Coronavirus: Arcadia races to raise £50m to secure immediate future April 9, 2020 Sir Philip Green’s Arcadia retail empire is scrambling to raise £50m to secure its future amid the coronavirus crisis, which has forced stores to close indefinitely. Arcadia, which owns Topshop and Dorothy Perkins, has reportedly approached banks and hedge funds as it seeks to borrow around £50m against its Daventry distribution centre, Sky News reported. [...]
FCA introduces credit card and loan freeze to help consumers through coronavirus April 9, 2020 The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) announced a package of measures today to help customers with credit cards and loans during the coronavirus lockdown. The City watchdog said the measures would help provide temporary financial relief to people with commonly used consumer credit products. Firms are expected to offer customers a temporary payment freeze on loans [...]
Bank of England to finance government borrowing during coronavirus crisis April 9, 2020 The Bank of England has agreed to temporarily finance government borrowing during the coronavirus crisis, a measure last used extensively during the financial crisis. The UK government normally borrows money via the issues of bonds to the market. The measure announced today gives the government more flexibility in raising cash quickly. “As a temporary measure, [...]
Calls for stamp duty holiday as UK house prices set to fall amid coronavirus crisis April 9, 2020 The government has been urged to take action to support the housing market, including a stamp duty holiday, as UK house prices are forecast to drop due to coronavirus. The Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (Rics) has called for a stamp duty holiday as a “short term measure”. It said it could encourage potential buyers [...]
Coronavirus: What can the Chinese economic experience teach the rest of the world? April 9, 2020 The Coronavirus pandemic has brought unprecedented pressure upon the global economy, yet the length of this paralysis is key to answering many of the questions being asked. Albeit too early to properly assess what effects containment measures – initiated by governments across the world – are currently having, it is likely that these will intensify [...]
Wagamama owner The Restaurant Group raises £57m amid coronavirus crisis April 9, 2020 Wagamama owner The Restaurant Group has raised £57m through a share placing to shore up its finances amid the coronavirus pandemic. Restaurant Group completed the equity raise this morning after announcing it last night. In a statement the company said: “The placing is expected to provide sufficient liquidity for the Company to deal with this [...]
Speedy Hire furloughs 50 per cent of staff, freezes pay and mulls dividend suspension April 9, 2020 Speedy Hire said today that it had put half its staff on furlough, frozen pay and was examining suspending its dividend to help it get through the coronavirus economic slowdown. The tool and equipment hire business said it was still operating, with most staff working from home and hiring being carried out online or over [...]
Coronavirus downturn ‘will exacerbate UK health inequality’ April 9, 2020 The economic downturn caused by the coronavirus outbreak will disproportionately harm the health of the most vulnerable in society and exacerbate inequality, a top think tank has warned. In a report published today, the Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) said the pandemic was putting the NHS under “unprecedented” strain, leading to cancelled operations and disruptions [...]
Coronavirus: UK tech sector ‘at risk’ as firms miss out on loans April 8, 2020 The thriving UK tech sector is under threat as firms are missing out on a £330bn coronavirus support plan, Deliveroo, Citymapper and more have warned. In a letter to chancellor Rishi Sunak, 12 of the UK’s most prominent tech chiefs today called for an urgent meeting with officials to find a way for tech firms [...]
British bank bosses give up bonuses amid coronavirus crisis April 8, 2020 Top bosses at British banks including Natwest and Lloyds have taken salary cuts and ditched bonuses worth millions of pounds as consumers and businesses suffer the impact of the coronavirus outbreak. Natwest chief executive Alison Rose will donate a quarter of her remaining salary for 2020 — set at £2.2m per year — to a [...]