Tesco to pay back £585m in emergency support with pandemic risks ‘behind us’ December 2, 2020 Tesco this morning said that it would pay back £585m of business rates relief it received to protect it from the impact of the coronavirus pandemic. The supermarket said that paying back the emergency funding was “the right thing to do”, adding that some of the risks from the pandemic were now behind it. In [...]
Gardaworld jacks up offer for G4S as pursuit goes on December 2, 2020 Gardaworld has this morning jacked up its offer for G4S as the Canadian firm shows no signs of giving up its pursuit of the FTSE 250 outsourcer. The improved offer values G4S at 235p per share, up from 190p per share before, giving the company a total value of £3.7bn. It also said that it [...]
From today, business lunches are allowed again December 2, 2020 Business lunches inside ARE allowed under new Tier 2 restrictions, so from today, the Government has confirmed. The Business Department confirmed the policy to City A.M. earlier. Official sources have though said that a traditional office Christmas lunch would not be permitted under the rules coming into place in London today. Government guidance dictates that [...]
Ryanair and Wizz Air passenger numbers plunge 80 per cent amid lockdown December 2, 2020 Ryanair and Wizz Air both said that passenger numbers had dropped over 80 per cent in November, with international leisure travel banned under the UK’s second national lockdown. The Irish carrier said that it flew just 2m passengers last month, down from nearly 11m for the same month in 2019. For the year to date, [...]
FTSE 100 and Wall Street chase record highs as vaccine hopes boost markets December 1, 2020 The FTSE 100 logged its best session in three weeks today while Wall Street hit record highs as markets continue to ride a wave of vaccine optimism. The blue-chip bourse closed up 1.9 per cent, while the FTSE 250 midcap index rose by 2.6 per cent. It comes after the FTSE recording its biggest gain [...]
Forget chlorinated chicken – put satellites ‘at the centre’ of a UK-US trade deal, says Raytheon UK space boss December 1, 2020 Defence firm Raytheon has called for the space industry to be at the forefront of any future trade deal between the UK and the US, saying the sector can help the government fulfil its “levelling-up” agenda. Speaking to City A.M., the firm’s UK managing director for space and cyber James Gray said that the sector [...]
Lastminute.com will pay out £7m in refunds for cancelled holidays December 1, 2020 Holiday firm Lastminute.com has committed to paying out £7m in refunds to customers who had their trips cancelled due to the coronavirus pandemic. The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) this morning revealed that over 9,000 people were currently awaiting payouts from the booking site. Lastminute.com has now agreed to pay these out as soon as [...]
Government agrees £825m loan to finish Crossrail December 1, 2020 The government has agreed a £825m loan to finance the completion Crossrail train link, Grant Shapps today announced. Writing on Twitter, Shapps said that the loan was a “fair dal for taxpayers across the UK”. The loan takes the total cost of the project, which has been plagued by difficulties over its lifespan, to £18.6bn. [...]
Astrazeneca sells cholesterol drug to German firm for $320m December 1, 2020 Astrazeneca has announced that it will sell the rights to its blockbuster cholesterol drug to German firm Gruenenthal GmbH for $320m (£240m). The drug, which is called Crestor, used to be one of the pharma giant’s bestselling medicines, bringing in $5bn in revenue in 2015. However, with the marketplace now crowded with alternative treatments, the [...]
UK PMIs: Manufacturing beats forecasts to rise for sixth month in a row December 1, 2020 UK manufacturing activity increased for the sixth straight month in November as factories brushed off the impact of the second national lockdown. The IHS Markit/Cips manufacturing purchasing managers (PMI) index stood at 55.6 in November, with any score above the 50 mark indicating growth. The score came in ahead of flash estimates of 55.2, as [...]
