Drug maker Pfizer, known for making Viagra, to shut Cambridge office, putting up to 120 jobs at risk December 3, 2015 Drug maker Pfizer has today announced that it is closing one of its research sites in Cambridge. The decision to shut the Neusentis facility at Granta Park, which is part of the company's wider plans to reduce its investment in pain research, puts up to 120 jobs on the line. A statement from the company said: "Scientific research is [...]
Landlords opting to be companies after Osborne shakes up buy-to-let with stamp duty hikes and mortgage interest claim caps December 3, 2015 The Chancellor's recent changes to the buy-to-let rules have caused landlords to rush to incorporate. According to figures released today by Kent Reliance, a quarter of the demand for buy-to-let mortgage finance the banking company receives now comes through limited companies. Across the total buy-to-let market, Kent Reliance predicts that 56,800 buy-to-let loans will be issued [...]
Financial Conduct Authority proposes last year’s insurance premium information should be published on renewal documents December 3, 2015 The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) published proposals today that would require general insurance providers to include details of last year’s premium on customer’s renewal documents. The proposals are designed to address concerns that some customers might be getting a bad deal by sticking with the same company. “We hope the proposals encourage more people to [...]
Profits drop by 26 per cent for British packaging company DS Smith, causing share price to tumble too December 3, 2015 Profits have unraveled at DS Smith, as the packaging company today announced a fall in profits before tax of 26 per cent on a reported basis to £91m for the six months ended 31 October 2015. Revenue at the company dropped one per cent on a reported basis to £1.95bn, although this had increased by [...]
UK pensions: Self-employed people now less likely to be saving for their retirement December 3, 2015 Just nine per cent of self-employed people contribute to a personal pension, despite a record 4.6m people now being registered as self-employed. According to research released today by Prudential, 34 per cent of self-employed people paid into to a pension in the tax year 2001/02. The total amount saved into pensions by those who are [...]
Bookie Ladbrokes loses £54m gamble on tax avoidance scheme, as tribunal finds in favour of HMRC December 2, 2015 HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) announced today that it had won a tax avoidance case worth £54m against Ladbrokes. The ruling at the first-tier tribunal prevents the bookmakers from reclaiming £54m in tax, and the tax authority has said it has another three similar cases in the pipeline worth £112m. “Avoidance just doesn’t pay – we [...]
Oprah Winfrey’s probably not becoming an Avon lady, but rumours the TV star is buying a stake in the company drive share prices up December 2, 2015 Rumours that media mogul Oprah Winfrey is purchasing a stake in cosmetics company Avon have been doing the rounds today, causing shares in the cosmetics company to rocket by 17 per cent. However, after all the fuss, CNBC revealed that it was unlikely to be true, tweeting from its CNBC Now account that a spokesperson for the [...]
Luxury boat builder Fairline goes into administration, just two months after being sold by Better Capital December 2, 2015 Luxury boat builder Fairline has well and truly entered choppy waters, as the company has gone into administration. Restructuring firm FRP Advisory revealed today that Geoff Rowley and Alastair Massey of the firm had been appointed joint administrators. The administration announcement comes just two months after the shareholding in Fairline was sold by Better Capital [...]
RSM, the accountancy firm formerly known as Baker Tilly, reveals growth in UK revenues of 26 per cent to £292m December 2, 2015 Accountancy firm RSM today announced a growth in UK revenues of 26 per cent to £292m for its year ended 31 March 2015. The figures also showed that the business’s risk assurance service line had grown by 86 per cent to £22m and consulting, which is the firm’s fastest growing offering, by 195 per cent [...]
Sweett Group: Property surveyors admits Middle East bribery in relation to an SFO case into its activities in the United Arab Emirates December 2, 2015 The Serious Fraud Office (SFO) has today revealed that Sweett Group has admitted to a bribery offence. The SFO opened an investigation into the property surveyors in July 2014, regarding its activities in Middle East, particularly the United Arab Emirates (UAE). In Sweett Group’s interim results statement, which was also published today, chief executive Douglas [...]
