Building more homes will not solve London’s housing crisis – here’s why December 5, 2016 Let's be clear, the housing crisis is not a crisis just because there is a shortage in housing. It's a crisis because there is a real problem with our access to affordable housing and not enough is being done about it. London homes are the second most over-priced in the world, according to a recent [...]
Royal Bank of Scotland reaches £800m settlement deal with three shareholder groups December 5, 2016 Royal Bank of Scotland has reached a settlement with three out of five shareholder groups involved in claims relating to a rights issue the bank carried out during the financial crisis. RBS said today that it has concluded a "full and final" settlement with three of the groups, representing around 77 per cent of the [...]
New Zealand Prime Minister John Key unexpectedly steps down to focus on his family December 5, 2016 New Zealand Prime Minister John Key unexpectedly announced his resignation today after eight years in power. Key was partway through a third three-year term marked by political stability and economic reform after the global financial crisis when he told reporters he would step down to focus on family, Reuters reported. Deputy prime minister and finance [...]
Fortnum & Mason announces record results with sales and profit up December 5, 2016 Luxury retailer Fortnum & Mason has announced record sales and profit growth of more than 25 per cent for the third year in a row, and revealed that it has increased trading with domestic UK brands over the past 12 months. The iconic British brand reported profits of £6.2m, up 27 per cent compared to [...]
Chinese takeover activity in UK and beyond set to accelerate further, despite political rhetoric and Brexit vote December 5, 2016 Edinburgh-based flights search website Skyscanner and West Bromwich Albion Football Club have been among the high-profile UK targets gobbled up by Chinese businesses this year. With most of December still to come, China-to-UK mergers and acquisitions (M&A) activity has already hit record levels. To date, 31 deals worth $7.65bn (£6.01bn) have been agreed, according to [...]
How tech startups and investors really feel about Brexit December 5, 2016 What is going to be the impact of Brexit on UK tech startups?Will the flat-whites downed by the geeks of Shoreditch turn even flatter? That’s been the topic on the lips of almost every observer of the scene in the last few weeks, especially given how international the staffing is in most tech companies, particularly in [...]
AppLovin: Firing the 5G starting gun December 5, 2016 Dubbed the “Brexit Budget,” this year’s Autumn Statement was one of few surprises – other than that it would be the last. The chancellor certainly lived up to his “Spreadsheet Phil” epithet. But Philip Hammond gave a welcome nod to UK tech industries, all too aware that their impetus will play a prominent role in [...]
Brands need to grow a backbone and stop pandering to the left’s virtue signalling December 5, 2016 On both sides of the pond, a censorious precedent is being set in the name of “brand values”. It’s a petulant reaction to the moral posturing of internet losers. And I don’t mean “losers” in the perjorative, playground sense – I mean literally, those on the losing side of either Brexit, or the presidential election. [...]
Britain’s got tech talent (for now): Top VC firm warns Brexit risks UK’s crown December 5, 2016 The UK's position as the tech capital of Europe is at risk of being lost to rivals if it fails to secure access to talent and skills in Brexit negotiations, a top investor has warned. Nearly a third of European startups call the UK home, a share that could fall "dramatically" while other countries grow, [...]
Cost of the Christmas shop will be lower than it was three years ago December 5, 2016 Despite the worries about rising prices post-Brexit, the family Christmas shop is set to be cheaper this year than it was three years ago. Figures from the British Retail Consortium (BRC) and Nielsen showed that shop prices fell 1.7 per cent in November; the same level of deflation reported the month before. Read more: Chilly weather's [...]