Third rail firm up for sale as Angel scouts for buyers March 9, 2015 RAIL company Angel Trains could follow the path of rivals Eversholt and Porterbrook to become the third British train firm to be sold in a year. Angel is currently owned by a consortium of investors from Australia, Canada, Luxembourg and the UK, which bought the company from the Royal Bank of Scotland in 2008. The [...]
Small investors offered Prime London market March 9, 2015 A PROPERTY crowdfunding start-up that aims to make prime UK property accessible to retail investors has launched a £1m offer today for a luxury flat in south west London. Property Crowd’s chief executive Scott Trapnell co-founded the company with a private investor in 2013 after first coming up with the idea while studying for an [...]
DoPay service launched today March 9, 2015 TWO BILLION people around the world will be given access to financial services for the first time after the launch of a new service at today’s Innovative Finance Global Summit. The new service, named DoPay, is part of the Barclays Accelerator programme and will be unveiled this evening at the Guildhall.
Crowdfunders wait for licence March 9, 2015 NEW CROWDFUNDING platforms have to wait for an average of six months to receive authorisation from the Financial Conduct Authority, according to consultancy Bovill. Bovill claims the FCA is struggling to cope with a rush of applications. And the consultants say this shows the FCA failing to meet government financial innovation goals.
Leon orders finance duo from Wagamama March 9, 2015 Fast-food chain Leon has bolstered its senior management team by hiring two directors from Asian-style food chain Wagamama to help drive its expansion from 21 to 33 sites this year. Antony Perring will join as chief financial officer and Chris Burford as director of finance.
UK’s recovery feeds through to pay increases March 9, 2015 BRITAIN’S small firms are increasingly confident, leading to more hiring and to pay increases, according to a study out today from the Federation of Small Businesses (FSB). More businesses reported rising revenues than said their incomes were falling, by a margin of 19.5 per cent in the first quarter. And a net balance of 12.5 [...]
British banks creep back toward sustainable profitability this year March 9, 2015 BANKS’ returns could start to exceed their cost of equity this year, analysts at EY said today. The study predicts returns on equity (ROE) will rise to an average of 9.5 per cent in 2015, exceeding the 9.1 per cent cost of equity. In the years before the financial crisis, UK banks regularly made double [...]
British firms’ optimism lifted by falling costs March 9, 2015 FALLING costs and increasing revenues are making UK firms more optimistic about their future prospects, according to a study out today from professional services group BDO. Its optimism index edged up from 104.4 in January to 104.9 in February, which compares with 103.3 a year earlier. And BDO’s output index increased from 102.9 to 103.1 [...]
Increasing life expectancy could cause problems for UK economy March 9, 2015 Life expectancy in the UK is improving, which could present the country with a “significant economic danger” if the extra years of peoples’ lives are not spent in good health and prosperity, academics have warned. Research conducted by Cass Business School in partnership with the International Longevity Centre (ILC) UK has found that age at [...]
Brits rely on state pension March 9, 2015 FOUR out of five Britons are planning to rely on the state pension when they retire, according to new research from insurer Zurich. The company found that 83 per cent of people who are retired or expect to retire said the state pension would be important in funding their retirement, although the same amount of [...]
