Brexit will not affect holidays to the EU, says travel industry January 17, 2020 The UK’s travel industry body has stressed “nothing will change” for British tourists booking holidays to the EU until the end of 2020. ABTA, which represents thousands of travel firms, discovered that one-third of Brits are unsure about the impact of Brexit on their travel plans. So it has updated its advice on how Brexit [...]
City Moves for 17 January – Who’s switching jobs at Charlotte St Partners, Bird & Bird and Hassium? January 17, 2020 Today’s City Moves includes Charlotte St Partners, Bird & Bird and Hassium Charlotte St Partners Strategic communications advisory firm Charlotte Street Partners has appointed Sarah Buchanan-Smith as partner, based in the company’s London office. Sarah will focus on developing Charlotte Street’s financial communications and investor relations offering, with a particular emphasis on supporting new and [...]
UK retail sales decline knocks sterling lower January 17, 2020 UK retail sales fell in the “golden quarter” of Christmas trading, the latest statistics showed today in a further sign of the challenges facing the British high street. In the three months to December 2019, the amount spent and the quantity bought in the retail industry fell 0.9 per cent and one per cent respectively, [...]
Smart meter firm Calisen confirms £1.5bn float plans January 16, 2020 Smart meter firm Calisen today confirmed its intention to float on the London Stock Exchange next month with the goal of raising £300m. The float will value the company at around £1.5bn. The energy company, which is backed by private equity firm KKR, said it would use the funds to pay down debt, support future [...]
Wood Group shares climb on expectation of higher annual earnings January 16, 2020 Shares in John Wood Group have risen after the oilfield services provider said it expects higher core earnings for 2019, with a strong performance from its engineering services unit offsetting slowing onshore drilling demand in the US. In an update to the stock exchange on Thursday, the firm said it expects adjusted earnings before interest, [...]
Rocket list 2020: The best London startups to work for this year January 14, 2020 Fintech firms dominate a new list of 32 fastest growing London startups released today, with the companies listing 499 open positions. Job site Otta, which focuses on the most innovative firms in the capital, has today released its Rocket List, highlighting the firms expanding the fastest in 2020. Nine fintech firms made the list, including [...]
Blackrock takes tougher stance on climate change after campaigner pressure January 14, 2020 Blackrock has announced it will put environmental sustainability at the core of its investment strategy, following criticism the asset management titan has failed to use its power to combat climate change. The world’s largest asset manager announced a sweeping overhaul in a bid to position itself as a sustainable investment leader, pledging to take steps [...]
Travelex restores some electronic services following cyber attack January 13, 2020 Foreign exchange company Travelex is beginning to restore some electronic systems almost two weeks after hackers held the company’s systems to ransom, leading to a global blackout of its online services. Staff at the foreign exchange giant had been forced to use pen and paper to serve thousands of customers after a cyber attack forced [...]
KKR makes surprise bid for Pennon’s recycling arm January 12, 2020 Pennon’s bin collection and incineration firm Viridor has been the subject of a shock bid from US private equity fund KKR, in an attempt to knock out the competition before an expected auction process. Viridor is set to be one of 2020’s most keenly fought acquisitions, with a number of companies said to be interested [...]
Brexit: UK to leave EU with a deal on 31 January January 9, 2020 MPs today backed Boris Johnson’s Brexit Withdrawal Agreement Bill (WAB) by majority of 99, clearing the way for the UK to leave the European Union with an exit deal on 31 January. Parliamentarians voted 330 to 231 in favour of the bill, which implements an exit deal agreed with the EU last year. After three [...]