Marston’s rings in Christmas bookings as profit jumps in ‘defining year’ December 3, 2024 Pub operator Marston’s has surpassed market expectations as pre-Christmas bookings begin to introduce hope for another bumper year of trade. The Wolverhampton-headquartered firm told markets this morning that its total revenue for the year ending 28 September, 2024, increased to £898.6m, up three per cent from £872.3m the prior 12 months. Pre-tax profit for Marston’s [...]
How two ex-consultants plan to revolutionise UK consumer credit December 3, 2024 As financial services consultants at EY, Gerald Chappell and Michelle He noticed a weak spot shared by some of the world’s biggest banks: affordable personal loans. Up against ageing data-sharing systems, bureaucratic decision-making and a lack of business motivation to enter a market easily written off as “risky”, they set out to provide finance to [...]
French budget crisis show fiscal fears are rising back up the agenda December 3, 2024 The mounting budget crisis in France looks set to revive the spectre of sovereign debt levels.
Festive period off to a ‘bad start’ for retail sector as sales drop December 3, 2024 The British Retail Consortium's (BRC) sales monitor showed that sales volumes fell 3.3 per cent in the year-to-November, compared to a 2.3 per cent increase last year.
How I crafted the perfect recipe for my multimillion-pound biscuit brand December 3, 2024 Building a successful business takes a focussed mind and a steady hand - but can you have both?
Lord Mayor urges Starmer to ‘unleash the City’ December 3, 2024 The government is facing fresh calls to accelerate its reform of City rules and stem the “exodus” of cash away from London’s markets, as the new Lord Mayor last night urged ministers to develop a more supportive tax and regulatory environment. In his first major speech since becoming Lord Mayor in November, Alastair King urged [...]
Starmer vows to put Ukraine ‘in strongest possible position for negotiations’ with Russia December 2, 2024 The Prime Minister will say that Ukraine must be put in the “strongest possible position for negotiations” with Russia, addressing the possibility of a negotiated settlement for the first time. Speaking at the Lord Mayor’s Banquet, Sir Keir Starmer will tell attendees at the white tie Guildhall dinner that the eastern European nation must be [...]
UK needs to innovate at wartime pace, defence secretary says December 2, 2024 The UK needs “innovation at a wartime pace”, the defence secretary has said as he announced a new strategy for the industry. As he launched a defence industrial strategy, which is being developed alongside the government’s strategic defence review, John Healey said war game exercises to test the military’s capabilities will be carried out with [...]
Lord Mayor criticises ‘misalignment’ of tax in call to unleash the City December 2, 2024 The Lord Mayor of London will rebuke the government for a “misalignment” in its fiscal policy tonight as he calls for ministers to “look again” at a tax on share trading and incentivise investors to back London Stock Exchange-listed companies. In his first major speech since becoming Lord Mayor in November, Alastair King will urge [...]
US funds soar in November while gold prices sink December 2, 2024 US-focused funds topped the charts in November following Donald Trump’s presidential victory, while gold and precious metal funds struggled to maintain their previously strong performance. The average North America-focused fund grew by 7.2 per cent throughout the month, with North American Smaller Companies growing by a whopping 11.9 per cent. This led the best performing [...]
