Sunak set to tell employers to contribute to furlough scheme payments May 29, 2020 Chancellor Rishi Sunak is expected to tell employers today that they will have to start contributing to the government’s massive furlough scheme which is paying the wages of millions of UK workers. Sunak will say companies must pay between 20 per cent and 30 per cent of the costs of the programme – the centrepiece [...]
SIG confirms £150m raise plans as firm swings to loss May 29, 2020 Building products supplier SIG this morning confirmed plans to raise £150m from a share issue after the firm swung to a loss in 2019. The company said that investment firm Clayton, Dubilier and Rice (CDR) had agreed to invest £85m into SIG, and would take two board seats as a result. The announcement initially prompted [...]
Eurozone on brink of deflation as price growth slows to 0.1 per cent May 29, 2020 Eurozone inflation dropped to a four-year low of just 0.1 per cent in May, data has shown, as the coronavirus pandemic put the single-currency bloc perilously close to deflationary territory. In an early estimate, the European Union’s statistics body said Eurozone month-on-month inflation was just 0.1 per cent as energy prices plunged. Core inflation, which [...]
Property firm Capco in talks to buy major stake in rival Shaftesbury May 29, 2020 Property development firm Capital & Counties (Capco) today confirmed it is in discussions to snap up a 23.6 per cent stake in rival Shaftesbury. The two firms own swathes of neighbouring property in the West End and the talks have sparked further speculation of a merger. The discussions, first reported by React News, are centred [...]
UK car industry flatlines as just 197 cars built in April May 29, 2020 The UK car industry made just 197 cars in April as the shuttering of factories due to the coronavirus pandemic sent production flatlining. Total production dropped 99.7 per cent, with the lowest number of cars built in one month since the Second World War, according to new data from the Society of Motor Manufacturers and [...]
Profit nearly halves at Nationwide as it books expected coronavirus losses May 29, 2020 Building society Nationwide’s annual profit nearly halved it said today as it warned of rising loan losses due to the coronavirus pandemic. The lender also said it was abandoning some of its member benefit targets in response to the crisis. Nationwide booked a £101m hit from expected credit losses and said it will focus on [...]
Hostel company Safestay boosted revenue last year as it reveals plans to restart business May 29, 2020 Hostel company Safestay said today it boosted revenue in 2019 as it laid out plans to reopen its hostels as the coronavirus crisis begins to abate. Safestay said revenue for the year to 31 December increased 26 per cent to £18.4m with like-for-like sales up seven per cent. The company posted a loss before tax [...]
Paddy Power owner Flutter raises £812m in share placing May 29, 2020 Paddy Power owner Flutter today said it has raised £812m in a share placing that will see Rupert Murdoch’s Fox Corporation boost its holding in the gambling giant. Flutter, which also owns Betfair and Poker Stars, said it placed more than 8m new shares at £101 each, marking a 4.7 per cent discount on last [...]
High tech the solution for the returning High Street May 29, 2020 With Number 10 announcing that retailers can begin to re-open from June 15th, all eyes turn to the fortunes of the businesses which make up Britain’s high streets and bring colour to our communities. After three months of closure for most of these retailers, the news will provoke a mixture of reactions. Most are desperate [...]
Renault to cut 15,000 jobs in Covid-19 restructuring plan May 29, 2020 Renault today unveiled plans to slash roughly 15,000 jobs worldwide as part of a drastic restructuring plan aimed at counteracting a sharp slump in sales during the Covid-19 crisis. The car manufacturer said it was launching talks with unions to restructure some of its plants in France and potentially close others in a bid to [...]