Zoopla is splurging £120m on this property data company January 31, 2017 Online property giant Zoopla has unveiled plans to buy property data company Hometrack for £120m. In a statement after the market closed today, Zoopla Property Group, which also owns the likes of USwitch and PrimeLocation, said the transaction will take place on a cash-free, debt-free basis. Zoopla will pay £108m when the deal completes, and £6m [...]
Nostrum’s shares rise as its operations pull ahead of expectations January 31, 2017 Nostrum Oil and Gas' shares are up after the firm's cost cutting measures and production levels exceeded expectations in its 2016 operational update. The figures In the oil firm's full-year operational update, average daily production was 40,351 barrels of oil equivalent per day (boepd), which was slightly above guidance of 40,000 boepd. Average production was higher in [...]
Vote Leave chief Matthew Elliot has joined a top think tank January 31, 2017 The chief executive of the official Brexit campaign group has joined think tank The Legatum Institute to focus on a future trading relationship between the US and the UK. Matthew Elliot served as chief executive of Vote Leave during the referendum campaign, and previously founded the TaxPayers' Alliance campaign group. He will join Legatium as [...]
MPs’ gambling report criticised by bookies January 31, 2017 A report into fixed odds betting terminals (FOBTs) has been criticised by bookmakers as a biased inquiry and a threat to jobs. Backed by a cross-party group of MPs, the report has recommended that the maximum stake on FOBTs be reduced from £100 to £2 in a bid to reduce addiction to gambling and antisocial [...]
HMRC lays out plans to scrap yearly tax return and replace it with continuous online reporting January 31, 2017 The annual tax return will be a thing of the past by 2020, according to HMRC – potentially saving the taxman over £8bn per year. Under the government's proposals – part of its Making Tax Digital project – taxpayers will keep the Revenue updated online on a continuous basis, rather than filing a yearly return. [...]
Diageo investing €25m in new Irish whiskey brand January 31, 2017 The world’s largest spirits producer will launch a new whiskey brand “Roe & Co” in March with bottles expected to retail at around £30. Until a new facility is completed at the company’s Guinness HQ in Dublin, Roe & Co will be produced from whiskies sourced across the firm’s Irish distilleries. The investment marks a [...]
Got an active dog? New technology could lower your pet insurance premiums January 31, 2017 The UK is a nation of dog lovers. And for those of us that know what it is, the country is also becoming rather a fan of the burgeoning internet of things. So with the good old fashioned entrepreneurial spirit Britain is famous for, PitPat, founded by former Dragons' Den contestant Andrew Nowell, has developed technology to monitor [...]
MPs will debate Donald Trump’s state visit next month January 31, 2017 MPs will next month hold a debate on whether US President Donald Trump should be granted a state visit to the the UK in light of his harsh new immigration regime. Trump instituted new rules last weekend, temporarily blocking passport holders from seven Muslim majority countries in Africa and the Middle East from travelling to America. [...]
Nintendo profits surge on weaker yen and smartphone success January 31, 2017 The falling yen, the sale of a baseball team, and Pokemon Go revenue, have all offset a decline in sales at the games giant Nintendo. The Japanese firm reported profits of 64.7bn yen (£456m) in the final quarter of last year. Nintendo’s profit outlook almost has almost doubled this year, and it is now expecting [...]
H&M profits get a small boost as new store opening on the cards January 31, 2017 Fashion darling H&M today revealed a small increase in profit after missing estimates for five of the previous six quarters. The figures The Spanish retailer's profits after tax stood at £1.7bn (18.636bn kronor) in the year ending 30 November 2016. Sales in the first 29 days of this month rose 11 percent at constant currency rates, up [...]