Major UK high street chains close 6,000 stores in 2019 November 19, 2019 Major UK high street chains have closed almost 6,000 stores so far this year as the retail industry continues to struggle with high rents, business rates and slumping sales. Retailers with 10 or more stores have shuttered 5,834 branches between 1 January and 30 September, an increase of 77 per cent on last year. Read [...]
ITV General Election debate: Three issues that could decide the winner November 19, 2019 Boris Johnson will go head-to-head with Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn tonight in the ITV General Election debate – the first of several televised clashes between the pair. The showdown will air at at 8pm on ITV and will have three key issues to watch out for. Read more: General Election: Boris Johnson accuses Jeremy Corbyn [...]
Softbank in talks to take over KPMG’s private members’ club November 19, 2019 Softbank is reportedly in talks to take over the KPMG’s controversial private members’ club in Mayfair, after regulators expressed concerns the auditor was giving memberships to its clients as perks. KPMG put the five-storey club, called Number Twenty, on the market in September as part of a cost-cutting drive but stepped up efforts to offload [...]
UK manufacturing sector continues decline despite some signs of life November 19, 2019 UK manufacturing output continued to fall in November, a closely-watched survey has shown, but there were signs that the sector’s fortunes could be improving. Orders picked up by more than expected from the decade low seen in October. But they stayed well below their historical average, the CBI said in its latest industrial trends survey. [...]
General Election 2019: Boris Johnson accuses Jeremy Corbyn of ‘ducking’ Brexit ahead of TV debate November 19, 2019 Boris Johnson has accused Jeremy Corbyn of “ducking” Brexit, ahead of the pair’s first TV debate in this General Election. In a letter to the Labour leader, the Prime Minister called on his rival to explain his position on a second EU referendum, and whether he would back Leave or Remain should the matter come [...]
TSB IT meltdown: Former and current bosses criticise damning probe into online outages November 19, 2019 Past and present TSB bosses have criticised parts of a damning independent probe into the bank’s catastrophic IT meltdown last year. City law firm Slaughter and May has concluded that TSB’s board lacked “common sense” in the run-up to an IT outage which left 2m TSB customers without access to online banking. Both TSB and [...]
Dame Jayne-Anne Gadhia’s fintech startup Snoop gets watchdog approval November 19, 2019 Fintech startup Snoop, launched by ex-Virgin Money boss Dame Jayne-Anne Gadhia, has won approval from the UK’s financial watchdog to handle customer data, a key step in the company’s ambitions. Snoop is an app that pledges to use consumer’s financial data to deliver “personalised insights to help consumers avoid rip-offs and make the most of [...]
Easyjet boss bullish about package holiday move, despite tumbling profit and ‘difficult’ aviation market November 19, 2019 Easyjet has unveiled a new-look package holiday business just months after the collapse of Thomas Cook, despite profit plunging more than a quarter over the last year. The budget flyer said the new business, Easyjet Holidays, will launch in the UK just in time for customers to pencil in a Christmas getaway, with bookings open [...]
General Election 2019: Justice secretary Robert Buckland hints at shift on fox hunting November 19, 2019 Justice secretary Robert Buckland has hinted that fox hunting may be off the agenda this election campaign. Speaking ahead of the Conservatives’ manifesto launch, expected this weekend, the frontbencher told Sky News he thought it was unlikely Boris Johnson would revive the topic. Johnson’s predecessor Theresa May pledged to hold a free vote to potentially [...]
Storage firm Big Yellow’s profit jumps on higher revaluation gain November 19, 2019 Big Yellow’s pre-tax profit jumped over 50 per cent in the first half thanks to a higher revaluation gain, as the self storage firm reported increased revenue despite the “less than helpful” economic and political environment. The figures For the six months ending 30 September Big Yellow’s profit before tax increased 56 per cent to [...]