Businesses yet to receive a penny from £1.5bn Covid support pot October 11, 2021 English businesses are yet to receive a single penny in relief following the announcement of a £1.5bn targeted Covid support fund six months ago. The business rates relief fund was announced to help businesses affected by Covid outside the retail, hospitality, and leisure sectors. The government said it would retrospectively ban more than 170,000 rates [...]
Liberty Steel £50m cash injection to save 660 jobs October 10, 2021 Liberty Steel has secured a £50m cash injection which would allow its Rotherham plant to reopen this month after it has been closed since spring. Liberty’s owner, GFG Alliance, has agreed debt restructuring with Credit Suisse. It was forced to seek funding after the collapse of its key lender, Greensill Capital. The cash injection will [...]
Priti Patel frustrated over Met’s ‘uninterested and defensive’ response to Sarah Everard scrutiny October 10, 2021 The home secretary plans to overhaul how police chiefs are chosen after believing Scotland Yard commissioner Dame Cressida Dick “tin-eared”. The Met police are “absolutely the worst” force in the country, Priti Patel reportedly believes. Following the murder of Sarah Everard, Patel is determined to tackle what she believes is a misognistic and dysfunctional police [...]
Hedge fund boss makes shock appearance at GSK investor call to pile pressure on CEO October 10, 2021 Hedge fund boss Gordon Singer dramatically questioned the leadership of GlaxoSmithKline chief executive Emma Walmsley at a virtual investor meeting. Singer, head of Elliott Investment Management’s London office, demanded an answer as to why the drug company’s share price had slumped below pre-Covid levels. Around 50 top investors were present at the private virtual event, [...]
Asos expected to reveal sales boosted by post freedom day shopping October 10, 2021 Online fashion retailer Asos is expected to outline a slowdown in sales growth this week as its profit margins take a hammering from global freight shortages. The fashion giant saw sales jump during the pandemic as shoppers turned to online shops for comfortable clothes to lock down in. Analysts said they anticipated freight shortages, currency [...]
Kraft Heinz boss: Businesses should try to minimise food price increases for customers October 10, 2021 Businesses should try to minimise price increases for consumers, according to the boss of Kraft Heinz. Miguel Patricio – who oversees the ketchup and baked beans producer – told the BBC that the firm was hiking prices in several countries. He said consumers would be forced to get used to higher food prices. Inflation was [...]
High street bosses plead Chancellor to slash business rates October 10, 2021 Around 20 retail leaders have called for a cut to business rates to ensure the high street’s pandemic recovery. Some 21 bosses – including leaders of Iceland and MossBros – have written to Chancellor Rishi Sunak and said urgent intervention is needed to protect businesses. “There are many views on precisely how the business rates [...]
Government buys 100,000 doses of Covid antibody treatment October 10, 2021 The UK government has bought 100,000 doses of a new coronavirus antibody treatment from GlaxoSmithKline. The treatment will help coronavirus patients and provide extra protection from virus mutations that make vaccines ineffective. The Department for Health and Social Care has bought 100,000 doses of the sotrovimab treatment, according to The Telegraph. Regulators have approved the [...]
Rain and fuel chaos kept shoppers away from the high street October 8, 2021 Shoppers were deterred from the high street last month because of rain and chaos surrounding fuel buying. Total UK footfall dropped by 16.8 per cent in September, compared to pre-pandemic levels, BRC-Sensormatic IQ data found. Out of all regions, London saw the biggest drop of 26.3 per cent, compared to 2019. The city has suffered [...]
JustEat orders to offices soared last month October 7, 2021 JustEat has said orders of delivery food to offices has almost doubled in September, compared to June. The number of companies ordering food to the office last month grew more than 170 per cent when compared to last September. Office delivery sales have increased by more than 150 per cent from July to September, the [...]
