Subscription shaving service Cornerstone gets a smooth £3.5m investment led by Calculus Capital as former Graze chairman William Reeve joins as adviser August 7, 2017 British shaving products supplier Cornerstone has nabbed a £3.5m investment, in a new funding round led by private equity firm Calculus Capital. E-commerce veteran William Reeve, who has previously held positions on the boards of Graze, Lovefilm, Zoopla and Paddy Power, will join the Cornerstone team as an adviser. The new investment takes the total [...]
Harrods Bank sold to digital challenger Tandem | City A.M. August 7, 2017 The banking arm of luxury department store Harrods has been sold to digital challenger bank Tandem in what’s understood to be a multi-million pound deal, City A.M. can exclusively reveal. The Harrods Bank brand will disappear as Tandem takes over the loss-making bank’s business, including loans, savings and current accounts. The deal is a left [...]
UK house prices: House prices fall for fourth successive quarter, according to Halifax August 7, 2017 House prices fell by 0.2 per cent in the last three months, the fourth quarterly fall in a row. Prices rose 0.4 per cent between June and July, according to Halifax’s house price index, a partial turnaround from the 0.9 per cent fall in house prices recorded between May and June. The last time house [...]
Housebuilders have become hooked on the government’s help to buy scheme August 7, 2017 Have we witnessed the beginning of the end of help to buy? Shares in UK housebuilders plummeted at the end of last week after reports suggested the government has asked the London School of Economics (LSE) to review the scheme’s efficacy. It is arguable the scheme, whose first iteration was launched in April 2013, is [...]
Look to the communications sector for how an open-facing UK can thrive outside the EU August 7, 2017 In time honoured fashion, the night of the EU referendum saw the UK’s broadcast media descend on Basildon, a town well known for its forthright voters. It wasn’t surprising that its residents opted robustly for Brexit. And as the town’s mayor announced the result, the crowd at the count didn’t disappoint the TV crews. “Goodbye [...]
The government will rake in nearly £25bn in “sin taxes”on tobacco, alcohol and sugar in 2018 August 7, 2017 The UK government will make a total of £24.7bn from so-called “sin taxes” by 2018, more than offsetting the cost smokers, drinkers and the obese have on the taxpayer, a new report suggests. With high levels of taxation imposed on “sin” industries, policymakers are ignoring the UK’s ageing population, which is the real threat to [...]
Woodford’s stalwart fund, the Woodford Equity Income Fund, suffers after a nightmare fortnight August 6, 2017 Renowned investor Neil Woodford will be hoping this week holds fewer hidden surprises than the last fortnight, as some of the largest companies in his portfolio have seen their share prices plummet. The business which held the largest position in Woodford’s Equity Income Fund portfolio, drug company AstraZeneca, suffered as its shares plunged towards the [...]
City watchdog, the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), readies to launch a crackdown on peer-to-peer lending and crowdfuding August 6, 2017 The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) is readying to launch a review of peer-to-peer (P2P) lending, with the aim of standardising practice between platforms to protect investors. The FCA has been working on understanding issues in the P2P market after it put out a call for input last year, which found that it was difficult for [...]
Brexit: Second referendum”impossible” says ex-EU chief Romano Prodi as government said to eye £36bn “divorce bill” August 6, 2017 A former head of the European Commission has said a second referendum on Britain’s membership of the union is almost impossible. Romano Prodi, the former Prime Minister of Italy who led the commission between 1999 and 2004, said there will have to be “historic compromise” for Britain and the EU to come to an agreement, [...]
Relief for bookies as Hammond blocks review into fixed odds betting terminals to save treasury funds | City A.M. August 5, 2017 Philip Hammond has blocked a review into fixed odds betting terminals (FOBTs) which could have resulted in millions draining out of the treasury’s pocket. FOBTs allow players to bet as much as £100 every two seconds, and account for much of the in-store income of bookmakers. But concerns over gambling addictions and hefty losses had [...]