Small companies holding back on new investment July 24, 2011 COST pressures and weak domestic demand are preventing small businesses from investing in future growth, a survey by Lloyds TSB unveiled today. Fewer than one in five firms expect to boost their level of investment over the next six months, while slightly more (21 per cent) are planning cuts. The negative balance (minus two per [...]
More shop chains winding up July 24, 2011 THE number of retail companies which plunged into administration in the second quarter of this year increased by eight per cent compared with same period last year, according to figures from Deloitte. A total of 43 were affected, with household names like Oddbins and Focus being hit by the downturn in consumer spending. Moben, Habitat [...]
Red tape hinders flexible working in UK’s factories July 24, 2011 CONSTANT tinkering with employment regulation is hindering flexible working practices in the UK’s factories, a leading industry body will argue today. As the coalition launches the manufacturing stage of its Red Tape Challenge – which invites companies to nominate harmful regulations that should be scrapped – the EEF has called on the government to “avoid [...]
Higher sales prevent house price plummet July 24, 2011 RISING sales are preventing house prices from sinking significantly further, the latest Hometrack survey reveals this morning. A 20 per cent upturn in sales over the last two months has kept prices from dropping at a sharper rate, the group said, reporting only another slight (0.1 per cent) decline in prices for July. “Prices are [...]
OLYMPIC SURGE FOR EAST LONDON HOMES July 24, 2011 HOUSES in east London have seen their value rise by an average of £192 per week or 28 per cent since London won its bid for the Olympic Games in 2005, Lloyds TSB announced today. Yet the main price spikes were in Homerton, Dalston and Bethnal Green, while price increases around the Stratford site have [...]
More firms poised to raise fuel prices July 24, 2011 MORE than 12m customers, including households and small businesses, will next month see their gas and electricity bills increase by up to £200 a year. While half of the UK’s “Big Six” utility companies have now raised their fuel prices, the remaining three – Npower, EDF and E.ON – are expected to follow suit in [...]
Canary Wharf set to win Shell Centre redevelopment bid July 24, 2011 THE property developer Canary Wharf Group is set to be selected by Royal Dutch Shell to transform the area around the oil firm’s London headquarters, near Waterloo station. The developer, which is majority owned by Songbird Estates, has teamed up with Qatari Diar, the property investment arm of Qatar’s sovereign wealth fund, to offer up [...]
Oil companies set to announce huge increase in second-quarter profits July 24, 2011 BRITAIN’s three biggest oil companies are set to reveal a big jump in profits this week, driven by high oil prices. Royal Dutch Shell (RDS), BP and BG Group are expected to post profits totalling $15bn (£9.2bn) for last financial quarter, helped by oil prices that rose to an average $117 a barrel throughout the [...]
Charter to set out its survival strategy after rebuffing bid July 24, 2011 CHARTER International, the engineering firm that has twice rebuffed bids from the industrial investor Melrose, will this week pitch a set of proposals to investors on how it will improve its performance, as the company fights to retain its independence. In its interim results this Friday, Charter will outline an operational strategy to improve the [...]
CITY MOVES | WHO’S SWITCHING JOBS July 24, 2011 ASHCOURT ROWAN The wealth management group has appointed Jeremy Rance, its chief operating officer, as an executive director. Rance, 48, joined Ashcourt Rowan as director of planning in June last year. He led the negotiations on the acquisition of the Co-op Independent Financial Adviser business in October 2010. Rance was appointed as chief operating officer [...]
