Barclays makes major lending push with £2.3bn deal for Kensington Mortgage Company June 24, 2022 In a major push to broaden its lending offering, banking giant Barclays said this morning it has agreed a deal worth around £2.3bn to buy specialist lender Kensington Mortgage Company. Barclays said the acquisition will allow it to offer more mortgage options to the self-employed and people who have multiple or variable incomes. The bank [...]
Construction giants colluded to rig £150m of contracts including Selfridges and Oxford University, CMA rules June 24, 2022 A consortium of about 10 construction firms illegally colluded to rig bids for £150m of major contracts, according to provisional findings by the UK competition watchdog. The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) said eight of the firms involved in the cartels have admitted to taking part. The rigged contracts for demolition services included work for [...]
Banking battle for customers heats up as Nationwide introduces 5 per cent interest rate on current accounts June 23, 2022 The battle for customers is increasingly heating up in the UK banking scene with one major current account provider now offering 5 per cent interest on balances up to £1,500 for the first 12 months . Nationwide Building Society previously offered 2 per cent fixed for 12 months on balances up to £1,500 on its [...]
Criminal attacks, non-payment and evasion result in £32bn gap between tax expected and tax paid June 23, 2022 The difference between the total amount of tax expected and that which is actually paid hit £32 billion in 2020/21 – according to HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC). At 5.1 per cent, there has been no change in the percentage tax gap compared to the previous year, although the monetary value has fallen by £2 [...]
Cybersecurity is not just the IT team’s responsibility: ‘This mistaken belief will cost you dearly’, warns industry insider June 23, 2022 Globally, SMEs have proven themselves to be easy and profitable targets for cybercriminals. Alarming statistics seem to be commonplace these days, but a few released recently still hold enough power to pack a punch. City A.M. spoke to David Steele, founder of SecuriCentrix, about the risks he sees companies take in their approach to cybersecurity, [...]
Stylish Stocks: Calvin and Tommy lead the way among best-performing fashion brands June 23, 2022 Even though people often associate the financial world with black suits, statistics, and little in the way of style, trading does have its fashionable side. Specifically, fashion stocks. From high-end brands such as Christian Dior and Ralph Lauren to high-street labels like Gap and Zara, retail shares are firmly on investors’ radar recently. Only yesterday, [...]
Ministry of Sound to convert House of Fraser store to lure Londoners to ‘fitness raves’ in Shepherd’s Bush June 23, 2022 Nightclub group Ministry of Sound said this morning it plans to convert a former House of Fraser store in west London to hold ‘fitness raves’ for Londoners. The building will also be turned into flexible offices, a gym as well as a rooftop bar. The group said it plans to start converting the 115,000 sq ft department [...]
More than £21bn a year: UK ranks third in Europe for most money lost due to unpaid corporate tax June 22, 2022 The UK ranks third among European countries for the most money lost due to corporate tax abuse on a yearly basis. The European nation that loses the most money to corporate tax abuse is Germany where, on an annual basis, an estimated £27.3 billion goes unpaid. This is followed by France where tax abuse losses [...]
Brexit has damaged UK’s competitiveness, reduced productivity and lowered Brits’ real wages, LSE says June 22, 2022 A new bombshell study said this morning that Brexit has damaged Britain’s competitiveness, reducing productivity and lowering workers’ real wages in the years ahead. The report said Britain has experienced a decline of 8 per cent in trade openness – trade as a share of economic output – since 2019, losing market share across three [...]
Duke of York no more: New law proposes Prince Andrew and other ‘dubious’ peers to be stripped of their titles June 22, 2022 Under a new law tabled in Parliament, the Duke of York and peers could be stripped of their titles. There is currently no mechanism for such a title to be removed, but calls have been growing for action against Andrew since he paid millions to settle a US civil sexual assault case with his accuser [...]
