UK companies issue lowest number of profit warnings in over two decades July 19, 2021 British listed companies issued the fewest number of profit warnings in over two decades in the second quarter of this year, according to new figures released today. Research by EY shows UK listed businesses issued 32 profit warnings in the second quarter of 2021, the lowest quarterly total the firm has recorded. The low levels [...]
Zoom to buy Five9 for $15bn in largest acquisition yet July 19, 2021 Zoom announces a $14.7bn deal to buy a cloud-based call center operator in its largest-ever acquisition, as competition in the video conferencing sector intensifies. Synonymous with the pandemic, Zoom has been a clear winner since everything from business meetings, classroom lessons and even office ‘drinks’ went virtual via the video conferencing platform. The California-based company has [...]
Pubs shut and supermarkets closed: Pingdemic rips through recovery July 19, 2021 Supermarkets and pubs shut their doors today as the so-called “pingdemic” results in staff shortages across the country. Iceland boss Richard Walker said some of their 1,000 UK stores had been forced to close by the NHS app ‘pinging’ staff with orders to self-isolate. And the CEO of pub chain Greene King, Nick Mackenzie, has [...]
Tencent pushes British gaming group Sumo to hit $1.27bn valuation in bid to buy July 19, 2021 Chinese tech giant Tencent has pushed the valuation of video game group Sumo to hit $1.27bn today in its bid to buy the British firm. Sumo’s shareholders will gain 513p per share, Tencent said, at a 43 per cent premium to Sumo’s last closing price of 358p. The British video game group, behind games like [...]
Women account for a third of financial services boards, report says July 19, 2021 Women now make up a third of boards at 200 of the top British financial firms according to a report, as the government marks five years since it set out to improve gender balance in the male-dominated sector. The number of females on company board has risen to 32 per cent, think tank New Financial [...]
House prices surge 5.7 per cent to reach another record high July 19, 2021 Property prices have reached another record high, highlighting that demand in the housing market is still running hot, new figures released today reveal. The average price of a property coming to market jumped 5.7 per cent annually to £338,447 in July, according to property search site Rightmove. Prices rose 0.7 per cent over the last [...]
Carr’s lifts full-year expectations after boosts to agriculture and engineering July 19, 2021 Agriculture and engineering group Carr’s board has announced a lift to its full-year trading expectations today after a strong quarter. Speciality agriculture continues to perform strongly across the UK, USA, and Europe in the 20 weeks to 17 July. Carr’s put the growth down to buoyant livestock prices and the recovery of its animal health [...]
Ready meal firm Parsley Box reports steady growth fuelled by repeat orders after London IPO July 19, 2021 Parsley Box reported active customers were at record levels after a surge in new customers earlier in the year, but things had begun to “normalise” post-lockdown. The Edinburgh-based company, which targets the “baby boomer” generation, this morning reported unaudited first half revenue of £14m, an increase of 26 per cent over the same period last [...]
Surging inflation to add £10bn to government’s debt burden July 19, 2021 Surging inflation is likely to add £10bn to the government’s debt burden, putting further pressure on the UK’s public finances. Around a quarter of the government’s stock of debt is linked to the retail price index, meaning the Treasury needs to increase interest payments to savers if prices rise. Read more: UK inflation hits 2.5 [...]
Morrisons push ahead with plans to open automated grocery store as ‘pingdemic’ continues to hit supermarkets July 19, 2021 Morrisons are said to be close to unveiling an unmanned pilot store to the public “within months”, as they look to follow Amazon’s lead in modernising the approach to grocery shopping. The store will rely on shoppers to scan their smartphones upon entry before having digital cameras follow their every step in store to check [...]
