UK market shows signs of lagging behind for Santander October 26, 2016 Santander has reported something of a mixed bag of results this morning, with growth flattening out on a number of measurements and its UK market showing signs of struggling under the weight of new taxes. The figures Overall profits at Banco Santander were €1.7bn (£1.5bn) for the third quarter of 2016, up one per cent on the same [...]
Leaked audio: Theresa May feared banks would leave the UK after Brexit October 26, 2016 Theresa May warned bankers before the referendum that she feared businesses would leave the UK if it voted to leave the European Union. A recording of a speech the then-home secretary gave to Goldman Sachs in May has been published by the Guardian, revealing she had numerous concerns about the impact that leaving the EU would [...]
Chris Grayling says Heathrow’s considering a “ramp runway” over the M25 October 26, 2016 As debate rages on over Heathrow’s expansion and how deliverable it is, transport secretary Chris Grayling said the idea of building a ramp for the new Heathrow runway is being considered. The “ramp runway” would be built over the M25 and the transport secretary says it would be “cheaper and quicker” than moving the M25. Speaking on BBC [...]
Metro Bank eyes profits, as statutory losses shrink for third quarter October 26, 2016 Metro Bank is now a stone's throw from turning a quarterly accounting profit, but the boss of the challenger is more pleased about the bank's customer growth. The figures The up-and-coming lender announced statutory losses of £0.4m for the three months to September, a significant improvement on losses of £5.9m in the quarter before and £10.7m [...]
Ofcom fines Vodafone £4.6m for multiple service failings and taking customers’ money without providing a service October 26, 2016 Regulators have slapped Vodafone with a £4.6m fine for "serious and sustained breaches of consumer protection rules" across two key investigations. Ofcom said that the telecoms giant failed to credit over 10,000 customers' accounts after they paid top-ups on pay-as-you-go contracts. Over a 17-month period, Vodafone customers missed out on £150,000 of money that should have been [...]
RMT confirms 3,500 London Underground workers will be balloted for strike action after last week’s security incident at North Greenwich station October 26, 2016 Transport workers' union RMT has confirmed that it will ballot 3,500 London Underground workers for strike action and "action short of a strike" in a dispute over jobs and safety. RMT said last week's security incident at North Greenwich Tube station had put safety "back at the top of the agenda". The station was closed and [...]
Ritz boss lashes out over business rates revaluation: “Most politicians have never had a job” October 26, 2016 The man behind London’s most iconic hotel has lashed out at politicians in charge of a shaking-up business rates, accusing them of failing to understand business because they have “never had a job”. Andrew Love, deputy chairman of the Ritz, told City A.M. a revaluation of business rates unveiled at the end of last month [...]
City A.M. Unregulated podcast: Ritz boss Andrew Love on running London’s most luxurious hotel October 26, 2016 Andrew Love is the man tasked with keeping up appearances at London's best-known hotel: the Ritz. He joins the Unregulated team in the Wimborne Room to discuss working with the Barclay brothers, his guests (including their outrageous requests), as well as talking about the changing face of London – and why supercars will never be welcome [...]
Challenger bank CYBG confirms Williams & Glyn takeover talks October 26, 2016 Challenger bank CYBG today confirmed that it has engaged in talks with Royal Bank of Scotland over the possibility of buying Williams & Glyn. RBS was instructed to sell the business as part of its £45bn state bailout deal, and was set a deadline of the end of 2017 – a date the bank warned it [...]
BHS rebirth: Lessons it must learn from its past life October 26, 2016 We have previously discussed where BHS went wrong – how the brand turned stale and got left behind by its more modern rivals. However, it has already relaunched as an online-only shop, selling some of the previously popular items; primarily lighting and home furnishings to begin with. But what are the prospects for the reinvented BHS, and will [...]