Sports Direct confirms closures of four more House of Fraser stores around the UK November 14, 2018 Four more House of Fraser branches are set to close under new owner Sports Direct as negotiations with a landlord broke down. House of Fraser said today that its Intu-owned sites in Norwich and Nottingham, as well as shopping centre stores in Lakeside in Essex and Metrocentre in Gateshead, will close in early 2019. The [...]
Brexit: Theresa May warned she will lose support of her party over draft deal November 14, 2018 Theresa May was today warned she will lose the support of Conservative MPs if a draft Brexit agreement could see the UK being kept in a customs union with the EU. Veteran Brexit supporter Peter Bone issued the stark warning to the Prime Minister less than two hours before a meeting of the cabinet to [...]
London house prices: Homes in the capital lose value despite the UK’s resilient property market November 14, 2018 London house prices fell 0.3 per cent in the year to September, according to Office for National Statistics (ONS) data released today. Growth in the capital lagged far behind the UK-wide average, which was 3.5 per cent, a small increase from 3.1 per cent last month. The growth puts the average house price across the country [...]
Here are the six (yes, six) reviews the audit sector is currently facing November 14, 2018 As 2018 continues to be the annus horribilis of audit, bean counters are finding that sector reviews are, as the saying goes, like buses. With news this week that MPs are going to launch their own super-inquiry, the sector now faces six reviews. If that seems like more than you’ve got to grips with, here’s a [...]
British Land swings to £42m loss as challenging retail market hits portfolio value November 14, 2018 British Land has swung to a £42m pre-tax loss as its retail portfolio value fell 4.5 per cent due to the “challenging” market. The FTSE 100 property company, which owns shopping centres, supermarkets, high street stores, offices and residential properties, said its retail portfolio fell £307m to £6.3bn in the first half of the year. [...]
Speedy recovery: Tools supplier improves dividend as profits and revenue grow November 14, 2018 Speedy Hire upped its dividend after growing revenue and more than doubling profit in its half-year results today, sending shares upwards slightly. The tool hire company said it was well on the way to delivering its turnaround plan years after a battle between the board and activist investor Toscafund, which wanted it to merge with HSS. The [...]
Lloyds pays out to whistleblower who alleged HBOS cover-up November 14, 2018 Lloyds Banking Group has apologised and paid an undisclosed amount in compensation to a whistleblower who produced an internal report that criticised the lender’s handling of a large-scale fraud. The bank previously settled with Sally Masterton, a former senior risk officer at HBOS, over claims she had been unfairly dismissed. Masterton “acted with integrity and [...]
Taxi firm Addison Lee loses appeal against drivers earning national minimum wage and holiday pay November 14, 2018 Taxi firm Addison Lee lost its appeal against an employment tribunal decision today, which found that drivers were not self-employed contractors running their own businesses but in fact employees of the taxi company. The Employment Appeal Tribunal (EAT) upheld the Employment Tribunal’s September 2017 ruling that drivers were entitled to receive the national minimum wage [...]
Chinese tech giant Tencent beats expectations on quarterly profit, but gets hurt by slowed revenue growth November 14, 2018 Tencent has trounced consensus estimates on profits in its third quarter, as gains from its investments helped to offset weaker results in its core gaming business hit by legal woes. Its share price was down 0.8 per cent as markets closed in Hong Kong this morning. The figures Net profit in the three months to September [...]
Italian bond yields rise sharply and stocks fall after Rome defies the EU over its budget November 14, 2018 Italian bond yields hit three-week highs and the country's stocks slumped after Rome defied the European Commission over its controversial budget plan. The Italian government intensified its standoff with the EU last night by refusing to change its deficit target of 2.4 per cent of GDP and its growth forecast of 1.5 per cent. But [...]