British retailers cheer Christmas sales, but City analysts warn of coming storm January 15, 2023 Britain’s largest retailers kicked off 2023 strongly last week, posting better than expected Christmas sales, signalling the consumer is holding up a bit better than feared. Tesco’s like for like sales were 7.9 per cent higher, while Marks and Spencer pocketed a 7.2 per cent rise. Sainsbury’s also posted record Christmas sales. Those bumper numbers, [...]
Deliveroo shares in the spotlight this week as analysts say firm could be undervalued January 15, 2023 Investors will be watching Deliveroo’s share price this week when the firm releases a fourth quarter trading update on Thursday. The London-headquartered firm has been under pressure since floating on the stock market in 2021, with the share price down some 67 per cent from the original offer price. Competitors, the re-opening of society post-lockdown [...]
Why UK banks are not going to cause another financial crisis January 15, 2023 UK banks are better prepared to withstand a jump in home loan defaults, cooling fears of a repeat of the financial crisis, analysts have told City A.M. Strict affordability rules implemented after the 2008 banking crash have strengthened lenders’ loan books, meaning they are well insulated from a potential rise in defaults caused by last [...]
Revealed: Brits are paying the highest electricity bills in the entire world January 14, 2023 New research reveals that the UK has the highest electricity bills. Brits pay more for their power than anywhere else on the planet. A new study looked at Government data on electricity and gas prices from the past five years to analyse the impact of the worsening cost of living crisis and discover which countries [...]
First-time buyers spend 39 per cent of take home pay on a mortgage – Nationwide January 13, 2023 Homes for first-time buyers are at their most expensive as a proportion of take-home pay since the financial crisis. The proportion of monthly income that first-time buyers are having to put towards mortgage repayments is returning to levels last seen in the 2008 financial crisis, according to Nationwide. Nationwide, the UK’s third largest lender has [...]
Londoners face unprecedented rent increases in 2023 as mortgage rates for landlords skyrocket January 13, 2023 Tenants are struggling this January. Along with the rest of the nation, they’re dealing with a cost of living crisis, driven by rising energy prices, and adding to this pressure is the rising price of rent. Moreover, landlords face unprecedented increases in mortgage rates, forcing them to up the rent. Tenants in London have endured [...]
Exclusive: Virgin Media O2’s business chief on the £31bn mega merger that dazzled the City January 13, 2023 As the UK is in the midst of a merciless recession, with the cost-of-living crisis raging, businesses are scrambling to cut costs, maintain market share and find a way to get through the economic misery. The telecoms sector is no exception. Time for City A.M. to catch up with Jo Bertram, managing director of Virgin Media [...]
FTSE 100 close: ASOS and Centrica pop to crystalise strong start to 2023 January 12, 2023 London’s FTSE 100 built on gains yesterday that propelled to its highest level since 2018 after a series of British bellwether retailers posted a decent set of results this morning and the owner of British Gas skyrocketed. The capital’s premier index closed up 0.89 per cent at 7,794.04 points, while the domestically-focused, mid-cap FTSE 250 [...]
Marks & Spencer’s top 10 festive favourites: slow-cooked turkey, shortbread snow globes, light-up gin and shapewear to hold it in! January 12, 2023 Marks and Spencer saw a record Christmas trade during the latest festive period, with a record £80m sales alone on 23 December, the last Friday before Christmas. Incoming CEO Stuart Machin can also take comfort in a 7.2 per cent rise in the clothing and home category to £3.6bn. But it was the retailer’s Christmas [...]
The Gym Group: Brits ditch the pennies and the £s as more fitness fanatics seek cheaper gym membership January 12, 2023 The Gym Group today said it has continued to win over customers in the face of the UK’s cost-of-living crisis as Brits flocked to the low-cost gym in seeking out better “value for money”. The low-cost gym owner said it had increased its membership numbers by 14.3 per cent over the past year, to 821,000, [...]