Tokenisation of shares in a company; what is it really? December 1, 2020 We hear about tokenisation of shares regularly. But what does it actually mean? To answer the question we must confront the fact that English company law did not anticipate developments in technology. Considering tokenisation in practice requires an analysis of how the characteristics of ‘tokenised’ shares relate to the particular requirements of English company law. [...]
Debenhams closure: What next for struggling retail landlords? December 1, 2020 Retail landlords are set to take a multimillion pound hit following the collapse of Debenhams and Arcadia’s fall into administration, and could struggle to fill the space left by closed flagship stores. Many property owners, which have already been impacted during the pandemic due to a spike in retail restructurings and renegotiated rents, will lose [...]
Debenhams closure: Timeline of department store chain’s collapse December 1, 2020 Department street chain Debenhams announced this morning that it is preparing to close down after failing to attract a buyer, but the former high street giant’s problems stretch back over several years. Earlier this year the struggling retailer entered administration for the second time in 12 months, even before Covid-19 forced it to close its [...]
Mortgage approvals jump to 13-year high as pandemic prompts house moves November 30, 2020 Mortgage approvals jumped last month as the coronavirus pandemic, and support measures such as the stamp duty holiday, prompted more people to move home. The number of mortgage approvals for house purchase reached 97,500 in October, compared to 92,100 the previous month, reaching the highest level since September 2007. Approvals were 33 per cent higher [...]
Bitcoin parabola signals the starts of a new crypto paradigm November 27, 2020 Bitcoin momentum stalled at around $19,400 as it began to slip into dangerous territory before breaking its parabolic trend that began in the first week of October. However, historical precedent speaks volumes about bitcoin’s mini parabolic run-up, and what’s to come in 2021. While hindsight bias could elaborate on what precipitated the sell off, bitcoin’s technical [...]
London to buck UK trend with uptick in 2020 housing sales completions November 25, 2020 London is expected to buck the national trend to record an uptick in housing sales completions this year, according to the latest research. Completed sales across the UK are expected to fall six per cent compared to last year, an improvement on the original forecast of a 15 per cent drop, as the housing market [...]
BP to sell London headquarters to Hong Kong investment firm for £250m November 20, 2020 BP has announced the sale of its London headquarters to Hong Kong investment firm Lifestyle International for £250m. The oil giant, which is aiming to sell $25bn of assets by 2025, will lease the 1 St James’s Square property back for two years. BP, led by chief executive Bernard Looney, has already divested or agreed [...]
Nationwide profits resilient despite coronavirus hit November 20, 2020 Building society Nationwide reported a resilient performance in the first half year with profits stable, despite a £139m impairment charge. The lender reported a 17 per cent rise in pretax profit from £309m to £361m, despite a £139m provision for loans that may not be repaid due to the pandemic. Net lending for the six [...]
Why the pandemic and the coming economic downturn will accelerate Bitcoin’s adoption November 18, 2020 In October this year, Mode floated on the London Stock Exchange’s Main Market. Two weeks later, we decided to allocate a portion of the money we raised to purchase Bitcoin as part of our treasury strategy. In doing so, we became the first plc in the UK to officially announce the diversification of our reserves [...]
The Hollywood of Europe: How the Canary Islands are being reinvented as a film hub October 31, 2020 In the opening scenes of action-thriller Jason Bourne, the film’s forgetful hero, played by Matt Damon, strides through violent protests on the streets of Athens. He meets his spy partner in the iconic Syntagma Square, before being chased through a sea of blue and white flags by a menacing CIA hit squad. But for eagle-eyed [...]