Insurer Hastings to pay dividend despite Bank of England warning April 15, 2020 Hastings said today it would go ahead with its planned dividend despite a warning from the Bank of England to the insurance industry to think carefully before paying out cash to shareholders. Car insurer Hastings said it did not offer any lines affected by coronavirus such as travel or business interruption insurance. Hastings also said [...]
Coronavirus: Ferguson scraps dividend and $500m share buyback April 15, 2020 Ferguson has scrapped its dividend and suspended its $500m share buyback as the plumbing and heating business seeks to preserve cash during the coronavirus crisis. The firm also said the demerger of its Wolseley UK business “remains on track” to be completed this year but it will “require market conditions to normalise by the latter [...]
Costain secures £3.3bn HS2 contract that could create 6,000 jobs April 15, 2020 Engineering firm Costain has won a £3.3bn contract to design and build the tunnels connecting the HS2 railway to London Euston station. This initial phase of the High-Speed Two (HS2) railway project, which controversially got the go-ahead from government in February, will create 6,000 jobs, Costain said. Costain’s share price surged 23 per cent to [...]
FCA warns insurers to cough up on coronavirus payouts April 15, 2020 The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) today urged insurers to pay out for business interruption claims that covered a coronavirus shutdown. In a letter to insurance bosses, the FCA’s interim chief executive Chris Woolard warned the watchdog would be carefully scrutinising the industry’s treatment of customers. The FCA said most business interruption policies did not cover [...]
Carr’s suspends dividend to hedge against coronavirus fallout April 15, 2020 Agriculture and engineering firm Carr’s has seen its half-year profit drop amid “significant” industry headwinds, it said today. The FTSE-listed farming supplies company has also deferred its dividend “until the full effects of coronavirus become clear, though it has not seen an impact so far. The figures Adjusted profit before tax slumped 16 per cent [...]
Businesses still struggling to access coronavirus loan scheme, says BCC April 15, 2020 Only two per cent of businesses have successfully managed to access the government’s coronavirus business interruption loan scheme (CBILS), according to a survey published today. Nine per cent of respondents to the survey by the British Chamber of Commerce (BCC) said they were unsuccessful with slow or no response from lenders the main reason cited. [...]
UK retail footfall dives to lowest level on record after coronavirus lockdown April 15, 2020 UK retail footfall fell to the lowest level on record last month after the government ordered all non-essential stores to close during the coronavirus lockdown. Footfall plunged 41.3 per cent in March compared to the previous year, the latest data showed, driven by a drop of 81.4 per cent in the final week of the [...]
Burger King grilled for advertising plant-based burger not suitable for vegans April 15, 2020 Burger King has been given a grilling by the advertising watchdog over its “misleading” claims about a plant-based burger that is not suitable for vegetarians or vegans. In January the fast food chain promoted its new “plant-based” Rebel Whopper burger with the tagline “100% Whopper. No Beef.” Adverts posted to Facebook also branded the new [...]
Coronavirus: Vital to start planning for economic recovery, CBI says April 14, 2020 The head of the UK’s largest business lobbying group has said that the UK must begin to plan its economic recovery from the coronavirus pandemic even while the death toll continues to rise. Speaking to Sky News, Dame Carolyn Fairbairn, the director-general of the CBI, said that “we need to begin to chart a route [...]
Rishi Sunak says there is ‘no trade off’ between economy and public health April 14, 2020 Rishi Sunak has said there is no trade-off between public health and the economy in the wake of new estimates suggesting GDP will drop by 35 per cent this quarter. Speaking at today’s press briefing, the chancellor said the coronavirus lockdown was necessary to protect the long-term future of the economy. This is in contrast [...]