Aston Martin shrugs off Brexit fears with plan to double production by 2025 November 25, 2018 James Bond may have to change his car if he wants to stand out from the crowd as Aston Martin’s chief executive today revealed plans to double production by 2025. The company is shrugging off concerns around Brexit and slowing Chinese demand as it looks set to make 6,400 cars this year, but it has [...]
Yours for £4m: A piece of literary history goes up for sale as writer’s London home hits market November 25, 2018 THE HOUSE where William Makepeace Thackeray wrote Vanity Fair could be yours for around £4.5m as the iconic late-17th century building goes up for sale. Grade II-listed 16 Young Street, in the heart of Kensington, is currently home to both offices and Richmond University’s Kensington campus. It was once inhabited by 19th-century author William Makepeace [...]
Short-seller who took on Steinhoff sets sights on plastics firm RPC Group November 25, 2018 The short-seller whose research group uncovered financial irregularities at South African retailer Steinhoff has struck out at plastics company RPC Group. Fraser Perring claims the FTSE 250 company has used a string of acquisitions to mask falling earnings, and said it had used “aggressive accounting” processes to allocate large sums of money as goodwill, making [...]
Sadiq Khan faces fresh scrutiny over Crossrail delay after July dossier emerges November 25, 2018 London mayor Sadiq Khan is facing fresh questions over what he knew about the delay to Crossrail following the emergence of a dossier from July that indicated the £15.4bn project would not open on time. Khan has repeatedly said that he was only informed of the delay two days before it was made public on 31 August, [...]
George Osborne’s family wallpaper firm blames Brexit wobbles for loss November 25, 2018 The high-end fabric and wallpaper maker run by Sir Peter Osborne, father of former chancellor George Osborne, has pinned a substantial drop into the red on Brexit “uncertainty” and investment. Osborne & Little’s latest accounts, for the year ended 31 March, show a loss before tax of £350,000 on a turnover of £32.1m. In 2016, [...]
Babcock ‘may never know’ who was behind report that shocked shares November 25, 2018 The boss of Babcock has admitted it “may never know” who is behind a shadowy analyst that released a report which caused its shares to drop. The defence contractor took a hit on the markets last month after a report by Boatman Capital, an anonymous and unregistered entity purporting to be an analyst group, released [...]
Arch rivals Walsh and Branson in bidding war for struggling airline Flybe November 25, 2018 Arch airline rivals Willie Walsh and Richard Branson are set to go head to head in a bidding war for struggling airline Flybe. Walsh, who is chief executive of British Airways owner International Airlines Group (IAG), is facing competition from Branson’s airline Virgin Atlantic as the two carriers vie to take control of Flybe, which [...]
Crazy golf club Swingers tees up multimillion-pound investment as it prepares for US expansion November 25, 2018 London-based crazy golf club Swingers has received multimillion-pound funding from a private investment firm as the popularity of competitive leisure activities continues to grow. Cain International today announced it has made a “significant investment” in the golf club’s parent company Competitive Socialising, which it said would allow the leisure brand to open new venues in the US. [...]
BDO and Moore Stephens merger will create Britain’s fifth-largest accountancy firm November 25, 2018 BDO is preparing to merge with smaller accountancy rival Moore Stephens, in a move that will create a new fifth-largest auditor in the UK, bumping Grant Thornton off the spot. Partners at BDO, which currently holds the number six position, has approved a merger with Moore Stephens, currently the ninth-largest professional services firm in Britain, [...]
Business groups give their verdict on EU rubber-stamped Brexit deal November 25, 2018 After 18 months of wrangling, Theresa May has finally won approval for her withdrawal deal from the EU's 27 leaders. When the Prime Minister announced last week that the withdrawal agreement had been approved by her Cabinet, many businesses welcomed the news, saying it afforded them more clarity after months of uncertainty. Here's what they had [...]