Property giant Grainger appoints new finance chief February 18, 2021 The UK’s largest listed residential landlord has announced that Robert Hudson will be appointed as its new chief financial officer. Hudson currently heads finance and operations at St. Modwen Properties, where he became interim CEO in April last year. He has more than 26 years of experience in the industry, having worked as group financial [...]
UK nightlife ‘faces extinction’ without government support February 18, 2021 The UK’s nightlife scene is at risk of extinction without urgent financial support, the government has been warned. A group of 40 cross-party MPs today urged the prime minister and chancellor Rishi Sunak to bring forward a sector-specific grant package and lay out a detailed roadmap for reopening venues to avoid “irreversible losses” for businesses. [...]
Recruitment firm Hays to pay out £150m in special dividends February 18, 2021 Hays plc said on Thursday it had identified £150m of surplus capital that it plans to return to shareholders as special dividends. The move was encouraged by hiring activity rebounding to pre-Christmas levels by early February. Alistair Cox, CEO of Hays, said: “With recovery in fees and our profits accelerating in Q2, this provides us [...]
Moneysupermarket profit drops as demand for travel insurance and credit products falls February 18, 2021 Moneysupermarket, the financial services price-comparison platform, suffered a fall in profit and revenue last year as lockdown restrictions caused a drop in demand for insurance and credit products. Moneysupermarket, which also owns the advice website Moneysavingexpert, said profit after tax fell 27 per cent from £94.9m in 2019 to £69.3m last year. Group revenue was [...]
Coronavirus cases fall across England ahead of lockdown easing announcement February 18, 2021 Coronavirus cases have declined strongly across England since January, according to the latest study, suggesting that the current lockdown measures have worked to drive infection rates down. The study, known as REACT-1 and led by researchers at Imperial College London, found that national prevalence was two thirds lower between 4 and 13 February than it [...]
The biotech bosses welcoming Neil Woodford back, even if FCA and savers stay wary February 18, 2021 Neil Woodford is far from universally popular, and those fans he has are for the minute rare to put their head above the parapet. But Angharad Carrick found some, leading a number of Britain’s fastest-growing biotech firms. The return of Neil Woodford has, understandably, annoyed plenty. Chief amongst them are the savers he left out [...]
Tracking the pandemic’s impacts on small business February 18, 2021 Next week the Government will provide an update on the lockdown exit plan with a much-speculated upon roadmap to recovery out of the pandemic. This roadmap needs clear signposts and barrier-free routes to help small and medium enterprises (SMEs) recover. It has been a turbulent year for them, evidenced in results from the ACCA UK [...]
Remote working will come at a cost, FTSE and S&P 500 hiring execs warn February 18, 2021 Remote working will come at a cost, FTSE and S&P 500 hiring execs warn
The future of cities: The age of urban miracles is not over February 18, 2021 Will the Covid-19 pandemic permanently derail our urban world and end the eminence of the greatest global cities, like London? The answer depends on whether the switch to working from home is permanent. Our city centres are ghostly quiet because so many of us have stopped commuting and are dialling into our jobs. But not [...]
Could the ‘circular economy’ be the answer to post-Covid growth? February 18, 2021 January’s third lockdown and fallout from Brexit have added insult to the injuries inflicted in 2020, and Britain’s economic outlook hasn’t been looking very bright in recent weeks. With the Chancellor continuing to pump money into relief schemes, with more desperately needed cash set to be announced in the March budget, those early pandemic conversations [...]
