Rents are rising at the fastest rate for six months May 24, 2016 Rents are rising at the fastest rate for six months, according to data released today, reaching an average of £793 in England and Wales in April. Rents are 2.4 per cent higher than at the same point last year, according to the latest research from Your Move and Reeds Rains. Three regions – the East Midlands, West [...]
Bayer’s $62bn Monsanto bid: Are European firms about to take over the world? May 24, 2016 Just when you thought the dearth of outbound M&A in Europe was here to stay, Germany’s Bayer sweeps in with a $62bn bid for US agrichemicals giant Monsanto. Not only would the tie-up create the world’s largest agricultural supplier, more significantly for Europe, it would be the biggest outbound takeover by a German corporate on [...]
If businesses in the leisure and hospitality industry listened to their customers it could add £3.2bn to the sector May 24, 2016 The hospitality and leisure industry could get a £3.2bn boost if it responds better to reviews, research published today suggested. Improving how the sector manages and responds to customer feedback could add an extra £2bn to the UK economy with the impact on the sector’s large supply chain contributing a further £1.2bn, according to a report [...]
Are Apple’s glory days over? May 24, 2016 It has been among the most innovative companies in the world for decades, but Apple’s star has dimmed recently. It reported its first fall in sales since 2003 – before the iPhone even existed – and was overtaken as the world’s most valuable company again last week by Google’s parent Alphabet, after briefly surpassing it in [...]
RHS Chelsea Flower Show attracts Britain’s biggest business bigwigs including Rupert Murdoch and Richard Desmond May 24, 2016 Some of Britain’s most famous business names flocked to the world-famous RHS Chelsea Flower Show on Monday. The annual event, organised by the Royal Horticultural Society, was attended by the former chief executive of J Sainsbury Justin King, Indian steel czar Lakshmi Mittal, media mogul Rupert Murdoch and his new wife Jerry Hall, and owner of [...]
Bricklayers earning up to £1,000 a week as construction wages skyrocket fuelled by recruitment crisis and Brexit fears May 24, 2016 A combination of Brexit fears and a recruitment crisis in the construction industry has pushed wages up – so much so that bricklayers can now earn up to £1,000 a week. New research out today from the Recruitment & Employment Confederation (REC) shows that more than six in ten recruitment agencies (63 per cent) say that [...]
Fraud squad governance much improved since David Green’s appointment, finds report May 24, 2016 Governance at the Serious Fraud Office (SFO) has improved significantly since the appointment of David Green as director, a report out today has found. The HM Crown Prosecution Service Inspectorate report discovered that the fraud squad had achieved a fundamental shift in its leadership over the last four years. In particular, the report praises the agency for [...]
How London has leapfrogged rivals to become a global hotspot for tech May 24, 2016 London has overtaken New York and Shanghai in a global ranking of top tech cities, thanks to its "incredible entrepreneurial attitude". The capital is now the second most likely city in the world to create the next big tech giant, according to EY’s annual Attractiveness Survey, behind only San Francisco. The result moves London up [...]
Poor disclosure of people issues is leaving investors at a third of FTSE 100 companies in the dark May 24, 2016 Annual reports at a third of FTSE 100 firms are giving investors an inaccurate overview by withholding relevant information, a study out today has found. The research by the Valuing Your Talent partnership – which consists of the Chartered Institute of Management Accountants (CIMA), the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD) and the Chartered Management [...]
Man Utd’s PR over Van Gaal sacking was as cryptic and obfuscatory as a Panamanian tax return May 23, 2016 Louis van Gaal is said to have heard of his sacking from his wife after she’d seen a breaking news alert. Harsh stuff. Despite the FA Cup win there clearly was no love lost between the Dutchman and Manchester United’s owners, the Glazer family. As the bungled leaking of Van Gaal’s sacking showed – first [...]