UK Weather: Storms Desmond, Eva and Frank have already cost insurers £24m, with the total bill looking like it could be £1.3bn January 11, 2016 Insurers have already forked out nearly £24m in emergency payments to deal with the aftermath of storms Desmond, Eva and Frank. Statistics released today by the Association of British Insurers (ABI), which is a trade association for insurers and represents over 250 companies, revealed that these emergency payments comprised of £9m to domestic customers and £15m [...]
Smaller businesses are less optimistic on growth January 11, 2016 Confidence among small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) has dropped, according to new survey figures published this morning. Of over 1000 SMEs surveyed by Bibby Financial Services (BFS), 36 per cent said they expected to grow in the first three months of 2016. It compares with 46.4 per cent who expected growth in the last release [...]
Co-op Group grows its legal services offering with acquisition of Collective Legal Solutions January 11, 2016 The Co-op Group has today announced that it has purchased Collective Legal Solutions Group, in a bid to grow its legal services business. Collective Legal Solutions, which has over 100 associates and support colleagues and was founded in 2007, has been acquired to strengthen Co-op’s already existing legal services offering. Co-op Legal Services was set [...]
London house prices: First-time buyers pay £91,000 deposit as fewer get on the property ladder in 2015, according to Halifax January 11, 2016 First-time home buyers needed an average deposit of £91,409 to buy a house in the capital last year, according to figures from a major British lender. The figures, published this morning by Halifax, showed London deposits were nearly three times the national average at £32,927. The deposits paid by first-time buyers nationally rose 13 per [...]
London leads the UK’s economic expansion January 11, 2016 London's economic growth is outpacing the rest of the UK, according to new survey figures published this morning. Lloyds Bank’s purchasing managers’ index (PMI) – compiled from a survey of businesses – scored 56.9 for the capital. Scores above 50 signal growth. The second and third fastest growing regions were the East and South East while the [...]
New EEF survey shows only half of UK manufacturers think Britain is a competitive place to do business, saying strong sterling, volatile markets, EU referendum pose big risks for 2016 January 11, 2016 Britain is “losing its gloss” as a global leader in manufacturing, according to a new poll out today from the EEF. The annual survey, conducted by the EEF and Aldermore, found that just 56 per cent of British manufacturers view the UK as a competitive location for manufacturing, down dramatically from the 70 per cent [...]
New mobile challenger bank Starling Bank gets $70m investment as Pinsent Masons finds 38 per cent of Londoners would consider using payment apps January 11, 2016 A new British bank focused exclusively on current accounts has secured a $70m (£48m) investment from an American investor. Starling Bank, which applied to the Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA) and the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) at the end of last year for a banking license, announced the latest funding round today. Commenting on his $70m [...]
Star Wars: The Force Awakens becomes third biggest film ever after $53m opening weekend in China January 10, 2016 Star Wars: The Force Awakens made $53m (£37m) in ticket sales on its first weekend in China, making it the third highest-grossing film globally in history, according to Walt Disney Studio estimates. The film was also the highest-grossing ever to hit Chinese screens. Globally, it has raked in $1.73bn, overtaking Jurassic World's $1.67bn haul. It [...]
UK grocers Morrisons, Sainsbury’s and Tesco set to show their hand in Christmas battle for sales January 10, 2016 The winners and losers of the battle for this winter’s Christmas dinner will be laid bare this week as Morrisons, Sainsbury’s and Tesco prepare to report tough trading amid intense competition in the grocery sector. Morrisons will report its Christmas trading figures on Tuesday, with the Bradford-based chain expected to post a two per cent decline [...]
If we all budge up, we can house a growing London January 10, 2016 Londoners now take for granted the facilities, amenities and urban buzz of which they are a part. With that comes a rising population and urgent need for more housing. It’s hard to imagine that there were five decades before 1984 when London, along with cities across the western world, were depopulating. This depopulation coincided with [...]