Mortgage lending rises sharply in September for the fourth month in a row October 22, 2015 The amount of mortgage lending to UK homebuyers jumped by 12 per cent in the year to September as rising employment and earnings growth helped keep confidence levels high. Gross mortgage lending reached £20bn in September, up from £17.8bn the same time last year and two per cent higher than August’s lending total of £19.7bn, [...]
CMA rejects bank break-ups – but this one chart suggests big lenders are ripping customers off October 22, 2015 The competition watchdog may have ruled out breaking up Britain's biggest banks this morning – but this one chart shows customers are paying more money for poorer services from the "Big Four". The Competition & Markets Authority (CMA) compared satisfaction ratings from the consumer group Which? with personal current account prices at different banks. They [...]
The top 20 companies Brits want to work for – Google, Apple, John Lewis, and Asos top LinkedIn’s most in demand employers list October 22, 2015 People are scrambling to work at tech behemoth Google more than any other company in the UK, while high-street favourite John Lewis is the British company people most want to work for, according to figures published today. Google, famous for fun offices and free food among many perks, has topped LinkedIn's annual ranking of the most in demand employers [...]
September retail sales smash economist expectations paving the way for a record UK Black Friday 2015 October 22, 2015 There was good news for the high street after retail sales surged in September, boosted by the late August bank holiday weekend and beer sales related to the Rugby World Cup. Retail sales volumes jumped by 1.9 per cent on the month, smashing economist expectations of a 0.3 per cent rise, the Office for National [...]
Best and worst UK online shops: EE has the worst website, but AO.com and Liz Earle top ranking October 22, 2015 EE has been named the worst online shop in the UK by consumer watchdog Which?. Slammed by confused customers for a website that was difficult to navigate and lacking necessary information, the telecoms giant scored just 58 out of 100 in a Which? ranking of the best and worst online stores. Most of us prefer to do [...]
Debenhams share price rises as chief executive Michael Sharp reveals plan to step down “some time in 2016” October 22, 2015 Debenhams' share price opened up this morning as chief executive Michael Sharp confirmed he plans to leave the struggling department store business “sometime in 2016”. Sharp, who has been at the helm since September 2011, will stay on during Christmas and into the new year to help the board find his successor. “This process will evaluate internal [...]
Mothercare turnaround plan on track despite currency headwinds October 22, 2015 Mothercare's turnaround is on track after a solid second quarter performance, despite challenges from foreign currency headwinds. The childcare retailer, which is part-way through a significant overhaul implemented last year by chief executive Mark Newton-Jones, has grown UK like-for-likes 6.5 per cent, while total UK sales rose 1.8 per cent. Online sales under the former [...]
London Stock Exchange “confident” for 2015 after Worldpay IPO October 22, 2015 The figures The London Stock Exchange's revenue from continuing operations rose 12 per cent to £326.4m in the three months to the end of September, while headline income rose 85 per cent to £589.3m, it said today. This was buoyed by its information services division, where revenue increased 44 per cent to £133.7m, on the back of good growth at the FTSE and contribution from [...]
After Volkswagen crisis the next major corporate scandal is imminent – CIPD October 22, 2015 It won’t be long before the next major corporate scandal unfolds, according to research carried out by the CIPD, the professional body for HR and people development. During an investigation into ethical decision making in business, 29 per cent of company heads from across the world admitted to compromising on principles in order to meet [...]
SMMT British car manufacturing up 15.5 per cent from last September October 22, 2015 British car production is motoring away, with manufacturing in September up 15.5 per cent from last year. A total of 158,281 new cars were made in September, bringing the total for the year-to-date to 1.2m, a 3.3 per cent year-to-date increase on 2014, according to the latest data from the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders [...]