Sir Rocco Forte leads 300 business leaders in call to scrap ‘spectacular own goal’ tourist tax October 21, 2024 Over 300 business leaders have signed a letter asking Chancellor Rachel Reeves to reinstate tax-free shopping in the UK, calling the so-called tourist tax a “spectacular own goal” for retail. The signatories, which include hotelier Sir Rocco Forte, Paul Smith, Heathrow, John Lewis and Shakespeare’s Globe, have said that if Reeves is serious about promoting [...]
‘Highly damaging’: Capital gains hike would make UK even less competitive October 21, 2024 Lifting capital gains tax (CGT) would damage the competitiveness of the UK’s already poor tax regime, new analysis suggests. Research by the Tax Foundation suggests that the UK’s tax regime ranked at 30th out of 38 OECD countries in terms of competitiveness, up one place due to the introduction of the full-expensing policy last year. [...]
Volkswagen Finance fined by FCA for unfairly treating vulnerable customers October 21, 2024 The City regulator has fined Volkswagen's UK financial services arm £5.4m for its unfair treatment of customers in financial difficulty, which it said may have caused them harm.
Number of UK house sales jumped by a third after rates cut, before Budget October 21, 2024 Despite uncertainty about the coming Autumn budget, buyers continued to pile into the property market after the Bank of England cut interest rates, with the number of homes sold up by a third year on year. The number of sales agreed rose by 29 per cent, while the number of potential buyers contacting estate agents [...]
BHP nears £24bn settlement in Brazil for Samarco dam disaster October 21, 2024 Miners BHP and Vale are negotiating a possible settlement worth roughly $31.7bn (£24.32bn) with Brazilian authorities over a 2015 dam failure that is considered one of the country's worst environmental disasters.
Robinhood UK launches delayed margin lending investing October 21, 2024 Robinhood UK has launched a margin investing feature after it was previously delayed by regulators. Margin investing allows customers to borrow money from Robinhood, leveraging their existing holdings to purchase additional securities When Robinhood UK was launched in the UK in March, the company originally stated that it could charge 12 per cent interest on [...]
Hollywood Bowl hikes guidance despite slower revenue growth October 21, 2024 Hollywood Bowl, the owner and operator of bowling alleys across the UK and Canada, has raised its guidance despite slower revenue growth in the UK. In a trading update for the year ended 30 September, the company said it expected to report earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBTIDA) for the year ahead of [...]
Ocean Wilsons sells off Brazilian arm to Mediterranean Shipping Company October 21, 2024 London-listed Bermuda investment company Ocean Wilsons has sold off its Brazilian arm to Mediterranean Shipping Company (MSC) for 4.32bn Brazilian real (£590m). Wilson Sons, which is currently one of the largest port and maritime logistics operators in Brazil, is currently majority owned by Ocean Wilsons with a 56.5 per cent interest. It is also one [...]
Brand Architekts: Sales at owner of Skinny Tan and Super Facialist slump October 21, 2024 Brand Architekts, the beauty specialist behind British brands including Skinny Tan and Super Facialist, has reported a fall in sales as it pivots to fewer, bigger brands. The company reported an underlying loss of £0.4m compared to a loss of £1.2m for 2023, while its gross profit margin increased 1.5 per cent to 41.2 per [...]
Lendinvest taps Barclays, HSBC and BNP for £300m financing October 21, 2024 Lendinvest has renewed a £300m financing deal with Barclays, HSBC and France’s BNP Paribas as the property fintech looks to return to profitability. The AIM-listed firm said the revolving warehouse financing agreement, shared equally between the three banks, had been extended for an additional three years on what it called improved terms. LendInvest said the [...]