Construction industry breaks records as employment levels climb August 22, 2018 The UK’s construction industry enjoyed bumper levels of employment last year, as the value of new work hit its highest level on record. More than 1.3m construction workers were employed and new work was worth £109m in 2017, smashing pre-crisis levels as a result of private sector growth, according to the Office for National Statistics (ONS). [...]
Service sector profitability at lowest level in four years August 22, 2018 UK service sector profitability was at the lowest level in four years at the beginning of 2018 in a drop that was driven by the struggling high street. The area saw the sharpest decline in a year between January and March this year due to poor general retailer performance, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) said. Profit [...]
Scrapping 1p and 2p coins would have no significant impact on prices, Bank of England says August 22, 2018 Scrapping 1p and 2p coins would have “no significant impact” on prices, Bank of England economists have said. The government had considered scrapping coppers coins earlier this year but subsequently ruled out the move after a public backlash, with many arguing retailers would round up prices to the nearest 5p more often than rounding down. [...]
Culture secretary Jeremy Wright outlines plans to safeguard UK broadcasting post-Brexit August 22, 2018 Culture secretary Jeremy Wright will today address fears Brexit could hit the TV broadcasting industry's workforce by outlining the government's ambitions to ensure talent are granted mobility between Europe and the UK. Speaking at the Edinburgh TV Festival today, Wright will hail the strength of the UK's public service broadcasting sector, while assuring industry figures the government [...]
Costain enforces high-tech approach as profits blossom August 22, 2018 Costain Group reported growing profit margins this morning in the wake of a business shift towards technology-driven markets. Underlying profit climbed to £22.8m during the first six months of 2018, rising eight per cent from the same period in the previous year. The FTSE Small Cap infrastructure contractor announced an eight per cent hike in [...]
Adland is failing to help startups and SMEs grow August 22, 2018 Much has been made over the last few months of the struggles of the network agency groups, Sir Martin Sorrell’s departure from WPP, and his subsequent immediate launch of S4C. But amid these turbulent times the advertising and media industry continues to miss a significant trick. It’s obsessed with big – winning big brands, big [...]
Markets hold their breath as US and Chinese trade talks resume August 22, 2018 Trade negotiations between the US and China are set to resume today in a bid to avert a trade war between the world's two largest economies. Treasury undersecretary David Malpass will meet Chinese Commerce vice minister Wang Shouwen, continuing discussions through to tomorrow. While President Donald Trump said earlier this week he did not "anticipate much" [...]
Former Arsenal shareholder settles lawsuit with Deloitte and Linklaters August 22, 2018 Former major Arsenal Football Club shareholder Lady Nina Bracewell-Smith, has settled a lawsuit with her advisers over the sale of her shares in the club in 2011 to US businessman Stan Kroenke. Bracewell-Smith accused magic circle law firm Linklaters and Big Four accountant Deloitte of negligence in relation to the sale of her 15.9 per cent stake [...]
The Hut Group snaps up new office space at MediaCityUK in Salford for tech team August 22, 2018 The Hut Group, one of the UK's largest private companies, has taken up extra office space to accommodate its rapidly expanding head count. The company, which owns beauty and health brands including Skinstore and Lookfantastic as well as range of ecommerce sites, has snapped up space in Salford's MediaCityUK. The area is also home to large [...]
GDPR has kickstarted a fresh data culture and given rise to a new generation of marketers August 22, 2018 The new General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) era has been upon us for a few months since implementation in late May – which took some businesses off guard. The flurry of emails to customer inboxes around GDPR compliance has (mostly) stopped. As every business should know by now, this new European regulation means companies will [...]