Shakespeare: Wrigley offers some much-needed optimism May 13, 2021 The end of the COVID-19 lockdown is in sight, and brands are taking advantage of the shift in the public’s mood in their marketing. ITV are going as far as to predict a summertime advertising boom – powered by the return of Love Island and the European Championships. While restrictions are set to end in [...]
Kier looks to raise £241m from share placing May 13, 2021 Construction firm Kier today said that it would seek to raise £241m from the placing of 280m new shares in the FTSE 250 company. Priced at 85p per share, the raise will allow the infrastructure group to strengthen its balance sheet and refinance its existing borrowing facilities. Along with the sale of Kier Living, the [...]
UK housebuilder Countryside’s sales soar as property market booms May 13, 2021 UK housebuilder Countryside reported soaring sales and profit in the first half of the year as the housing market boomed following the lifting of Covid restrictions. The property developer said adjusted revenue was up 42 per cent in the six months ended 31 March, reaching £755m compared to £530.9m in the previous year. Adjusted operating [...]
Champions League-chasing Chelsea – and women’s football more generally – on the cusp of something extraordinary May 13, 2021 As the strangest football season on record hurtles to a climax, blue is most certainly the colour. While the sky blues of Manchester City contemplate a treble almost on par with their neighbours’ efforts in 1999, Chelsea can claim a double of their own if they beat City in the Champions League final and defeat [...]
Hargreaves Lansdown assets grow to £133bn in strong start to the year May 13, 2021 Hargreaves Lansdown today reported a sharp rise in assets under administration (AUA) but said it had seen a fall in share-dealing volumes as Covid restrictions eased. The British investment platform saw AUA reach £132.9bn by during the first four months of the year, compared with £120bn reported at the end of 2020. Hargreaves enjoyed a [...]
Beazley sees premiums rise but flags $70m loss from US storms May 13, 2021 Insurance firm Beazley today said that its gross written premiums jumped nearly a fifth in what it labelled a “positive” start to 2021. The firm said that gross premiums written increased by 16 per cent to $971m in the first quarter, up from $840m in the same period last year. It added that its estimated [...]
UK house price growth accelerates as supply of new homes coming to market dwindles May 13, 2021 UK house price growth accelerated last month due to a slowdown in the supply of new homes coming to market, according to the latest research. A survey carried out by the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (Rics) showed that 75 per cent of respondents reported an increase in UK house prices. The figure is up [...]
First test trains run on Crossrail ahead of 2022 opening May 13, 2021 Initial testing on Crossrail’s Elizabeth Line has now kicked off, with four trains an hour now running on the line. It is the first phase in a series of major trials that must be completed before the much-delayed line opens in the first half of 2022. The firm also said it had handed over the [...]
Booking.com CEO: Business travel will never recover to pre-Covid levels May 13, 2021 The lucrative business travel market, which sees suited and booted executives fly between London, New York, Frankfurt and beyond and bolsters bottom lines at airlines and hotels globally, will never fully recover from Covid.
Taiwan Health Minister: We survived Covid with a handful of deaths, let us help build a global healthcare system May 13, 2021 Emerging infectious diseases pose an unceasing threat to global health, international economies, trade and tourism. As the world has grown close through international aviation and transport, the ability of pandemics to spread rapidly has increased. Covid-19, the novel form of pneumonia which first emerged in Wuhan, China, at the end of 2019 has killed more [...]
