Save high street with business rates freeze says lobby group September 6, 2018 A freeze on business rates should be the central plank of government efforts to help the struggling British high street, a small business lobby group will say today. The Federation of Small Businesses (FSB) will today call for no increase in rates in April 2019, the deadline for the next inflation-linked increase in business rates, [...]
‘No place’ for illegal Russian activity in City vows minister after Skripal attackers are revealed September 6, 2018 THE CITY minister and MP for Salisbury, John Glen, vowed last night to ramp up efforts against Russian dirty money channeled through the UK’s financial system. Glen’s pledge came after Prime Minister Theresa May said that the attempted murder of former spy Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia in March this year was carried out [...]
Directional Aviation acquires PrivateFly in booking platform expansion September 5, 2018 PrivateFly was acquired today by Directional Aviation to form one of the world’s largest online booking platforms for private jet travel. In a deal which is likely to reshape the consolidation of the digital on-demand private airplane market, Hertfordshire-based Private Fly will be taken over after 11 years after it was first launched. Onesky, the [...]
Facebook and Twitter grilled under the Senate spotlight over social media abuse September 5, 2018 Silicon Valley heavyweights Facebook and Twitter faced a grilling from US senators in an Intelligence Committee hearing earlier today, pushing tech stocks down on Wall Street. Twitter's share price tanked more than five per cent, while Facebook's dropped 2.3 per cent. Meanwhile, Netflix and Snapchat shares both fell by more than four per cent. In [...]
Lloyds axes 380 jobs but adds more amid digital strategy shake-up September 5, 2018 LLOYDS Banking Group is axing nearly 400 jobs as part of a company-wide shake-up to bolster its online and mobile services performance, it emerged last night. Roughly 435 new roles will also be created in the efforts to compete in an increasingly digital market. A Lloyds spokesperson said that the new roles will be created [...]
Toyota recalls more than 1m cars over fire risk September 5, 2018 Japanese carmaker Toyota said today it was recalling more than 1m cars globally because of an electrical fault that could lead to fires. In the UK 32,393 cars are affected, consisting of Prius, Prius Plug-in and C-HR Hybrid models manufactured between October 2015 and May 2018. Read more: Toyota invests $500m in Uber to propel [...]
Melrose hires bankers to sell GKN unit September 5, 2018 Melrose has hired bankers to sell off a unit of GKN, the British engineering stalwart it paid £8bn to takeover earlier this year. According to Sky News, Melrose has appointed investment bank RW Baird to explore a sale for off-highway powertrain, a business that makes gearboxes and driveshafts for vehicles in the mining and agriculture [...]
Credit Suisse hires Antonia Rowan as head of UK advisory and corporate broking September 5, 2018 Credit Suisse has promoted Antonia Rowan to head the bank's UK advisory and corporate broking business, replacing Lewis Burnett after he was poached by BNP Paribas. Rowan will start her role with immediate effect, according to an internal memo seen by City A.M. and confirmed by a Credit Suisse spokesperson. Rowan joined Credit Suisse as [...]
Property-lending challenger firm Glenhawk lands £75m funding September 5, 2018 Short-term finance disruptor Glenhawk has secured £75m of funding in a sign of the UK’s rapidly growing alternative property-lending sector, City A.M. can reveal today. The latest cash injection from two UK institutions, one of which is Shawbrook Bank, comes six months after the specialist lender launched, having amassed a pipeline of £35m and lent over [...]
John Lewis have it right: changing tastes show retail’s centre cannot hold September 5, 2018 If you look past the shiny new signage on the front of the John Lewis & Partners flagship Oxford Street store, there is a much more interesting change going on inside. The retailer’s new name is not the only way it is signalling pride in its employees. Partners are becoming more visible throughout stores. “While [...]