Persimmon cements strong 2016 as pre-tax profit jumps 23 per cent and revenues rise February 27, 2017 No shaky foundations here. Persimmon has announced a rise in underlying profit of nearly a quarter and growing sales for 2016 too as the FTSE 100 firm built more homes. Shares were up 1.53 per cent in early trading to 2,056p. Read more: Persimmon lays some strong foundations for 2017 The figures Full-year revenue rose eight [...]
Terra Firma boss Guy Hands on buying Agent Provocateur, dyslexia and moving on from multi-million EMI loss February 27, 2017 In June last year, Terra Firma dropped a £1.5bn lawsuit against Citi over the acquisition of EMI. It is reported that Guy took a €200m (£168m) hit to his personal fortune as a result of the deal. The Terra Firma boss alleged that Citi misled him into overpaying for the music publisher in 2007. How’s [...]
The oldest serving MP Gerald Kaufman has died at the age of 86 February 27, 2017 The oldest serving MP Sir Gerald Kaufman has died at the age of 86. The Father of the House was a junior minister between 1974 and 1979 and held senior cabinet positions throughout the 1980s. He became the oldest serving member of the House of Commons in 2015 and became an MP in 1970. Labour leader Jeremy [...]
Guess which British stalwart has just been named the UK’s favourite brand again February 27, 2017 British Airways may have hit some turbulence thanks to the weak pound, but when it comes to its brand value, the airline is sailing smoothly on, after it topped a ranking of the UK's favourite brands – again. It's the fourth year in a row BA has topped the Superbrands index, an annual survey of consumers' views [...]
Who are Grand Theft Auto’s new contenders on the block? February 27, 2017 | City Talk Imagine inventing an awesome digital game. It then reaches global domination in sales. The fruits of becoming a billionaire might even be incidental to the sheer satisfaction of creating a global best-seller. And especially so when you work hard and play even harder. £4.2bn in UK consumer spend The UK game industry is booming: According to the Association for [...]
Video game designer turned chief executive aims to propel his company into the elite February 27, 2017 As a Star Wars and science fiction enthusiast famous for co-authoring a “seminal” video game in the 1980s, it is perhaps unsurprising that David Braben does not come across as a typical chief executive. Sitting tie-less in the City offices of investment bank Numis on the morning of a trading update, the founder of Frontier [...]
One in five small businesses could close or sell up after business rates hike February 27, 2017 One in five small businesses could close down or sell their business after changes to business rates shoot up in April. Many small businesses are preparing to reduce staff costs to offset the rate rises, according to a new survey from the Federation of Small Businesses (FSB). More than half of those surveyed (54 per cent) expect [...]
The TaxPayers’ Alliance wants business rates to be reformed February 27, 2017 The TaxPayers' Alliance has suggested that business rates are a “bad tax” and could be replaced altogether. The campaign group proposed several reforms to the current system including automating revaluations annually to avoid so-called “cliff edges” when business rates suddenly jump. Today's recommendations come as a result of the first revaluation of business rates since [...]
Government raises awareness of workers’ rights ahead of minimum wage increase February 27, 2017 The government is preparing for the upcoming increases to the national minimum wage and living wage by kicking off an awareness-raising campaign today. The new initiative aims to increase low-paid workers' understanding of their rights to fair pay, following a poll showing that workers earning less that £15,000 a year were confused about what their [...]
America would gain nothing from cosying up to Putin’s declining Russia February 27, 2017 It has been three years since Russia’s stunning annexation of Crimea. It is the worst kept secret in Washington that the new administration of Donald Trump would like to turn the page on the US-Russian hostility that followed, in a transactional effort to remake US foreign policy. At the heart of Trump’s Jacksonian nationalism is his [...]