Pensions group Royal London sees managed assets hit a record £153bn high August 5, 2021 Pensions and life insurance firm Royal London’s assets under management have hit a record high at £153bn in the past six months. Climbing higher from £148bn in late December, the group put the growth down to positive market movements and net inflows in the six months to 30 June. The group pulled in profit before [...]
Investors pile £12bn into UK-listed companies, hoisting the market above pre-pandemic levels August 5, 2021 UK listed companies have raised more than £12bn in fresh capital from investors in the first half of this year, building the market back above pre-pandemic levels. The pandemic caused a resurgence in UK capital markets activity last year, with funds raised by listed companies peaking at its highest level in over a decade. Investors [...]
Pandemic support: Santander UK to rollout cash flow management app for SMEs August 4, 2021 Santander UK has begun rolling out an app that helps smaller companies track their cash flow and invoices, as lockdown gave way to a boom of new small businesses. The app, called CashFlow Manager, will let clients have a ‘single view’ of various account balances and transactions across their different banks. It also analyses each [...]
Away and Aria Resorts to forge £600m staycation giant amid domestic travel boom August 4, 2021 Holiday park heavyweight Away Resorts has agreed to merge with UK rival Aria Resorts to forge a £600m staycation powerhouse, as pandemic restrictions continue to scupper foreign travel. A staycation boom has been looming ever since domestic restrictions lifted in the UK, however, chatter of amber and amber plus lists have put off many from [...]
EU carbon tax plans ‘discriminates against countries like Australia’, energy minister says August 4, 2021 The European Union seeking to impose a carbon tax on imports would be detrimental to Australia’s export industry, its Australian energy and emissions reduction minister has warned. The minister, Angus Taylor, urged against a “new wave” of European protectionism that would significantly bruise Australia’s export industry – on which a large portion of its economy [...]
Hearty: Kraft Heinz carried by packaged meal demand as it reinstates dividend August 4, 2021 Food giant Kraft Heinz has been carried by strong demand for snacks and packaged meals which has boosts sales and profits, pushing it past analyst forecasts. Kraft Heinz recorded net sales of $6.6bn in its second quarter to 26 June – inching past estimates of $6.5bn. The Chicago-based group is also set to reinstate a [...]
Taylor Wimpey revenue jumps 190 per cent after building record number of homes August 4, 2021 Housebuilding group Taylor Wimpey has built a record number of homes in the past six months, which has given its revenue a well-needed uplift. The housebuilder completed some 7,303 homes in the six months to 4 July, up from 2,771 in the same period last year. Shares were up three per cent in its afternoon [...]
City Moves: Who’s switching jobs in the Square Mile this week? August 4, 2021 City A.M.’s Millie Turner provides a roundup of the most important hires and job moves across the City, every Wednesday afternoon. Email citymoves@cityam.com to be featured. TopHat appoints former McLaren group boss as CFO Goldman Sachs-backed housing company TopHat has bagged McLaren’s former boss as its new chief financial officer to join its King Cross offices. Paul Buddin, who left the McLaren [...]
British beauty: THG bags makeup retailer Cult Beauty for £275m August 4, 2021 Digital brands group THG has bought British makeup retailer Cult Beauty for £275m, which has bolstered the group’s brand offering by a further 200. THG, which already owns Eyeko and Illamasqua, will also bag the online beauty retailer’s 1.7m customers and 1.6m Instagram followers – which prove to be quite the acquisition when dealing with [...]
Johnson meets with Lukashenko’s opposition after disputed election August 3, 2021 Prime minister Boris Johnson met with the leader of the Belarusian opposition party today as tension between the country, its people and the rest of Europe swells. Meeting at Downing Street earlier today, Johnson condemned current leader Alexander Lukashenko’s regime and persecution of opposition voices like Svetlana Tikhanovskaya and her husband. Tikhanovskaya ran as the [...]