Honda pauses production at Swindon for third time January 13, 2021 Honda will next week pause car production at its factory in Swindon, the third time it has done so in a little over a month. The Japanese car giant said in a statement that output would be paused from Monday to Thursday next week, the longest such pause so far. It said that global supply [...]
Ministers mull moving patients to hotels as hospitals become overwhelmed January 13, 2021 The NHS is considering plans to transfer patients to hotels as hospitals become overwhelmed with Covid-19, the health secretary said this morning. Matt Hancock announced the government would not rule out any options to relieve pressures on the NHS and refused to speculate about how long lockdown restrictions could last. The health secretary told BBC [...]
Asda to offer in-store Covid-19 vaccinations January 13, 2021 Asda will become the first UK supermarket to offer in-store Covid-19 vaccinations after striking a deal with public health officials. The vaccination centre at the grocer’s Birmingham store will operate 8am to 8pm, seven days a week, and will have the capacity to administer 250 jabs per day. The site is the first Asda pharmacy [...]
Visa and Plaid call off merger following regulatory challenge January 13, 2021 Visa and Plaid have called off their $5.3bn deal after an antitrust lawsuit threatened to scupper the deal. Visa announced it was buying the fintech this time last year in one of the biggest fintech deals ever. But on Tuesday both parties announced they had agreed to mutually end the agreement after regulatory opposition. In [...]
Market gains aid Charles Stanley’s pandemic recovery January 13, 2021 Wealth manager Charles Stanley benefited from the strong markets seen at the end of last year, adding more than £2bn to its assets. In a third-quarter trading update, the London-listed firm reported that net inflows had increased just £0.1bn. But market improvements helped drive a more than £2bn growth in its overall assets, to £25.1bn [...]
Pressure mounts on big four supermarkets as Lidl enjoys record Christmas sales January 13, 2021 Lidl has strengthened the pressure on its competitors by remaining the fastest growing retailer against the UK’s big four supermarkets of Tesco, Sainsbury’s, Asda and Morrisons. The German chain achieved a record Christmas in 2020 with overall sales increasing 17.9 per cent in the same four-week December period versus the previous year. With Christmas favourites [...]
Covid drives £30m loss at William Hill betting shops January 13, 2021 William Hill suffered a £30m loss in its retail business in 2020, with all 1,414 of its shops affected by coronavirus restrictions. When open and trading without restrictions the retail side of the betting business traded well, and at the end of the third quarter it was on course to break even for the year. [...]
Marshalls to restore dividend after second half sales jump January 13, 2021 Landscaping firm Marshalls this morning confirmed that it would reinstate its dividend after much improved trading in the second half. After sales fell sharply in the first half, the company said that figures from recent months were ahead of 2019. But group revenue fell from £542m to £469m for the full year on the back [...]
Dividend payout at Winkworth suffers as business prepares for profit fall January 13, 2021 Winkworth profits are expected to fall for 2020, with market upheaval cited as the primary reason for the loss. In a market update this morning the estate agent said revenues for 2020 were relatively flat on 2019, and profit was likely to fall by 15 per cent. As a result of the loss the total [...]
Christmas sales hike drives strong revenue growth at Asos January 13, 2021 Sales at fashion retailer Asos surged in the four months ending in December as the online shopping boom continued amid the coronavirus pandemic. The firm said that the hike in sales had led to a better-than-expected growth in revenue over the period leading up to Christmas. As a result of the strong start to the [...]
