Investors believe coronavirus lockdown will return with a rocky road to recovery April 24, 2020 The majority of investors believe the coronavirus lockdown will return, implying a precarious road to economic recovery. A Peel Hunt survey of investors and corporate managers reveals uncertainty over timing and severity of the lockdown, but the strong view is that it will likely return. Last week the foreign secretary Dominic Raab extended the UK’s [...]
Government’s coronavirus website runs out of tests within minutes April 24, 2020 The government’s online coronavirus testing scheme for essential workers was closed within minutes of opening this morning. At Thursday’s daily Downing Street briefing, health secretary Matt Hancock announced the expansion of the testing programme to include key workers and people from their households. He said millions of people could book an appointment for a drive-through [...]
FCA confirms three-month freeze for car finance payments April 24, 2020 The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has confirmed a three-month payment freeze for car finance payments, ruling out repossessions of vehicles during the coronavirus pandemic. Firms will freeze payments for customers facing difficulties meeting finance or leasing payments due to coronavirus. The financial watchdog said firms should also not take steps to end the agreement or [...]
IG revenues grow amid sustained period of market volatility April 24, 2020 IG has reported “exceptionally high” revenues reflecting increased levels of client trading amid a sustained period of market volatility. High levels of volatility have persisted through March and into April. As such, revenue in the first 36 trading days of the fourth quarter is estimated to be around £173m. This compares to £139.8m in the [...]
Persimmon will start reopening construction sites next week April 24, 2020 Persimmon has announced a phased restart to work on its construction sites from next week, as the housebuilding sector starts to return to work. The housebuilder said it will start to open up sites from 27 April “in response to the UK government’s objective of getting the construction sector back to work.” Following the announcement [...]
Coronavirus loans double to £2.8bn but only half are approved April 23, 2020 Banks have approved less than half of applications for coronavirus loans, as industry figures warn firms risk missing out. Loans for businesses increased £1.45bn in the week from 14 April to 21 April. It brings total lending under the Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme (CBILS) to £2.8bn, according to UK Finance data. Over 9,000 loans [...]
Taylor Wimpey plans to start reopening construction sites next month April 23, 2020 Housebuilder Taylor Wimpey has announced plans to reopen the majority of its construction sites in England and Wales at the start of May. Taylor Wimpey will be the first major housebuilder to reopen sites after weeks of lockdown. The firm said site management teams will return on 4 May, with the first subcontractors returning on [...]
Non-Standard Finance bolsters finances by focusing on debt collection April 23, 2020 Non-Standard Finance is focusing on its collection activity after cutting lending across its divisions during the coronavirus pandemic. In a statement today, Non-Standard Finance said it would delay full-year results because of coronavirus. It maintained its collections performance had been robust despite the circumstances. Last month the firm cut lending across its divisions to mitigate [...]
Unilever withdraws outlook after coronavirus hits sales April 23, 2020 Unilever has withdrawn its outlook for the year after reporting sales were flat in the first quarter, despite an increase in demand for hygiene and in-home food products. Underlying sales growth was flat with 0.2 per cent from volume and negative 0.2 per cent from price. Turnover increased 0.2 per cent to €12.4bn. The coronavirus [...]
Private equity activity reaches new peak but firms brace for difficult year April 22, 2020 European private equity activity hit a new peak in the first quarter, but firms are bracing for a significant slowdown as the impact of coronavirus hits. The first quarter saw 1,025 deals close for a total €132.9bn, a new quarterly peak, according to PitchBook data. It is in part because transactions that closed in the [...]
