£25.7bn in deals: Strongest M&A start of the year in two decades February 15, 2021 Deals involving a UK investment or acquisition target hit £25.7bn during the first six weeks of this year, more than three times the value recorded during the same period in 2020. It also marks the highest opening six-week period for deal announcements of any year since 2000, according to new data from London Stock Exchange-owned [...]
High street redundancies: Which retailers have cut jobs in the pandemic so far? February 13, 2021 Thousands of high street jobs have evaporated during the coronavirus pandemic, as retail chains have fallen under the pressure of lockdown restrictions on trading. The UK high street, which was already struggling before the pandemic, is set to look very different when shoppers return after lockdown following high profile collapses that have cost many retail [...]
Glaxosmithkline set to close two UK sites following Sandoz deal February 12, 2021 Glaxosmithkline has announced plans to shut its antibiotics business at two UK sites with production shifting to Europe. This week GSK agreed to sell rights to three antibiotic brands, including Zinnat, to Novartis’ Sandoz unit in a deal worth $500m. But the deal is now set to lead to up to 200 job losses as [...]
Key worker demand for affordable homes boosts sales at MJ Gleeson February 11, 2021 Affordable housing developer MJ Gleeson reported a jump in homes sold in the first half due to demand from key workers and first time buyers. MJ Gleeson said revenue was up 35.8 per cent to £142.6m and profit before tax increased 52.6 per cent to £20.3m. Earnings per share in the six months ended 30 [...]
Cutouts, twice-daily tests and no Budweiser adverts: How Super Bowl LV has had to adapt in a pandemic February 6, 2021 Some things about Super Bowl LV will be reassuringly familiar, like the star-spangled razzmatazz and Tom Brady. But Sunday’s game between last year’s winners the Kansas City Chiefs and Brady’s Tampa Bay Buccaneers will also be different to the 54 previous editions. The NFL has had to adapt its season finale for the Covid-19 era, [...]
London house prices drop near Tube stations as buyers shuffle priorities February 4, 2021 London house prices near Tube stations have dropped as buyers are less concerned about the length of their commute due to the shift to remote working during the coronavirus pandemic. Research published this morning showed that property prices close to a London Underground stop average £642,674, a drop of two per cent on the pre-pandemic [...]
UK PMIs: Construction activity contracts for the first time since May February 4, 2021 Construction output declined for the first time in eight months in January as lockdown measures and near-term economic concerns led to hesitancy among clients. The IHS Markit/Cips purchasing managers (PMI) index for construction scored 49.2 in January, with any score below the 50-mark indicating contraction. The reading was a sharp drop from December, when a score of [...]
Porsche Taycan rear-wheel drive review: the best EV just got better February 3, 2021 The Taycan rear-wheel drive is the most affordable version of Porsche's sleek and sporty electric car. It might be the best to drive, too.
Property chiefs: Lockdown and end of stamp duty holiday push down house prices February 2, 2021 The most recent drop in house prices is primarily caused by the soon-to-end stamp duty holiday, combined with the UK’s third national lockdown, property professionals told City A.M. this morning. According to new figures, published by Nationwide earlier this morning, January saw property prices fall for the first time in six months as the end [...]
Concrete changes can allow Britain’s digital firms to fly January 28, 2021 Britain’s technology entrepreneurs seem the last people who need any attention from Government right now. Valuations are soaring. IPOs are being lined up. Even as the pandemic constrains our daily lives, businesses that will deliver the jobs, growth and tax revenues of the future are thriving. But in the great global race to create and [...]