Coronavirus: Joules secures £15m credit boost as crisis hits high street April 21, 2020 Joules today said it has added £15m to its revolving credit facility as the fashion retailer battles a sharp decline in sales caused by the coronavirus crisis. The credit boost, agreed with Barclays, follows a share placing earlier this month that raised £15m. Joules has already taken a number of measures to mitigate the impact [...]
Exclusive: Lloyds staff facing redundancy fear being left jobless by bank amid pandemic April 17, 2020 Staff at Lloyds Banking Group who are being made redundant fear the bank will leave them jobless amid the savage economic downturn triggered by the coronavirus pandemic. The bank publicly committed last month to pause plans to cut 780 jobs amid surging customer demand and the economic uncertainty leavers would face. However, it has not [...]
The City View, from City A.M., with Neil Clifford – CEO of Kurt Geiger April 17, 2020 In this episode of The City View, Christian is joined by Kurt Geiger CEO, Neil Clifford. Subscribe to The City View Podcast: Apple / Google / Spotify / RSS The veteran retailer discusses the unprecedented disruption and uncertainty caused by the pandemic, in a candid and illuminating conversation. Clifford describes how 2020 was due to be a [...]
Bramson calls coronavirus truce in Barclays battle April 16, 2020 Activist investor Edward Bramson has called a temporary truce in his battle with Barclays chief executive Jes Staley during the coronavirus pandemic. Bramson’s investment vehicle Sherborne said today it would withhold its vote against Staley at Barclays’ upcoming annual meeting in recognition of the difficulties posed by the coronavirus pandemic. Sherborne said it still thinks [...]
Standard Chartered bans staff from using Zoom and Google Hangouts April 15, 2020 Standard Chartered has become the first major bank to ban staff from using Zoom during the coronavirus crisis due to cybersecurity concerns. In a note to managers, seen by Reuters, chief executive Bill Winters last week also warned against holding virtual meetings on Google Hangouts. It comes amid growing scrutiny of Zoom’s security standards as [...]
Jupiter Fund Management pushes on with Merian deal despite outflows April 15, 2020 Jupiter Fund Management today said it was pushing ahead with its takeover of Merian Global Investors despite both being hit by outflows. Jupiter said it had net outflows for the quarter of £2.3bn. It said assets under management fell £7.8bn in the quarter to £35bn – the majority of which it said were caused by [...]
‘Unfair’ Covid-19 business grant scheme means more Scottish firms could go under April 14, 2020 Concerns are growing among Scottish businesses that the SNP government’s failure to match Westminster’s coronavirus economic support will force a string of retail and hospitality chains to go bust. English hospitality, tourism and leisure chains have been offered government grants of up to £25,000 per property, as long as the building’s rateable value is less [...]
Coronavirus: UK economy could shrink by 35 per cent in second quarter April 14, 2020 The UK economy could shrink by 35 per cent in the second quarter of this year and unemployment could hit 10 per cent as coronavirus lockdown measures take a devastating toll, Britain’s budget watchdog has warned. The Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) said such a slowdown could send the budget deficit to its highest level [...]
Barclays halts job cuts while coronavirus crisis ongoing April 14, 2020 Barclays has halted new job cuts while the coronavirus is ongoing the bank said in a memo. Barclays said it is also supporting staff in the process of being made redundant, the memo seen by Reuters said. The lender said it would support staff by paying up to 80 per cent of an employee’s wages [...]
RBS pays out 70 per cent of government coronavirus loans April 12, 2020 The vast majority of the emergency coronavirus cash being doled out to small businesses has come from the Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS), the lender has revealed. Taxpayer-backed RBS has so far approved 2,500 loans — roughly 70 per cent — under the government’s coronavirus business interruption loan scheme (CBILS), the Sunday Telegraph reported. The [...]