government’s Help-to-Buy scheme, [...]
Hello, hello, hello. Who will buy London’s New Scotland Yard for £250m? September 2, 2014 New Scotland Yard has been put up for sale with a price tag of £250m in the biggest shake up of the Metropolitan Police’s estate in more than 50 years. The 1960s office block in Victoria is being sold by the Mayor’s Office for Policing and Crime (MOPAC) as part of a strategy to sell [...]