John Lewis suspends click and collect service to discourage non-essential travel January 12, 2021 John Lewis has suspended its click and collect service in a bid to prevent unnecessary travel during the coronavirus lockdown. The department store chain said this afternoon that the service will not accept any new orders from the end of the day. It said it is “conscious of the increased need to remove reasons for [...]
PwC to examine possible fraud in govt coronavirus loan programme January 12, 2021 The government-owned British Business Bank (BBB) has brought on PwC to examine cases of possible fraud in its Covid-19 business loans programme. The loan programme was established to help smaller businesses impacted by coronavirus. According to website Consultancy.co.uk, BBB tapped PwC to look into possible fraud, having previously worked with the Big Four firm and [...]
BBC Sounds launches on Sky in latest streaming tie-up January 12, 2021 Sky has agreed a deal with the BBC to embed the Sounds app on its platform, marking the pay-TV giant’s latest effort to become a one-stop shop for streaming services. From today the BBC Sounds app will be available to all Sky Q customers in the UK, offering more than 80,000 hours of audio content. [...]
UK supermarkets bring in security to enforce mask wearing as Covid cases rise January 12, 2021 Supermarkets are ramping up Covid safety measures, with many of the major UK grocers planning to make masks mandatory and to only allow one person per household in store. Tesco, Waitrose and Asda have joined Sainsbury’s and Morrisons in announcing that customers without masks will be turned away, unless they are exempt for medical reasons. [...]
FTSE 100 slides again but Wall Street edges up January 12, 2021 The FTSE 100 dropped again today after Chancellor Rishi Sunak warned that the economy would get worse before it got better. Across the Atlantic, Wall Street’s main markets crept upwards as traders looked for details of a new stimulus package for the distressed economy. London’s premier index was up 0.1 per cent at the opening [...]
Robert Walters: We stand to benefit from any Brexit repercussions January 12, 2021 Leading recruitment boss Robert Walters has said that despite a challenging year the firm stands to benefit from any Brexit repercussions because of its wide geographic reach. The FTSE 250 firm has offices across the world with a strong presence in Asia, where performance has improved in recent months. Its trading update published today showed [...]
UK sanctions China over ‘horrific’ treatment of Uyghur Muslims January 12, 2021 The UK has imposed sanctions on Chinese businesses in retaliation to the country’s “horrific” and “harrowing” treatment of Uyghur Muslims in the province of Xinjiang. Foreign secretary Dominic Raab announced today that the government would launch a review into which UK products can be exported to Xinjiang and introduce financial penalties for Chinese firms that [...]
Zoom kicks off $1.5bn share issue as vaccine threat looms January 12, 2021 Zoom is set to raise $1.5bn (£1.1bn) in a mammoth share sale as it looks to maintain momentum following a bumper year of growth. The video conferencing app launched the fundraising today, adding that it could be expanded by a further $225m. Zoom did not say what it plans to do with the fresh capital. [...]
British Gas engineers launch second strike over fire-and-rehire dispute January 12, 2021 GMB union members have launched a second five-day strike in opposition to British Gas’ planned fire and rehire pay cuts and conditions. Workers will strike on 20, 22 and 25 January, as well as 1 February, GMB said. GMB national officer Justin Bowden said: “The months and months of fire and rehire pay cut threats [...]
QuadReal pumps nearly $1bn in London property January 12, 2021 Property group QuadReal has spent nearly $1bn to acquire a majority stake in seven London-based assets owned by Realstar UK. The Canadian asset manager partnered with Realstar to invest in four rental properties in New Cross, Stockwell and a 45-story tower in the heart of Elephant & Castle. Realstar CEO Ryan Prince said, “Far [...]
