John Laing Infrastructure Fund boosts profit ahead of £1.45bn takeover August 31, 2018 John Laing Infrastructure Fund (JLIF) today announced a spike in pre-tax profit for the half-year, ahead of its takeover by a consortium for £1.45bn. Earlier this month JLIF agreed to a £1.45bn takeover by a consortium which includes Dalmore Capital and Equitix Investment Management. Read more: GAM Holding sets out plan to pay back investors [...]
Red tape for Red Bull: The ban-happy nanny state is coming for energy drinks August 31, 2018 I don’t remember the last time I saw a six-year-old queuing for a cappuccino in Pret. Nor have I ever noticed one standing in line, with their own cash, paying for their fizzy drink of choice over the counter at corner shop. That’s because realistically these instances cannot happen without the assistance of an adult, who [...]
DEBATE: Is Entrepreneurs’ Relief worth the cost to the government? August 31, 2018 Is Entrepreneurs’ Relief worth the cost to the government? Chris Chapple, tax partner at BDO, says YES. Entrepreneurs’ Relief (ER) is a generous tax relief for business owners – but let’s remember why it was created. Tax law has long offered reliefs to entrepreneurs who sell all or part of their business, of which ER [...]
Up the blockchain beanstalk in search of a golden goose August 31, 2018 Remember the tale of Jack and the Beanstalk, when the hero traded his very last asset – the valuable family cow – for a handful of magic beans, and by some miracle of climbing the resulting beanstalk he ended up living happily ever after, thanks to proceeds from a bag of gold, a golden goose, [...]
It’s not rocket science – if we want more maths teachers, we should pay them more August 31, 2018 Britain faces a teaching crisis: half of new maths and physics teachers quit within five years. Just 47 per cent of those teaching these subjects at GCSE level have a relevant degree, and in the most deprived schools, it’s as low as one in five. Thursday’s report from the Education Policy Institute (EPI) paints a [...]
Sales down again for Frankie & Benny’s owner The Restaurant Group but share price rises August 31, 2018 Frankie & Benny's owner The Restaurant Group reported another slip in sales this morning, as this year's changeable weather deterred punters from eating out. But shares in the company were up 3.8 per cent in early trading as it flagged improved trading since the end of the first half of the year. The figures Like-for-like [...]
UK house prices suffered their biggest drop month-on-month since 2012 in August August 31, 2018 In August UK house prices suffered their greatest month-on-month fall since July 2012, according to new data released today. Building society Nationwide's house price index showed prices fell by half a per cent in August, as annual house price growth slowed to two per cent. The average price of a house slipped to £214,745 in [...]
Three-day weekend strike affecting South Western Railway services begins August 31, 2018 A strike on South Western Railway (SWR) services started overnight, and is due to last all weekend, causing disruption to commuters. The three-day strike started at midnight Friday and runs until midnight Sunday, leaving SWR running a reduced service across all routes save its island line to the Isle of Wight. It affects lines from [...]
Caffeine high: Coca-Cola to buy Costa from Whitbread in £4bn transaction August 31, 2018 Coca-Cola is set to buy high street coffee chain Costa for £3.9bn. The fizzy drink giant wants to add coffee to its drink line up, and has moved for Costa following owner Whitbread’s announcement earlier this year that it intends to spin the hot drink business off. Whitbread, which bought the chain for just £19m [...]
Editor’s Notes: Time for some forward guidance on the next Bank of England governor, Labour loses a man of principle and Warren Buffett’s lunch date August 31, 2018 Mark Carney’s first speech as governor of the Bank of England was on 28 August 2013, at a lunch co-hosted by the CBI and the Institute of Directors. I was working for the latter at the time, and was leaning against the back wall with a glass of warm white wine in my hand as [...]