Salaries are soaring among building firms as pressure mounts to find skilled bricklayers, says Federation of Master Builders April 26, 2016 More than two-thirds of small UK building firms forecast a jump in salaries and wages over the next six months as competition for skilled bricklayers intensifies. Brickies are already able to command wages of up to £60,000 per year in London and around £45,000 a year in the north of England. However these salaries could be even higher in the future [...]
These are the most sought-after cities for British stag and hen parties April 26, 2016 Wedding season is nearly upon us, and brides and grooms to be are likely to be snowed under with planning the most important event of their lives – the bachelor party. London is the most sought-after destination for British soon-to-be-weds, according to new research, but with bachelor and hen parties becoming ever more expensive, aspiring husbands [...]
EU referendum: Usdaw union backs Remain ahead of vote in June April 26, 2016 A second trade union in a week has come out in support of remaining in the EU, in a blow to Leave campaigners. Usdaw, one of the UK's largest trade unions, today announced it would be backing British membership of the EU at its conference, a day after the CWU union committed its support for the same [...]
Hinkley Point C: Senior representatives from EDF called by MPs to explain delay to investment decision April 26, 2016 Senior representatives from EDF have been called by MPs to explain why there has been a delay in making an investment decision on a new nuclear power station at Hinkley Point C. On Sunday it came to light that EDF had delayed its final investment decision on the building of a new £18bn power plant [...]
Former Barclays boss Bob Diamond confirms bid talks for bank’s Africa unit April 26, 2016 Bob Diamond, the former Barclays chief executive who resigned from the bank in the wake of the Libor-rigging scandal, has taken another step towards seizing Barclays' Africa arm. Atlas Mara, the London-listed investment company Diamond co-founded in 2013, today revealed it was in talks for Barclays Africa unit which was put up for sale last month due [...]
Megabrew: American Antitrust Institute flags “serious competitive concerns” with AB InBev’s takeover of SABMiller April 26, 2016 An American antitrust organisation has flagged "serious competitive concerns" with the AB InBev takeover of British drinks giant SABMiller. "An AB InBev-SABMiller combination raises serious competitive concerns in the US beer market," Diana Moss, president of the American Antitrust Institute (AAI) said in a letter to the US Department of Justice. The proposed merger, which was [...]
This is what you should be eating based on your job, according to healthy fast food chain POD April 26, 2016 Keeping up a healthy diet in the City has never been easier, but are we eating the right food for our jobs? News reaches us from healthy food chain POD that London workers should be making diet plans based on what they do for a living. There's plenty of evidence to suggest what we eat [...]
UK drug developer Vernalis looks to raise £40m for US expansion April 26, 2016 Drug developer Vernalis, maker of cough and cold treatments, is looking to raise £40m from a share issue to fund US expansion and bring more products to market. The AIM-traded firm has issued 80m shares at 50p each. Vernalis currently has four US cough and cold programmes under development and is also planning on rolling out and relaunching two existing products. Ian Garland, chief executive of [...]
Glencore’s biggest shareholder reduces stake in embattled miner April 26, 2016 Glencore's biggest shareholder has reduced its stake in the embattled miner and trader which has been whipsawed by tumbling commodity prices. The Qatar Investment Authority (QIA) today took its holding below nine per cent according to a regulatory filing. Read more: Glencore's chief executive took home £1.1m last year Today's move could surprise some investors, given [...]
Energy sector bucks the M&A trend as deals value powers to highest year-to-date level since 2011 April 26, 2016 Deal activity in the energy and utility sector has powered to its highest year-to-date level since 2011. The mergers and acquisitions (M&A) surge comes in a year that has seen most sectors in decline after a record 2015 in which more than $5 trillion (£3.4 trillion) of deals were announced in total. Between 1 January and [...]