Labour rules out Universal Basic Income for next election manifesto December 2, 2020 Labour shadow chancellor Anneliese Dodds has said she will not advocate giving every person in the UK a regular lump sum payment in the party’s next election manifesto. Dodds today told a virtual Bloomberg conference that giving regular handouts to everyone in the country, known as Universal Basic Income (UBI), “won’t work”. The shadow chancellor’s [...]
Italian restaurant chain Prezzo bought by private equity firm Cain International December 2, 2020 Italian restaurant chain Prezzo has been bought by private equity firm Cain International, the companies announced this afternoon. Cain International, which also holds stakes in Competitive Socialising – the owner of Swingers crazy golf – and women’s private members club The Allbright, said Prezzo has outperformed the struggling casual dining sector over the last 12 [...]
Countrywide rejects £82m takeover bid by rival estate agent firm Connells December 2, 2020 Estate agent chain Countrywide has rejected an £82m offer from rival firm Connells, and announced it has received an improved proposal from private equity investor Alchemy Partners. The company said today that it had considered the 250p per share cash offer from Connells – a subsidiary of Skipton Building Society – but has unanimously rejected [...]
Monzo secures additional £60m in funding December 2, 2020 Digital bank Monzo has topped up its earlier fundraising round with an additional £60m in funding, bringing its total raised this year to £125m. The challenger bank had previously closed a £65m top-up in June at a reduced valuation of £1.2bn, down from £2bn. The latest funding, first reported by TechCrunch, is effectively a top-up [...]
UK ‘through Covid by Spring’ but economic benefits are ‘months away’ December 2, 2020 The UK will be through the coronavirus pandemic by Spring, Matt Hancock said this morning, following news the Pfizer/BioNTech has been approved for distribution in the UK. Health minister Matt Hancock has said the UK will be ‘through this by Spring’, but despite the optimism, analysts have predicted there will not be an immediate boost [...]
EU regulator extends repayment holidays amid second wave December 2, 2020 The European banking regulator is allowing banks to grant a new round of loan repayment holidays amid a second wave of infections. The European Banking Authority (EBA) has today announced that guidance on legislative and non-legislative moratoria that expired on 30 September is being reactivated until March 31 2021. “The role of banks to ensure [...]
Bonmarche hires administrators in further blow to UK high street December 2, 2020 Budget fashion retailer Bonmarche has fallen into administration for the second time, putting 1,500 jobs at risk, in a further blow for the UK high street after days of grim announcements. RSM Restructuring Advisory has been appointed as administrator to BM Retail Limited, which operates the Bonmarche brand from 225 stores in the UK. No [...]
Government seeks site for world’s first nuclear fusion plant December 2, 2020 The government has today invited communities around the UK to bid for the world’s first nuclear fusion plant to be built in their local area. The successful site will be home to the construction of the plant, which the government hopes to be completed by 2040. Building the multi-billion pound project will create thousands of [...]
Choppy waters December 2, 2020 The Race to 20k The price action into the key $20,000 level is getting choppy but it is important to keep abreast of the bigger picture and that is ultimately, the trend higher remains firmly intact. Despite the aforementioned choppy price action, the futures aggregate open interest (OI) edged back towards highs printed last week [...]
Leon launches restructuring plan due to steep drop in sales during pandemic December 2, 2020 Healthy fast food chain Leon has launched a restructuring plan to reduce rents following a sharp drop in sales during the pandemic. The company has appointed business advisory firm Quantuma to launch a company voluntary arrangement (CVA) after its stores, which are in city centre and transport hub store locations, suffered a sharp drop in [...]
