Bovis shares are down after it admitted housebuilding slowed at the end of this year December 28, 2016 Shares in Bovis fell this morning, after it admitted it completed on fewer homes than expected at the end of this year. Shares were down 4.9 per cent at 814.5p in early trading, after the housebuilder said it expected volume delivery for 2016 to be lower than previously expected, at between 3,950 and 4,000 homes, with 180 completions [...]
No tears for Boohoo as it nears $20m acquisition of US firm Nasty Gal’s assets December 28, 2016 Boohoo's share price rose this morning after the online fashion retailer announced it has initially agreed to snap up several assets from US group Nasty Gal for a cool $20m (£16.2m). Joint chief executives Mahmud Kamani and Carol Kane said the purchase agreement, which is Boohoo's second acquisition announced this month, is an "ideal next step" [...]
Over half of consumers expect to still be paying off Christmas shopping this time next year December 28, 2016 Nearly nine out of 10 people in the UK will wake up with a post-festive spending hangover in 2017, according to price comparison service uSwitch. Britons are heading into the new year with an average credit card debt of £636 after consumers put £11bn on plastic to fund Christmas. In a survey of 1,261 adults, uSwitch estimate [...]
Sports Direct sells Dunlop brand to Japanese buyer for £112m as it refocuses on becoming “Selfridges of sports” December 27, 2016 Sports Direct is selling the Dunlop brand for $137.5m (£112.3m) to Japan's Sumitomo Rubber Industries (SRI) as part of its bid to become "the Selfridges of sports retail". The high street chain is re-focusing on developing its relationship with third party brands and its core UK business and has agreed to sell Dunlop's sporting goods and licensing businesses [...]
Voters will be asked to show ID at the ballot box as government aims to crackdown on voter fraud December 27, 2016 Voters will be asked to provide proof of identification at polling stations in a government trial scheme to reduce electoral fraud. At local elections in 2018, different local authorities in England will ask voters to provide different forms of ID including driving licences, utility bills or passports. The initiative follows a report into electoral fraud and how to [...]
Rate of home ownership in the UK may be much lower than official data suggests, claims think tank December 27, 2016 The level of home ownership in the UK may be lower than conventional rates suggest, with many more now renting, according to new research. Many people now share ownership of a property or live as lodgers, suggest the Resolution Foundation think tank, meaning an official estimate of a 64 per cent home ownership rate may be [...]
UK could save nearly £40bn a year by leaving single market and customs union, claims pro-Brexit campaign group December 27, 2016 The UK could save nearly £40bn a year if it left both the European single market and customs union in a "clean Brexit", pro-leave group Change Britain has claimed in a new report. Change Britain, which is backed by a host of former Leave campaigners including Michael Gove, Nigel Lawson and Gisela Stuart, says cutting loose [...]
Philip Green says BHS successor Dominic Chappell must pay part of pension fund black hole December 26, 2016 Sir Philip Green, the former owner of BHS, wants regulators to force his successor to contribute towards plugging the black hole in the collapsed company’s pension fund, according to reports. A payment by Dominic Chappell, who infamously bought the retailer from Green for £1, is one of the conditions of the billionaire Green making his [...]
Russia plane crash likely not terrorism says intelligence service as fragments of wreckage are found December 26, 2016 Terrorism is not among the main reasons being investigated for the plane crash in Russia which killed 92 people early on Christmas morning according to the country’s defence ministry, as it expands its search in an attempt to locate the aircraft’s black box flight recorder. Russia’s Ministry of Defence has found 86 fragments of the [...]
Boxing Day footfall slump points to domination of the online retailers December 26, 2016 Boxing Day high street retail sales have fallen sharply year on year as UK shoppers stay at home and push online sales to record heights, according to early data. Half day footfall fell by six per cent compared to Boxing Day last year, according to data from retail monitors Springboard. A decline of 16.6 per [...]