Inflation to hit 1.9 per cent for January as London businesses battle fastest cost rise since 2008 February 13, 2017 Consumer price inflation is expected to reach 1.9 per cent in January, taking it to its highest level since June 2014. It comes as businesses in the capital have faced the fastest rise in input costs for more than eight years during January. IHS Global Insight forecasts a third successive marked increase for the Consumer [...]
Banks stumbling over hurdles as they race to embrace cloud technology February 13, 2017 Worries about overseeing risk and concerns over security breaches are among the hurdles preventing banks from taking up cloud technology as quickly as other firms, according to a study released today. The report by law firm Pinsent Masons and the British Bankers' Association (BBA) highlights how lenders could become more agile and reduce their costs by using [...]
This is why a Silicon Valley entrepreneur believes London could produce the next Facebook February 12, 2017 By the time Clara Shih turned 30, she was a Starbucks board member, had raised $21m (£16.7m) for her social media startup and had become a bestselling author. A Stanford and Oxford graduate, the Silicon Valley entrepreneur founded software company Hearsay Social [now Hearsay Systems] in 2009 to make financial giants look slick on social media [...]
Culture shock: How London’s theatreland will be squeezed by business rates re-evaluation February 12, 2017 London’s theatreland will be forced to pay an estimated £31m in property taxes over the next five years once the government’s planned hike in business rates comes into effect in April. The total rates bill for theatres in the West End will rise by nearly 40 per cent to £6.3m for the 2017 to 2018 [...]
Swiss voters reject tax reform plan February 12, 2017 Voters in Switzerland have chosen to block the government’s attempts to reform its corporate tax regime. The federal chancellery announced on Sunday that the plans had been rejected by 59 per cent of voters in a nation-wide referendum held last week. Switzerland’s government had sought to abolish ultra-low tax rates for multinationals, whilst preparing a [...]
Pressure mounts on House of Commons speaker John Bercow over Brexit remarks February 12, 2017 Pressure is increasing on House of Commons speaker John Bercow after a cabinet minister warned of "a strong reaction" to Bercow's public statement that he voted for the UK to stay in the EU, and government sources said Downing Street would not intervene to protect him. It emerged today that Bercow had discussed his Remain vote with Reading [...]
Small business commissioner will tackle late payment issues February 12, 2017 The hunt is on for the UK’s first small business commissioner. As part of its strategy to tackle late payment issues, the government will hire an advocate for small businesses. This move comes in response to the discovery that nearly half of the UK’s small businesses experience late payment. Payment processor Bacs estimated that a [...]
All Star Lanes scores £3.5m strike after successful turnaround February 12, 2017 All Star Lanes has secured a £3.5m refinancing after a successful 2016 saw its underlying profits jump 39.5 per cent to £1.4m. The American-inspired ten-pin bowling chain has one branch in Manchester and four in London, including its recently reopened Brick Lane flagship location. Although the company was founded in 2006, it was only after [...]
Ocado chairman Stuart Rose bags £1.3m share award February 12, 2017 Online grocer Ocado gave its chairman Stuart Rose a £1.3m share award last year as part of a pay deal he agreed when he joined the company in 2013. When he was made Ocado chairman, former Marks and Spencer boss Rose bought £400,000 worth of Ocado stock. The company gave him 452,000 shares on the [...]
Toshiba is set to report a £3bn loss for nine months of 2016 later this week February 12, 2017 Toshiba, the troubled Japanese conglomerate looking to build a new nuclear reactor in Cumbria, is set to report a group net loss of approximately ¥ 400bn (£2.8bn) for the three quarters to December, the Nikkei reported. The loss is largely due to a goodwill impairment of around £4.2bn on a US nuclear unit that came to light in late [...]