HSBC to trial ‘Zoom-free Fridays’ to combat fatigue May 10, 2021 HSBC is planning Zoom-free Fridays for some of its employees in a bid to tackle pandemic fatigue, following in the footsteps of other leading banks. Companies have been forced to reconsider working practices during the pandemic as the lines between home and work have been blurred as a result of lockdowns. A spokesperson confirmed it [...]
Secondary fundraising by retailers nears £2bn as firms eye M&A opportunities May 10, 2021 Listed retail companies have raised nearly £2bn in the past year as they sought to strengthen their balance sheets amid the pandemic. Now, they are starting to eye M&A opportunities. In recent years, listed firms in the UK have relied less on the public markets with private equity firms often considered a more attractive option. [...]
Junior bankers at UBS in line for $40,000 bonus May 10, 2021 UBS will pay young bankers a $40,000 bonus when they are promoted as it looks to reward its junior employees after a gruelling year of dealmaking. The Swiss bank is set to pay the one-time bonus to global banking analysts promoted to associates on top of any regular salary increases, Bloomberg reported. It is reportedly [...]
Travelodge’s interim chief executive Craig Bonnar secures permanent role May 10, 2021 Travelodge has appointed Craig Bonnar as its new chief executive, six months after former boss Peter Gowers stepped down. Bonnar took the reins as interim boss at the start of the year having previously served as Travelodge’s chief operating officer since January 2017. Gowers resigned last November following the conclusion of a dispute with its [...]
UK funds back in favour off the back of successful vaccine rollout May 6, 2021 After a long period of neglect, investors are finally warming to UK funds again off the back of the success of the vaccine rollout. The latest set of Investment Association figures show savers invested £472m into funds in the UK All Companies sector. It comes as the country starts to open up and investors pin [...]
Bank of England leaves monetary policy unchanged but slows bond-buying May 6, 2021 The Bank of England’s Monetary Policy Committee has left its stimulus programme unchanged as it expects a faster economic recovery than previously anticipated. As expected the committee unanimously voted to keep interest rates at 0.1 per cent and by a majority to keep the size of its bond-buying programme unchanged at £895m. The central bank [...]
Semiconductor firm Alphawave prices London IPO at up to £3.2bn May 6, 2021 Canadian firm Alphawave has set a price range for its planned London float putting it on track for a valuation of up to £3.2bn. The company is just four years old and develops technology that pushes data through data centres and phone networks. It indicated plans to list in the capital last month and now [...]
Bank of England meeting: What to expect later today May 6, 2021 With more than 50m doses of the Covid vaccine administered and positive signs of economic recovery, all eyes will be on the Bank of England later today. While restrictions were reintroduced in the first quarter the hit to GDP seems to have been less than originally expected, and there are encouraging signs in the second [...]
Aston Martin narrows losses as sales more than double May 6, 2021 Aston Martin has staged somewhat of a recovery in the first quarter, narrowing its losses as sales to dealers more than doubled. The carmaker posted a smaller first-quarter loss of £42.2m compared with the £110.1m posted in the same period last year. Coronavirus restrictions have hit Aston Martin’s sales hard and last year it asked [...]
Trainline posts £100m loss as sales drop through the floor May 6, 2021 Trainline has reported a huge £100m loss for the year as lockdown restrictions sent sales plummeting. The company reported an operating loss of £100m compared to an operating profit of £2m the previous year, as net ticket sales plummeted 79 per cent to £783m. The FTSE 250 firm’s revenue dropped 74 per cent from £261m [...]
