Coronavirus: Billionaire entrepreneur John Caudwell calls on government to extend business support April 21, 2020 Billionaire businessman John Caudwell has called on the government to ramp up its coronavirus support scheme, including underwriting 100 per cent of business loans and extending the job retention scheme. Caudwell, who co-founded Phones4u, said the government must provide 100 per cent loan guarantees to encourage banks to lend to struggling businesses. The government is [...]
Applications worth £1.5bn now made to coronavirus job retention scheme April 21, 2020 A further 45,000 businesses and 300,000 employees have registered for the government’s wage subsidy scheme, according to the Treasury. A Treasury spokesman said today that 185,000 businesses with 1.3m employees had applied for the job retention scheme as of midnight last night. The total amount this covers would be £1.5bn, however the spokesman said that [...]
Richard Branson hits out as Virgin Australia goes into administration April 21, 2020 Billionaire businessman Sir Richard Branson has hit out at the Australian government after low-cost airline Virgin Australia went into administration this morning. In an open letter, Branson, whose Virgin group owns 10 per cent of the airline, wrote: “In most countries federal governments have stepped in, in this unprecedented crisis for aviation, to help their [...]
More than £6bn of coronavirus grants given to English businesses April 21, 2020 More than £6bn of business grants have been distributed to English small and medium sized businesses through the government’s coronavirus grant schemes. A total of 491,725 grants, worth £6.11bn, have been distributed out of a pot of £12.3bn as of last night, translating into a 49.58 per cent delivery rate. Grants of £10,000 are available to [...]
Ex-chancellor Philip Hammond warns business must be prepared for coronavirus lockdown exit plan April 20, 2020 Former chancellor Philip Hammond has warned that the government must make sure businesses are well prepared for a coronavirus lockdown exit plan. Hammond said it is “vital that business is ready for the green light” when restrictions are lifted in order to mitigate the risk of corporate collapses and job losses. “We don’t know whether [...]
Rishi Sunak ‘not persuaded’ to underwrite 100 per cent of coronavirus loans April 20, 2020 Rishi Sunak has said he is “not persuaded” that the government should underwrite 100 per cent of all loans in the coronavirus business loan schemes. Speaking at today’s daily press conference, Sunak said: “I’m not persuaded moving to a 100 per cent guarantee is the right thing to do.” The coronavirus business interruption loan scheme [...]
FTSE 100 dragged down by coronavirus oil crash April 20, 2020 The FTSE 100 has turned lower as a slump in oil prices hits energy companies and investor sentiment sours with coronavirus battering the economy. Britain’s FTSE 100 was down 0.8 per cent at 5,743 points in early afternoon trading. It spent much of the morning in the green before plunging oil prices spread gloom over [...]
Job retention scheme receives nearly 70,000 applications in 30 minutes April 20, 2020 The government’s wage subsidy scheme received almost 70,000 applications in the first 30 minutes of opening this morning as businesses rush to claims funds to pay furloughed staff. The job retention scheme sees the government pay 80 per cent of wages, up to £2,500 a month, for furloughed employees unable to work due to the [...]
Boris Johnson’s cabinet split over coronavirus lockdown period April 20, 2020 Boris Johnson is reportedly dealing with a cabinet split between those who want to end the coronavirus lockdown early and those who want to take a more cautious approach. Various media reports over the weekend said chancellor Rishi Sunak and Cabinet Office minister Michael Gove were pushing for the lockdown to be eased to avoid [...]
Richard Branson warns Virgin Atlantic needs coronavirus loan to survive April 20, 2020 Virgin Atlantic owner Sir Richard Branson has warned that the beleaguered airline will need government financial support in order to survive the coronavirus crisis. In a blog post to Virgin employees, Branson said: “The reality of this unprecedented crisis is that many airlines around the world need government support and many have already received it. “We will [...]