Snakes and Ladders: Who is moving jobs in the City this week? October 28, 2020 Snakes and Ladders provides a roundup of the most important hires and job moves across the City, every Wednesday afternoon. Email citymoves@cityam.com to be featured. City firms are continuing to adapt to the challenges and opportunities presented by the pandemic as they vie to be in prime position to recover from the economic fallout of the crisis. This [...]
John Lewis to convert almost half of Oxford Street store into offices October 28, 2020 John Lewis has been given the green light to convert almost half of its flagship Oxford Street department store into office space amid turmoil for the UK’s retail sector. Westminster City Council last night granted the high street store conditional planning permission to transform three to eight floors into dual-use space. The local authority voted [...]
Next hikes profit forecast after stronger than expected sales October 28, 2020 Next has hiked its profit forecast for the year after sales in the third quarter were stronger than expected. The high street retailer said full-year profit before tax is now expected to be £365m, £65m higher than the forecast given in September. Full price sales in the three months ended 24 October increased 2.8 per [...]
Paris overtakes Heathrow as Europe’s busiest airport October 28, 2020 Paris has overtaken Heathrow as Europe’s busiest airport following a sharp drop in passenger numbers at the London travel hub. Heathrow’s chief executive John Holland-Kaye called on the government to introduce pre-departure coronavirus tests and to create an airbridge with the US as the number of travellers using the airport continued to fall. He warned [...]
Deutsche Bank swings to surprise profit in third quarter October 28, 2020 Deutsche Bank reported a surprise profit for the third quarter this morning despite its ongoing restructuring and the impact of the coronavirus pandemic. The lender posted a profit of €309m as its net revenues grew 13 per cent year-on-year to €5.9bn during the quarter. It saw profit attributable to shareholders rise to €182m, compared with [...]
UK betting firm Genius Sports to go public with $1.5bn US deal October 27, 2020 UK sports data firm Genius Sports Group is planning to go public with a listing on the New York Stock Exchange by merging with special purpose acquisition company Dmy Technology. The deal values the combined group at around $1.5bn. Genius Sports boss Mark Locke will stay on as chief executive following the transaction. Dmy chairman [...]
Retail sales fall sharply as new restrictions dampen economic recovery October 27, 2020 Retail sales fell sharply this month as new coronavirus restrictions dampened the UK’s economic recovery, according to the latest research. In the year to October retail sales dropped to a balance of minus 23 per cent, from growth of 11 per cent last month, according to the CBI distributive trades survey. Retail sales have been [...]
Revolution Bars to close six sites as sales plunge due to coronavirus 10pm curfew October 27, 2020 Revolution Bars will permanently close six sites after coronavirus restrictions such as the 10pm curfew on hospitality venues caused sales to plummet. The bar chain announced this morning it would launch a company voluntary arrangement to close sites, cut rents and improve profitability. Investors will need a stiff drink today, with shares already down 6.5 [...]
Premier Inn owner Whitbread swings to huge loss due to hotel closures October 27, 2020 Premier Inn owner Whitbread (LON:WTB) swung to a huge loss in the first half of the year as revenue plummeted while its hotels were closed during coronavirus lockdowns. The figures In the six months ended 27 August, Whitbread posted a loss for the period of £660.5m, a drop of 483.6 per cent from £172.2m profit [...]
Covid-19 sparks bleakest UK hotel sector outlook ‘in 50 years’ October 27, 2020 UK hotel trading performance is expected to plummet next year due to the impact of the coronavirus pandemic on travel and tourism, the latest research showed in the bleakest outlook for the sector in 50 years. Research by accountancy giant PwC showed that hotel occupancy rates are forecast to be 55 per cent across the [...]
