Brits get spending power boost from cheaper essential goods March 29, 2015 CONSUMERS have more money to spend thanks to lower inflation, improving personal finances and better job security, new figures from Lloyds Bank reveal today. “With the combination of a steadily improving jobs market and lower prices for essentials, feeding through to household budgets, a positive mood among consumers is being maintained. As a result, the [...]
West End shops’ business rates set to soar 80pc March 29, 2015 WEST END retailers are set to be the big losers from the next business rates revaluation, with research undertaken by property consultancy and rating specialist Gerald Eve showing they face increases in their bills of over 80 per cent. The firm said that shops situated on Bond Street, Oxford Street and Regent Street will pay [...]
London rents more than double UK average as high property prices lift sector demand March 29, 2015 Rents in London rose by eight per cent in February compared with the same month last year, as high property prices forced more people into the rented sector. For the UK as a whole, average rents increased by seven per cent in February compared with last year, figures released by estate agents Barnard Marcus show [...]
Double General Election poses major threat to construction March 29, 2015 The construction industry could suffer a sharp loss of output if there are two General Elections this year, a public sector procurement specialist said today. A second General Election could occur if the government fails a motion of no confidence without an alternative being put forward. Analysis of data going back to 1955 by Scape [...]
Finance sector upbeat as firms see profit jump March 29, 2015 Financial services firms are full of optimism following three months of surging business volumes and higher profits, a new set of survey data shows today. However, the survey was undertaken prior to the introduction of a bank levy that was announced in the recent Budget. The survey was also blighted by a decline in employment [...]
Mid-sized firms raise £5.2bn on Aim to boost investment plans March 29, 2015 Growing businesses raised £5.2bn in cash calls on the Alternative Investment Market (Aim) last year, the highest level since 2010, according to figures out today from Capita Asset Services. The rise in fundraisings is continuing into 2015 – in February alone, there were 42 cash calls, a rise of 24 per cent on the year. [...]
Duncan Smith must spell out £12bn cuts: CBI March 29, 2015 BRITAIN’S leading business group has criticised the Conservatives for failing to specify where cuts to welfare would come if it wins re-election in May. In a television interview yesterday morning, the Conservative work and pensions secretary Iain Duncan Smith said: “[Voters] know for certain that we are going to save that £12bn…We may not decide [...]
Stock market flotations grind to a halt ahead of General Election March 29, 2015 The expected flood of initial public offerings (IPOs) racing to debut on the stock market ahead of the election has barely materialised, analysts at EY said today. Market commentators had expected a rush of floating firms as sellers tried to cash out before the uncertainty of the General Election, combined with any potential coalition negotiations [...]
Miliband puts EU stability at the heart of Labour’s business pitch March 29, 2015 LABOUR leader Ed Miliband will put Britain remaining in the EU, at the heart of his pitch to businesses. The party is also not going to set a target for immigration levels. Labour will today launch its business manifesto, which will say: “We will return Britain to a leadership role in the EU and create [...]
Dianne Abbott brands £5 “controls on immigration” mug “shameful” – but it is a Labour pledge March 29, 2015 Labour, it appears, is trying to make a mug out of its supporters with regards to its immigration policy. It has issued, just in time for the General Election, a set of five mugs with its five key pledges to voters. All well and good, but one of the mugs has caused great consternation among [...]
