Google tax deal: Taxing companies is after all just a stealthy way to tax people January 26, 2016 Another day, another deluge of headlines about a multinational’s tax affairs. It seems that Google’s £130m payment is motivated, in part at least, by concerns over George Osborne’s “diverted profits tax.” He claims it’s a great success, others describe the amount is “derisory .” Both miss the point spectacularly. We shouldn't be taxing companies in [...]
CMC announces the price range for its February IPO, giving it a market capitalisation of more than £730m January 26, 2016 Spread-betting company CMC Markets has announced it is looking at a price range of between 235p and 275p when it floats on the London Stock Exchange in February. At the midpoint of the range, the company would have a market capitalisation of £736m, and is offering 90.4m ordinary shares, representing 31 per cent of the company's [...]
Apple earnings: What to expect from first quarter results on Tuesday as iPhone 6s and 6s Plus risk sales slowdown January 26, 2016 Apple will reveal its most crucial earnings in years as fears have been stoked about softer sales after the launch of the iPhone 6s and 6s Plus as well as Apple Watch. Revenue is expected to come in at $76.6bn (£53.7bn) and earnings per share of $3.23, a rise of 2.7 per cent and 5.6 per cent, according to analyst [...]
Savills names Nick Ferguson new chairman as Peter Smith steps down January 26, 2016 Savills has named Sky boss Nick Ferguson its future chairman, after Peter Smith steps down from the role in May. Ferguson joins the board as a non-executive director from today (26 January) and will take up the reins when Smith retires after the property group's AGM. Savills chief executive Jeremy Helsby said: "On behalf of everyone at Savills [...]
Argos chief operating officer David Robinson jumps ship to Conviviality Retail January 26, 2016 Argos chief operating officer David Robinson has jumped ship, joining Bargain Booze and Wine Rack group Conviviality Retail. Robinson will join the off licence business, which recently acquired wholesaler and distributor Matthew Clark, as managing director. His start date has not yet been confirmed. During his time at Home Retail Group, where he currently sits on the [...]
EasyJet’s share price dips as airline reveals revenues down after terrorist attacks in Sharm-el-Sheikh and Paris January 26, 2016 EasyJet's share price fell this morning after revealing its revenues have been dampened by reduced demand for flights in the wake of the terrorist attacks in Sharm-el-Sheikh and Paris last autumn. The figures Total revenues fell 0.1 per cent to £930m in the three months to 31 December, with currency headwinds also eating into growth: EasyJet recorded negative [...]
Visa’s contactless payments soar by 250pc in the UK, as firm reports record revenues in Europe January 26, 2016 Cash is no longer king in the UK, where Visa Europe's contactless payments soared by 250 per cent last year. The electronic payments business said that people purchasing items by waving their Visa credit or debit cards over payment terminals now accounts for 1-in-7 of their transactions in the UK, up from just 1-in-25 a year [...]
Overseas investor interest in London commercial property slows as prices come under pressure January 26, 2016 Investor interest in the UK’s commercial property market recorded its slowest rate of growth in more than two years, according to a survey of the country’s leading surveyors, as demand from foreign buyers waned. In its latest quarterly commercial market report, the Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) found that buyer enquiries continued to rise in [...]
UK outperforms Europe for early-stage mergers and acquisitions activity despite Brexit fears January 26, 2016 The UK is outperforming the Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA) region for early-stage mergers and acquisitions (M&A) activity, according to new research published today. Dealmakers in the country are clearly undeterred by the recent market volatility, with data from financial software provider Intralinks showing that the number of M&A deals that are either in preparation [...]
Investors shunning small and medium sized businesses because of lack of suitably skilled board members, with many venture capital fund managers opting to drop original chief executive January 26, 2016 The UK's small and medium sized businesses are missing out on valuable funding opportunities because they cannot recruit the right skills to their boards. According to a survey of venture capital fund managers released today by executive search firm Intramezzo, 90 per cent said that a strong leadership team was one of their top criteria [...]