Suits you: TM Lewin bought by private equity firm SCP May 12, 2020 British menswear brand TM Lewin has today been acquired by SCP Private Equity via special purpose vehicle Torque Brands. TM Lewin, which was established in 1898, was sold to SCP for an undisclosed amount by Bain Capital Credit which acquired the shirt-and-tie retailer in 2015. SCP has acquired the business as a going concern, taking [...]
UK banks lend £15bn through coronavirus loan schemes May 12, 2020 The chancellor Rishi Sunak today said the UK banking and finance industry has provided almost £15bn to almost 304,000 businesses through three government-backed coronavirus loan schemes. In the week since the bounce back loan scheme (BBLS) launched, £8.4bn has been approved to 268,173 businesses – an average of 38,000 loans a day. Lenders have provided [...]
Lloyds says it has provided £4bn support to businesses during coronavirus crisis May 12, 2020 Lloyds Banking Group today said it has provided more than £4bn support to businesses during the coronavirus crisis. Britain’s major banks were heavily criticised for slow lending, bureaucracy and offering disadvantageous terms to customers following the coronavirus lockdown. Lloyds today said it accounted for approximately 28 per cent of lending under the government bounce back [...]
Wuhan to test entire 11m population after fresh coronavirus outbreak May 12, 2020 The Chinese city of Wuhan, ground zero in the worldwide coronavirus pandemic, is planning a citywide testing drive over the next 10 days after a fresh outbreak. According to a document seen by Reuters every district of the city has been told to submit a detailed testing plan by today. The city of 11m people [...]
Toyota expects profit to fall 80 per cent on coronavirus hit May 12, 2020 Japanese carmaker Toyota today said it expects profit to fall 80 per cent to its lowest level in nine years after the impact of coronavirus on its sales. Toyota said it expects to take a massive 1.5 trillion yen (£11bn) hit from a collapse in global sales, but it still expects to scrape an operating [...]
Ten per cent of London’s population may have caught coronavirus May 11, 2020 Ten per cent of London’s population are estimated to have coronavirus antibodies, compared to around four per cent of the UK population, the government’s chief scientific adviser said today. “In London, it might be from that time, maybe 10 percent of people positive for antibodies, suggesting that’s the sort of range of infection, and across [...]
Boris Johnson defends government’s new ‘stay alert’ coronavirus slogan May 11, 2020 Prime Minister Boris Johnson tonight defended the government’s new “stay alert” message in the face of criticism it was unclear. Johnson, in answer to questions from the public and the media, said the clarity of the government’s previous “stay at home” message was difficult to emulate as the UK begins to return to work. Pooja [...]
P&O Ferries to cut 1,100 jobs May 11, 2020 P&O Ferries today said it will cut 1,100 jobs after demand for travel was hit by the coronavirus pandemic. The ferry operator said it has started consultations “with a proposal to make around 1,100 of our colleagues redundant.” A spokesperson for P&O Ferries said: “Since the beginning of the crisis, P&O Ferries has been working [...]
‘We cannot afford another lockdown’: Italy’s cautious return to work May 11, 2020 Italy was the first European country to be hit hard by the coronavirus pandemic and it is now one of the first beginning to ease its draconian lockdown measures to lessen the economic damage of the crisis. Last Monday the country began cautiously moving out of its tough lockdown with factories, building sites and offices [...]
Could group action claims explode in post-coronavirus crisis litigation boom? May 7, 2020 Lawyers and litigation funders are increasingly looking at group action lawsuits in England and Wales as a way of holding major companies to account. After the last financial crisis litigation spiked as contractual counterparties fell out and consumers and shareholders pursued banks for wrongdoing. The litigation landscape in the English legal system has changed over [...]