Exclusive: Banks cleaning up their act as City sees steep drop in bullying and sexual harassment September 20, 2022 Banks, insurers and other financial services firms have come under pressure from the City watchdog, the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), in recent years to crack down on personal misconduct by individuals in regulated firms, and it seems these efforts are starting to pay off. City A.M. can reveal this morning that London’s financial services space [...]
Liz Truss drops any hope for UK-US trade deal as Global Britain’s Brexit efforts shift to Gulf, India, Australia and Japan September 20, 2022 The Prime Minister has stressed that her trade priority is post-Brexit striking deal with the Gulf states and India, and joining a trade pact with nations including Australia and Japan. At the same time, Liz Truss conceded that negotiations for free trade deal with the US will not restart for years as she flew to [...]
FirstGroup sells off US legacy greyhound property portfolio for £122m September 20, 2022 Transport giant FirstGroup is to sell off almost all of its legacy greyhound property portfolio for £122m. The train and bus company announced it will sell all but two if its remaining sites in the US to Twenty Lake Management for net proceeds of $140m. With expected completion in December of this year, it said [...]
Fuller’s sales above pre-covid levels amid concern over ‘unsustainable rise’ in energy costs September 20, 2022 Pub chain Fuller’s brought its sales back above pre-pandemic levels but has warned the energy crisis could give it bills of £18m. The company announced its sales in the first half of the financial year were three per cent up on the pandemic, and 50 per cent up on the same period last year. However, [...]
Value of private equity-backed ‘carve outs’ triples due to Covid and war in Ukraine September 20, 2022 The value of private equity-backed “carve out” deals, through which funds buy up an entire business line, subsidiary, or unit, has more than tripled over the past year. The value of carve out acquisitions by private equity funds jumped threefold from £3.8bn last year to £13.4bn in the year running up to 31 August 2022, [...]
Countries must work together more to meet climate goals, warns IEA September 20, 2022 Global net zero carbon targets could be delayed by decades without more collaboration between countries, warned the IEA.
TSB not for sale, chief of Spanish owner insists September 19, 2022 The chief of Spanish bank Banco Sabadell has dismissed speculation the firm is mulling ditching UK lender TSB. Cesar Gonzalez-Bueno, chief executive of Banco Sabadell, told reporters at an event today “there is no intention to sell” TSB. The push back comes after Edi Truell, a veteran City investor, is reportedly considering setting up an [...]
Childcare costing parents up to 70 per cent of total pay with huge differences across UK September 19, 2022 Childcare in England, Scotland and Wales for children under the age of two is costing some parents more than half of one person’s weekly take-home pay. In fact, in some areas, this figure climbs to a staggering 70 per cent of parents take-home pay. The analysis was shared by Business in the Community, The Prince’s [...]
Octopus unveils £40m support package to ease standing charges September 19, 2022 Octopus Energy has rolled out a £40m package to lower the burden of standing charges facing households this winter.
Rising fintech star explains why banks are rushing to jump on the lucrative BNPL bandwagon September 19, 2022 Virgin Money recently confirmed plans to enter Britain’s buy now, pay later (BNPL) market. The banking player is the latest player to start offering BNPL products, which generally can help people to spread the cost of purchases without adding to their overall cost. Earlier this year, another bank, NatWest, said that it planned to enter [...]