British Patient Capital enjoys VC bumper year and boosts startup portfolio by almost a third November 18, 2021 British Patient Capital (BPC), the venture capital subsidiary of UK government-owned British Business Bank (BBB), today announced it committed almost £300m to investing in the growth of British startups in the year to March 2021. During the pandemic-defined year, its underlying portfolio of companies increased by almost a third from 503 to 676, with three [...]
Swelling energy bills propel inflation to 4.2 per cent, more than double Bank of England’s target November 17, 2021 Swelling household energy bills have propelled inflation to more than double the Bank of England’s target, dialling up pressure on the Old Lady to act to hose down red-hot price rises. Inflation scaled to 4.2 per cent in October, up sharply from 3.1 per cent in the previous month, according to the Office for National [...]
Reeves says Labour still committed to post-Brexit equivalence for the City November 16, 2021 Labour is still committed to getting a post-Brexit equivalence deal for the UK’s financial services sector if elected, shadow chancellor Rachel Reeves has said. Reeves told TheCityUK’s national conference today that, if elected, Labour will “fix some of the holes in the patchwork Brexit deal with the EU”. The UK’s financial services sector has not [...]
Jobs market turbulence after furlough fails to rear its head as Brits in work swells 0.6 per cent to over 29m November 16, 2021 An expected wave of job losses after government support measures propping up the jobs market were pulled has seemingly been averted. The number of payrolled employees climbed 160,000 over the last month, or 0.6 per cent, to 29.3m. This is the first period which the Office for National Statistics (ONS) has examined the labour market [...]
A global tax cartel with a minimum corporation rate will undermine Britain November 16, 2021 FOR the last fortnight, Glasgow has soaked up the attention of the world as we contemplate our future. But only days before, G20 leaders rubber stamped a deal that will determine much of our destiny: a global minimum tax. Rishi Sunak, who claimed to be squeamish about tax rises in his Budget, called these “seismic [...]
Peloton was a lockdown sprinter, now it has to run a marathon to fight the competition November 16, 2021 Peloton was known for revolutionising the fitness sector during Covid. Its stationary bike, launched in 2014, was the beginning of its journey. The company’s evolution has been fuelled by millions of pounds in funding and technology to create the brand we know now: the flagship bike, which works in tandem with a monthly video class [...]
Shell moves to UK and ditches ‘Royal Dutch’ name amid lengthy tax dispute and activist pressure November 15, 2021 Royal Dutch Shell is moving its headquarters, top executives, and crucially, its tax residence from The Hague to the UK. The move prompted the Dutch government to overhaul a controversial dividend tax which the energy giant had cited as a reason to unify its share structure and shift bases, according to the Financial Times. Shell [...]
Fuel crisis continues as diesel hits record 150p milestone at the pumps November 15, 2021 The average price of diesel is more than £1.50 a litre for the first time ever, according RAC’s Fuel Watch data. Diesel prices rose to 150.50p during the weekend, while unleaded petrol soared to 146.53p, with motorists suffering record charges at the pumps for three consecutive weeks. The cost of filling up a 55-litre petrol [...]
Hot property: Covid ‘race for space’ has homemover numbers at a record high November 15, 2021 Whether it was shifting to the countryside, out to the suburbs or back into the post-lockdown bustle of a city centre, removals vans have been criss-crossing the country to keep up with a boom in the number of homemovers. Data out this morning from Halifax confirms the number of homemovers hit a record high in [...]
Boris Johnson admits fault in government response to Tory sleaze saga November 14, 2021 Boris Johnson has admitted the Owen Paterson sleaze scandal “could have been handled better … by me” as the Tories prepare to perform a humiliating parliamentary U-turn tomorrow. The Prime Minister faced a barrage of questions about why he hadn’t apologised for the saga in today’s press conference, before finally admitting some fault for the [...]