City of London poised to step in over 22 Bishopsgate skyscraper “rights to light” battle March 9, 2016 The developers behind City skyscraper 22 Bishopsgate have called on the City of London for help fighting a fierce "rights to light" battle with neighbouring landlords that threatens to derail the scheme. AXA Investment Managers – Real Assets and Lipton Rogers have been locked in a row with its neighbours and campaign groups, who argue that the 62-storey tower overshadows their [...]
Bankers’ bonuses: Supreme Court sides with HMRC in appeal against UBS and Deutsche Bank, ruling out scheme designed to avoid income tax March 9, 2016 Bankers may see their bonuses sliced into, as the Supreme Court today sided with HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC), agreeing that taxes could not be avoided when using a special scheme to award employees in shares. UBS and Deutsche Bank set up schemes to pay their bankers discretionary bonuses in redeemable shares in offshore companies. The [...]
Ima-gin that: British gin sales broke all sales records in 2015 while 49 new distilleries opened March 9, 2016 Sales of mother's ruin broke all records last year as 49 new gin distilleries opened across the UK, while shop and restaurant sales topped over £900m. Shop sales of the juniper-based spirit reached over £400m in 2015, up 10 per cent on the previous year, while restaurant sales hit £500m, up 20 per cent year on year, [...]
Energy prices: February sees 55 per cent uplift in households switching electricity supplier March 9, 2016 There was a 55 per cent increase in households switching electricity supplier last month, according to new figures. Energy supplier trade body Energy UK said 413,762 homes did so in February – up from 266,096 in January. It was also up by 30 per cent on February 2015. Energy UK said the latest electricity-switching data shows a net gain to [...]
EU referendum: Can the European project succeed? Using an M&A template, the chances of success are very small indeed March 9, 2016 In the ongoing EU debate, both sides make a persuasive case. Remainers are right to say that the EU has helped to liberalise trade, at least within Europe itself. Outers are right to say that the EU is openly working to transform Europe from a community of nations to a federation of regions. Those who [...]
Portmeirion breaks sales record for seventh year in a row March 9, 2016 Ceramics group Portmeirion hailed its seventh consecutive year of record sales in spite of the slowdown South Korea and challenges presented by the building of a new kiln at its Stoke-on-Trent factory. The company, whose brands include Spode, Royal Worcester and Pimpernel, posted an 11.9 per cent rise in revenues to £68.7m in the year to 31 December, largely driven by [...]
The proportion of luxury cars in the UK has outpaced GDP growth since the end of the recession March 9, 2016 The proportion of luxury cars on Britain's roads has overtaken the pace of GDP growth since the end of the 2008-2009 recession, according to new research. British drivers have made the most of the economic recovery and driven up the proportion of plush cars at an average rate of 3.6 per cent per year since [...]
Government facing strong prospect of defeat on Sunday trading rules amidst opposition from the SNP and Tory backbenchers March 9, 2016 The government is facing a strong prospect of defeat on liberalising Sunday trading laws, despite having tried to water down its demands as the Speaker of the Commons didn't call an amendment. The government was backing down on their plans to force through changes Sunday trading laws over almost certain defeat in the face of strong cross-party opposition. The [...]
Skyscrapers planned for London rise by more than a third with 119 new tall buildings added to planning pipeline March 9, 2016 (Source: Visualhouse/Dan Lowe) The number of tall buildings planned for London's ever expanding skyline has grown by moe than a third, with more than 100 new skyscrapers added to the pipeline over the last year. There are now 436 skyscrapers either planned or under construction in the capital, up from 317 a year earlier, according to fresh research from [...]
EU referendum: Rathbone Investment Management report dispels five “myths” of Brexit March 9, 2016 With the EU referendum looming closer and closer, prominent pro-Leave campaigners have labelled tactics by the Remain camp as "project fear". However, a new report by Rathbone Investment Management has found there will be consequences to either leaving the EU, or remaining a member. The report, titled If you leave me now, assesses the impact [...]