London Sports Festival moves from 3×3 basketball success to pickleball at the City of London Corporation’s Guildhall Yard
Online retail acquisitions rise with high streets in decline October 28, 2019 The number of mergers and acquisitions (M&A) among online retailers rose markedly in 2019, new analysis has shown, as companies faced shareholder pressure to boost their web-based sales. Read more: Major UK retailers suffer plunging profit margins The number of M&A deals among UK online retailers rose to 12 in the year to June, City-based [...]
Wealthy UK cities showing resilience to retail downturn October 28, 2019 A group of wealthy cities such as London and Cambridge are faring relatively well during the UK retail sector’s downturn while shops in poorer and more rural areas suffer, a new report has said. Read more: Retailers brace for tough Christmas as confidence slumps Shopping parks have also shown resilience as the bricks-and-mortar retail sector [...]
MPs slam bank IT failures and float higher levies on sector October 28, 2019 MPs have harshly criticised IT failures among some of the UK’s biggest banks as “unacceptable” and recommended that regulators take action to make lenders improve their systems. Read more: TSB returns to growth after IT meltdown A detailed report from parliament’s Treasury Select Committee (TSC) said bigger levies on the financial sector could be used [...]
London’s Aim still well ahead of competitors despite rough year October 28, 2019 London’s Alternative Investment Market (Aim) remains by far the biggest growth stock market in Europe despite falling numbers of floats and questions over regulatory standards, new analysis has shown. Read more: Muddy Waters says Burford Capital ‘continues to evade key questions’ about its accounting In the year ending in September, £3.9bn of capital was raised [...]
HMRC collects nearly £10bn via tax probes October 28, 2019 Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs (HMRC) collected £9.8bn in extra revenue through tax investigations into the UK’s largest businesses last year, up 12 per cent from £8.7bn in 2017-18. Analysis published today by law firm Pinsent Masons showed that the biggest element of this was £6bn from tax investigations into valued added tax (VAT) and [...]
UK art exports surge to £6.8bn as weak sterling boosts US demand October 28, 2019 The value of art exports from the UK surged by almost a quarter in the last year thanks to increased appetite from US collectors. Sales of art and antiques hit £6.8bn in the year to the end of August, up 24 per cent on the previous 12 months, according to figures compiled by private wealth [...]
Zamna raises $5m as it secures deal with IAG for airport security tech October 28, 2019 UK startup Zamna, which develops software to automate airport security checks, has bagged $5m (£3.9m) in funding and confirmed International Airlines Group (IAG) as its first client. The seed funding round was led by venture capital firms Localglobe and Oxford Capital, alongside Seedcamp, the London Co-Investment Fund and O2 parent company Telefonica. Read more: Tory [...]
Mike Ashley urges MPs to look into Debenhams collapse October 27, 2019 Mike Ashley has redoubled his efforts to have the collapse of Debenhams investigated and lambasted MPs for not being more interested in the failure of the high-street department store. Read more: Mike Ashley kicks off £4m takeover for Goals Soccer Centres In a letter to business select committee chair MP Rachel Reeves, seen by the [...]
Johnson mulls new route to election October 27, 2019 DOWNING Street is considering all possible options for securing a General Election, including a plan cooked up by Remain MPs, as the EU considers how long a Brexit extension they will grant the UK. Parliament will vote on a motion later today which would see a 12 December ballot, but this seems poised to fail [...]
Virgin Galactic brings space tourism to public markets as New York float beckons October 27, 2019 Investors will get their first chance to buy into a space tourism firm tomorrow, when shares in Sir Richard Branson’s Virgin Galactic start trading in New York. The company tied the knot on a merger with a US investment vehicle late on Friday, meaning it will go public when markets open tomorrow, in what its [...]