Hotel Chocolat hungry for global expansion as profit rises September 24, 2019 Hotel Chocolat has reported a mouthwatering set of full-year results, with increases in pre-tax profit and revenue, as the luxury chocolatier eyes up further global expansion. Revenue rose 14 per cent to £132.5m, the company said, while pre-tax profit climbed 11 per cent to £14.1m. Read more: Choc Horror: Hotel Chocolat’s ‘Chocmobile’ found burnt out [...]
Metro Bank share price sinks after investors snub £250m bond offering September 24, 2019 Metro Bank’s shares fell almost ten per cent in early trading after the struggling lender was forced to ditch a £250m bond offering yesterday after a lack of demand from investors. The challenger bank’s shares fell as much as 12 per cent in morning trading, but then trimmed its losses to 6.8 per cent. Read [...]
Tube chaos for commuters as Victoria line suspended September 24, 2019 Commuters have been hit by severe delays during rush hour this morning after part of the Victoria line was suspended. The line, which runs between Brixton and Walthamstow central, is suspended between Brixton and Victoria due to a fire alert, Transport for London (TfL) said on Twitter. There are severe delays on the rest of [...]
School recruitment platform raises £5.6m Venture Capital funding September 24, 2019 A digital staffing platform for teachers has raised £5.6m in a Series A funding round in a bid to tackle teacher shortages. Zen Educate is designed to be a cost-saving alternative to recruitment agencies for schools, and is currently works with 10 per cent of schools in London. Read more: London design startup Papier picks [...]
Investment managers urged to tackle ‘class ceiling’ in finance September 24, 2019 An industry body is calling on investment managers to promote social mobility in their recruitment and retention practices in an attempt to make the industry more representative of people from different classes and socioeconomic backgrounds. In a report published today, the Investment Association (IA) outlines steps employers can take to improve their recruitment processes. These [...]
Frozen Woodford fund falls 13 per cent since since June September 23, 2019 Neil Woodford’s frozen flagship Equity Income Fund (EIF) substantially underperformed its industry benchmark in September and will remain under lock and key as expected, the firm managing the suspension said. The fund has dropped 12.83 per cent since its suspension on 3 June, while the benchmark FTSE All Share total return rose 4.29 per cent, [...]
Thomas Cook collapse set to net hedge funds millions September 23, 2019 The demise of travel firm Thomas Cook has caused chaos, leaving 150,000 Brits stranded abroad and triggering the UK’s biggest peacetime repatriation effort, but hedge funds are set to make millions from the collapse. Thomas Cook was the most shorted company on the London Stock Exchange ahead of its collapse into liquidation in the early [...]
Acceptance of negative interest rates ‘vaguely troubling’, says BIS September 23, 2019 Growing acceptance of negative interest rates has reached “vaguely troubling” levels, the Bank for International Settlements (BIS) has said. Recent switches back into economic support mode by central banks including the European Central Bank and Federal Reserve has led to a record $17 trillion (£13.7 trillion) of bonds trading at negative rates. Read more: Blackrock [...]
Miton’s assets under management jump despite fund outflows September 23, 2019 Miton Group has reported an increase in assets under management (AGM) for the first half despite slipping back to net outflows, which the asset manager blamed on political uncertainty related to Brexit. The company reported an eight per cent increase in AUM, which were £4.7bn at the end of the first half. Read more: Hargreaves [...]
UK households most pessimistic about finances in almost six years September 23, 2019 UK households are the most pessimistic they have been about their financial outlook for almost six years, with job security perceptions also deteriorating. Households’ outlook for finances dropped to its weakest level since November 2013, according to IHS Markit’s UK Household Finance Index. Read more: UK households’ inflation expectations at highest in six years, survey [...]
