Seven firms suspend UK property funds as virus casts uncertainty over assets March 18, 2020 Aberdeen Standard Investments and BMO have joined five other firms who have suspended their property funds after independent valuers introduced material valuation uncertainty clauses due to the coronavirus outbreak. The UK commercial property market is facing unprecedented challenges brought on by the pandemic. Valuation firms are now saying that they can no longer make reliable [...]
Aviva Investors suspends property funds as CBRE warns of market uncertainty March 18, 2020 Aviva Investors has suspended its property fund, following similar decisions by Kames Capital and Janus Henderson yesterday. In a statement, Aviva Investors said the coronavirus outbreak had impacted the UK property market and “made it difficult to value the property owned by the funds with the same degree of certainty as would otherwise be the [...]
Morrisons defers dividend over coronavirus as profit rises March 18, 2020 Morrisons has announced its fourth consecutive year of profit growth, but will defer its dividend as it deals with the “unprecedented challenges” brought on by the coronavirus outbreak. Pre-tax profit rose three per cent to £408m, while sales were down 1.1 per cent to £17.5bn. Despite an increase in sales and profit growth for the [...]
Superdry to miss 2020 targets as it braces for another difficult year March 18, 2020 Superdry does not expect its online sales to offset losses, as it predicts it will miss its 2020 targets due to the “unprecedented challenges” of the coronavirus outbreak. The retailer said the majority of Superdry’s European store estate has been affected by mandated closures, which contributes around 40 per cent of weekly sales forecasts. Currently, [...]
Kames Capital suspends property income fund due to market uncertainty March 17, 2020 Kames Capital has become a victim of the turbulent market as it temporarily suspends its property income fund. In a statement to investors, Kames said: “Following continued market volatility and uncertainly for property funds, which began with the 2016 Brexit Referendum and continued in recent weeks with the Corona Virus pandemic the valuers of the [...]
Amazon workers told to work overtime to meet coronavirus demand March 17, 2020 Workers at Amazon’s warehouses in the UK are being told to work overtime as the company meets the surge in demand amid the coronavirus outbreak. The GMB union said workers across at least four different sites were informed that they had to work “compulsory overtime” from Monday, according to the BBC. Amazon will also hire [...]
Business figures urge government to take swift action to mitigate coronavirus impact March 17, 2020 Some of the country’s top business figures have urged the government to take swift action to help mitigate the impact of the coronavirus on business in the UK. Speaking to the BEIS committee today, the CBI’s chief economist Rain Newton-Smith said: “We need swift action now to try and protect as many jobs as possible,” [...]
London brewers launch ‘Pub in a Box’ for self-isolation March 17, 2020 East London-based Signature Brew has launched a “Pub in a Box” for those self-isolating amid the coronavirus outbreak. It comes just a day after Prime Minister Boris Johnson urged Brits to avoid the pub as part of measures designed to encourage “social distancing” amid the global pandemic. Founder Sam McGregor said the Pub in a [...]
Nationwide suffers another glitch delaying all incoming payments March 17, 2020 Nationwide has delayed all incoming faster payments due to a fault in its system, just months after a glitch which held all payments in a queue. The building society has said that all incoming payments are delayed to due a fault, and are yet to confirm how long the delay will be. On Twitter, Nationwide [...]
Centrica faces board shake-up as chief executive steps down March 17, 2020 British Gas owner Centrica is facing fresh chaos as its chairman resigned on medical grounds and its boss is leaving without a permanent successor. Centrica said its chairman, Charles Berry, who has been on medical leave since 12 February had tendered his resignation with immediate effect. Berry, who has chaired the group for just a [...]
