Severe delays on District and Circle Lines due to signal failure causing rush hour chaos for London commuters October 19, 2016 Severe delays on both the Circle and District Lines are still causing havoc for commuters, after a signal failure at South Kensington station this morning. Rush hour commuters faced travel disruption earlierwith severe delays along the entire District Line, and no service at all in the clockwise direction on the Circle Line, with severe delays going [...]
Travis Perkins to close 30 UK branches and axe 600 jobs as it warns on profit October 19, 2016 Britain's biggest supplier of building materials is to axe 600 jobs and close more than 30 branches due to falling underlying sales. Travis Perkins said this morning it would not meet its £415 million market expectation for full-year profits, blaming a poor performance for its plumbing and heating division and a lack of demand after the [...]
First the complimentary coffee threat, and now this. Waitrose angers customers with new free newspaper curbs October 19, 2016 First came the threat to Middle England’s free coffee – and now this. Waitrose has angered customers by announcing plans to increase the amount of money they have to spend before getting a free newspaper. Read more: Brace yourself middle England: Waitrose's free coffee could be under threat That’s right – from 1 November, loyalty [...]
BHP laments South Australia blackouts but insists group production is in line with forecasts October 19, 2016 Mining giant BHP Billiton (BHP) has warned that production at its Olympic Dam copper mine was under review after the South Australia project was hit by power blackouts. Reporting on its third quarter operational performance, BHP said that despite this hiccup, group production and unit cost guidance remained unchanged for the 2017 financial year. Read more: SolGold shares jump as [...]
Foxtons reports decline in revenue in third quarter due to reduced activity in the London property market October 19, 2016 Reduced activity in the London property market hit Foxtons revenues during the third quarter of the year. The estate agents said total group revenue for the three months to 30 September had fallen to £37.5m from £43.5m last year, while sales revenue was down to £12.2m from £18.5m – reflecting a continuation of reduced activity [...]
Cocoa floats well: Hotel Chocolat reports rising revenue and profits after IPO October 19, 2016 Hotel Chocolat has reported growing revenue and profits in its preliminary results after listing on the London Stock Exchange this year. The figures Revenue for the period to 26 June came in at £91.1m, up 12 per cent from £81.1m in 2015. Pre-tax profit, meanwhile, was up from £2.9m to £8.2m, and earnings before interest, [...]
China reports “better than expected” economic growth October 19, 2016 China’s economy is showing signs of stability after the nation’s government reported growth at an annual rate of 6.7 per cent in the last quarter. The growth figure for the three months to September was in line with forecasts and at the same rate as the previous two quarters. Read more: Chinese trade tumbles amid [...]
Construction demand stays strong for small to medium-sized firms in quarter following Brexit vote October 19, 2016 Consumer demand for building work stayed strong in the three months following the EU referendum, according to the Federation of Master Builders (FMB). The continuing skills shortage and growing cost of doing business are the greatest challenges to construction firms, rather than demand, the FMB’s survey of small and medium-sized companies found. The positive growth [...]
Sadiq Khan is facing a grilling over London visas, taxies and his abandoned plans for 2m trees October 19, 2016 Sadiq Khan faces a grilling over his hopes to launch work permits for London today, with Assembly members also set to press the mayor on the scrapping of tree planting targets and the safe use of smartphone apps by cab drivers Khan has repeatedly stressed his desire to install a work permit system for the city [...]
The City is struggling with the Whitehall Brexit machine October 18, 2016 Key figures in the City are growing increasingly frustrated with what they see as an indifferent and unsupportive approach towards the Square Mile in two of the government departments responsible for hammering out the UK’s Brexit deal. Several sources have indicated to City A.M. that, while Philip Hammond and his Treasury team are instinctively sympathetic [...]