Carillion was ‘like a Ponzi scheme’ and inadequately scrutinised by government, top auditor says August 22, 2018 Carillion was “like a Ponzi scheme” and was inadequately scrutinised by the government, the UK's longest-serving auditor general has said. Sir John Bourn said he was “appalled” at the government for continuing to hand the outsourcing giant contracts, such as HS2, despite warnings. The outsourcing company, which had hundreds of public contracts that ranged from [...]
First-time buyers drop off market as mortgage completions sink August 22, 2018 First-time buyer mortgages fell sharply in the second quarter of 2018, signalling a drop in new homeowners coming onto London’s subdued property market. Roughly 10,300 new first-time buyer mortgages were completed in London in the three months to the end of June, marking a 3.7 per cent fall from the same period in the previous year. [...]
Revolut’s Metal card offers customers cryptocurrency cashback August 22, 2018 Fintech darling Revolut today offered customers cashback in the form of cryptocurrency if they sign up to its new Metal account tier, as it aims to generate more revenue from its 2.5m customers. Those who adopt the steel card can get up to one per cent cashback in either fiat or digital currency on transactions made [...]
FTSE 250 technical products supplier Diploma snaps up FS Cables in £18m deal August 22, 2018 FTSE 250 technical services firm Diploma today snapped up a pair of businesses in a deal which it says will be immediately earnings enhancing. The company has bought FS Cables, which comprises Caplink and FSC Global, for around £18m. St Albans-based FS Cables supplies cable products to installers, end users and wholesales in a range of [...]
Superdrug tells thousands of customers to change passwords after cyber attack August 22, 2018 Thousands of Superdrug's online customers have been targeted by cyber criminals who claim to have obtained their personal details. The company told customers to change their online passwords after hackers claimed to have stolen information on approximately 20,000 users, but the retailer said it has only seen evidence so far that 386 accounts have been hacked. [...]
Warm weather adds sunshine to Grafton Group profits despite flat expectations August 22, 2018 Builders’ merchanting business Grafton Group posted a nine per cent revenue rise in the first half of 2018, despite warning that overall conditions in the UK market were set to remain flat for the rest of the year. Revenue climbed to £1.45bn in the six months leading up to the end of June, as the [...]
Flooring distributor Headlam shares plummet as sales slow down in first half August 22, 2018 Shares in floor covering distributor Headlam dived five per cent after markets opened today as it reported a steep drop in sales in the first half of the year. Like-for-like revenue at the firm took a hit compared to last year, falling 5.2 per cent. Before tax profit edged up 0.9 per cent to £17.73m – while it [...]
Debenhams names new finance boss August 22, 2018 Debenhams has named Rachel Osborne as its new chief financial officer at a crucial time for the retailer amid the crisis on the high street. Osborne is currently finance boss of Domino's Pizza Group, but announced a sudden departure in June, sending the company's shares down five per cent. She was the third CFO of Domino's in [...]
Laura Ashley scraps dividend after profits are slashed August 22, 2018 Laura Ashley blamed “a changing retail landscape” for a dramatic fall in profits this morning that saw them all but eradicated, and which led to its chairman not recommending a dividend for investors. The figures Amid a “challenging” trading environment the high street stalwart saw statutory profits crash by 98 per cent for the 12 [...]
Banks told not to assume fraud victims are at fault as scams become more sophisticated August 22, 2018 Banks have been reminded to treat fraud victims fairly and not assume customers were “grossly negligent” following an increase in the sophistication of scams. The Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS) has told banks they should take into account the evolution and sophistication of frauds and scams. Banks are not liable for money lost if the customer is [...]