European car giants count cost of dire year for auto industry January 12, 2021 European car giants this morning began to lay out of the full cost of the coronavirus pandemic on their performances in 2020. Over the course of the year, vehicle sales plummeted as factories and showrooms were shuttered around the world. French auto firm Renault said that worldwide sales fell 21.3 per cent last year as [...]
Real estate giant JLL hires first female chief January 12, 2021 The property industry has reached a milestone with the first appointment of a woman to take charge of one of the country’s leading surveying firms. JLL said this morning it has appointed senior client partner Stephanie Hyde, 47, as the new CEO of its UK business where she will oversee more than 4,300 employees from [...]
Games Workshop repays business rates support as profits surge in pandemic January 12, 2021 Games Workshop, the owner of Warhammer, this morning announced it would repay business rates support as it reported a surge in profit in the second half after consumer demand soared during the pandemic. The London-listed firm said profit before tax was £91.6m in the six months to 29 November, compared to £58.6m in 2019, and [...]
Was that the Dip? Crypto markets bounce back! January 12, 2021 Crypto at a Glance The decision by some news outlets to declare a bear market yesterday, mere seconds into what was a widely-expected retrace, was always going to leave them at risk of having egg on their face when it rebounded. But then, they’re probably used to wiping yolk off their sweaty brows when it [...]
Fintech Curve closes $95m Series C round as it eyes US expansion January 12, 2021 London-based fintech Curve has secured $95m in its latest fundraising round to fuel its expansion into the US and launch a new credit product. Founded in 2015, the startup allows users to consolidate all their credit and debit cards into one smart card and app. The Series C round was led by IDC Ventures, Fuel [...]
Checkout.com valuation reaches $15bn after latest fundraising round January 12, 2021 London payments firm Checkout.com has tripled its valuation to $15bn following a $450m Series C fundraising round. The round, which makes Checkout the fourth largest fintech globally, was led by New York-based Tiger Global Management, joined by Greenoaks Capital and existing investors including Insight Partners and DST Global. Payments has been one of the leading [...]
Vistry to resume dividends after housebuilder reports strong 2020 performance January 12, 2021 Vistry has announced it will resume dividend payouts after a strong second half performance, with the housebuilder expected to report 2020 profit of around £140m. The FTSE 250 developer said this morning that it is planning a “modest” final dividend when it announces its full-year results next month. The company said the decision to resume [...]
Hut Group outperforms expectations as questions are raised about boss’s income January 12, 2021 The Hut Group (THG) had a good Q4 2020, enjoying revenue growth of 51 per cent year-on-year, outperforming previous guidance of 40-45 per cent. THG, which owns a range of online beauty and nutrition brands like MyProtein and Lookfantastic, delivered Q4 2020 group revenue of £558.7m, versus £370.0m in Q4 2019. Revenue was boosted by [...]
Tesla and the S&P 500: what could have been? January 12, 2021 Tesla has finally joined the S&P 500 Index on 21 December 2020. Back in September, Standard & Poor’s announced that the index’s inclusion committee had decided not to add Tesla to the S&P 500. This unexpected news sent Tesla shares tumbling more than 16% in one day. Given Tesla’s sheer size — it is now among the [...]
Smart politicians will be looking to cities as a springboard for greatness January 12, 2021 For much of the second half of the 20th century, powerful city politics was dying. As the great industrial centres went into decline, so too did their once-proud corporations and mayors. County boroughs like Liverpool, Manchester, Birmingham and Leeds were gathered together in 1972 and melded into metropolitan counties like “Merseyside” or “West Midlands”, and [...]
