Smart Pension is a startup that wants to make auto enrollment a cinch for small businesses February 26, 2015 Auto-enrollment might be good for employees, but getting the paperwork done in time for the deadline (which, fact fans, is 1 March for businesses with 54-57 employees) is creating a headache for entrepreneurs. Step forward Smart Pension, a startup which has just closed a £1.5m funding round, with backers including the likes of Zoopla investor William [...]
Estate agents charge more than lawyers and private doctors February 26, 2015 Proof that £300 to print a contract is extortionate? High street estate agents charge more per hour than doctors, lawyers and electricians, new research has found. According to online estate agent eMoov, the average high street agent spends between five and 15 hours selling a property – valuing it, marketing it online, hosting viewings and [...]
Last year Switzerland filed more patent applications than the UK February 26, 2015 More indication of the UK's woeful attitude to intellectual property: data by the European Patents Office has shown that in 2014, more companies in Switzerland (population: eight million) filed for patents than ones in the UK (population: 64.1m). In fact, Germany, France and the Netherlands all filed more applications. Although to be fair, even Germany's [...]
UK GDP growth sticks at 0.5 per cent in fourth quarter February 26, 2015 The Office for National Statistics today reaffirmed its findings that the UK's gross domestic product (GDP) grew 0.5 per cent in the fourth quarter. The figure was unrevised from the ONS' original estimate. It added that 2014 GDP growth was 2.6 per cent, also unrevised, the UK's highest growth since 2007, which made the UK [...]
Paul McCartney’s childhood home in Speke goes under the hammer for £100,000 February 26, 2015 Got a spare £100,000 kicking around? You could be the proud owner of a definitive piece of Beatles memorabilia, when Paul McCartney's childhood home goes up for auction tonight. Alright, so the leopard print wallpaper and laminate floors probably weren't about in McCartney's day, but the three-bedroom terraced house at 72 Western Avenue in Speke, [...]
UK property prices: Three quarters of homes sold for less than their asking price in January February 26, 2015 Here's another sign the UK's property market is losing some of its pizzazz. A new study has found three quarters of homes sold for less than their asking price in January. That's 17 percentage points more than during the same period last year. The January housing market report, by the National Association of Estate Agents [...]
HSBC bosses Stuart Gulliver and Douglas Flint apologise to MPs over Swiss private banking scandal February 25, 2015 Stuart Gulliver, HSBC's chief executive and Douglas Flint, the embattled bank's chairman, have apologised for "unacceptable" practices at its Swiss private banking arm. During questioning by the Treasury Select Committee, Gulliver admitted the scandal had caused "damage to trust" in HSBC, while Flint said he felt "shame" and would "take his share of responsibility". However, [...]
Why everything is awesome for Lego, in four charts February 25, 2015 Lego goes against all the stereotypes of a multinational company: partly because it's based in Denmark, and partly because when it comes down to it, it only has one product – little plastic bricks. But today it posted figures showing that, in the words of the blockbuster Lego Movie, everything is awesome. Last year represented [...]
St James’s Place share price rises as it announces Metro Bank tie-up February 25, 2015 Another sign of how seriously the financial establishment is taking challenger banks? Wealth manager St James's Place has announced a tie-up with Metro Bank, the quirky high street banking chain best known for offering free dog biscuits in its branches. The two will offer a money management account which is "fully branded St James's Place, [...]
Cushman & Wakefield calls in Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley to seek £1.3bn sale February 25, 2015 Real estate giant Cushman & Wakefield has called in bankers at Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley to seek a private sector buyer, it was reported this morning. Property industry bible Property Week reported that the group could be sold for as much as £1.3bn. The company had been subject to rumours it could merge with rivals [...]
