Luxury yacht builder Pendennis sails into rough waters as expansion plans dent its profits August 23, 2015 Luxury yacht builder Pendennis has said that sales and profits dipped last year as it invested millions of pounds in refurbishing and expanding its shipyard in Falmouth, Cornwall. The 27-year-old company, which designs, builds and renovates superyachts for private clients, reported pre-tax profits of £2.2m in 2014 – down 12 per cent on the previous [...]
Barcelona tops Britons’ holiday list as spending abroad jumps August 23, 2015 BRITONS splurged more on their summer holidays abroad this year thanks to improving confidence, new figures show, with Barcelona topping the charts as the most popular destination. Spending on travel – including air fares, hotels and eating out – grew by 7.5 per cent in the first six months of this year, compared with 2.4 [...]
Online personal styling service Thread is in fashion as investors pump $8m into one of the UK’s hottest start-ups August 23, 2015 Men’s fashion start-up Thread has closed a Series A funding round, raising $8m (£5m) from investors including the co-founders of Google’s DeepMind and a former president of Saks Fifth Avenue. Demmis Hassabis and Mustafa Suleyman, who along with Shane Legg sold DeepMind to Google in 2014, and Andrew Jennings, previously of Saks Fifth Avenue, were [...]
British American Tobacco to put its first quitting aid Voke on the market August 23, 2015 British American Tobacco’s (BAT) first anti-smoking product, Voke, will arrive in shops at the end of the year, marking a victory for BAT over its rivals such as Imperial Tobacco who have similar products in development. BAT was granted regulatory approval in 2014 by the Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency (MHPRA). The product will [...]
Back-to-school bills: What school spending does to your wallet August 23, 2015 As parents breathe a sigh of relief at the approach of back-to-school week, their wallets may be feeling a little less strained than last year. Spending to kit kids out for the new school year is down, with the average outlay per pupil falling to £236 from £240 in 2014, according to a survey by [...]
Housing market and paying off summer holidays take the edge off consumer confidence August 23, 2015 Summer holiday spending, rising housing costs, and Britain’s employment situation have dented people’s financial confidence, according to a survey released today. Lloyds Bank’s spending power index came off its record high in July, falling three points to 161. The biggest drag on the figure was sentiment toward the housing market. Various house price measures including [...]
City Moves for 24 August 2015 | Who’s switching jobs August 23, 2015 BLP The law firm has appointed Geraldine Quirk as a partner in its insurance practice to enhance its non-contentious insurance and financial services regulatory experience. She joins from Clyde & Co, where she was a partner in its corporate insurance team. Legatum Institute The think tank has appointed Jane Siebels to its board of trustees. [...]
Best of the Brokers for 24 August 2015 August 23, 2015 To appear in Best of the Brokers, email your research to notes@cityam.com BELLWAY Jefferies has retained its “buy” rating on the UK home builder, but upgraded its target price after the company finished the year to April with a record number of completions. Jefferies increased its profit before tax estimate by three per cent for [...]
UK gambling firms bet on strong results – London Report August 23, 2015 UK SALES data and GDP estimates are due out this week, while on the corporate calendar several bookmakers are set to issue results, with both 888 Holdings and its takeover target Bwin.party due to report on Friday. Tomorrow, the British Bankers’ Association will release its latest mortgage approvals data, while on Wednesday, Nationwide will publish [...]
Investors seek signs of rate hike from Fed – New York Report August 23, 2015 ALL EYES will be on Jackson Hole, Wyoming, this week, as the Federal Reserve begins its annual meeting. Investors will be looking for any signs that the central bank is increasingly worried about global issues or whether it is going ahead with what had been a widely-expected interest rate hike in September. The Fed has said its [...]
