Wealth management firm Quilter suffers profit slump March 11, 2020 Wealth management firm Quilter suffered a drop in profit last year against a tough market backdrop, and warned this morning that coronavirus could have an “adverse impact” on the company. The figures The company reported profit after tax of £146m in 2019 compared to £488m the previous year. Its loss before tax from continuing operations [...]
Iofina blasts “self-serving” Arron Banks for coup attempt March 10, 2020 The board of iodine producer Iofina has hit back at a “self-serving” bid for Arron Banks to join its board. The board is urging shareholders to vote against the Brexit campaigner’s attempts to oust chairman Lance Baller. In a stock exchange statement, the iodine producer’s directors claimed that Banks, who is a major shareholder, had [...]
Huawei rebels defeated – but give government bloody nose March 10, 2020 The government was given a bloody nose by its own backbenchers this afternoon, after a group of rebels led by former Tory leader Iain Duncan Smith stuck to their guns on Huawei. MPs voted 306 to 282 against an amendment calling for Downing Street to stop using “high risk vendors” – a term that appears [...]
Peugeot’s Ellesmere Port factory to go down to four-day week March 10, 2020 Peugeot’s car factory at Ellesmere Port in Cheshire will go down to a four-day working week later this month as the manufacturer looks to save costs due to the stalling European car market. Last year the plant built around 62,000 Vauxhall and Opel Astra models last year, but there is doubt over the long-term future [...]
Government would be ‘very unwise’ to ignore Huawei rebels, says David Davis March 10, 2020 The government would be “very unwise” to ignore Conservative rebels on Huawei, even if Downing Street wins today’s key vote, David Davis has warned. Speaking just hours before MPs debated an amendment designed to force the government’s hand on 5G, banning it from using “high risk vendors” after 31 December 2022, the former Brexit secretary [...]
The Westbury Hotel owner seeks £1bn sale of Mayfair portfolio March 10, 2020 Cola Holdings, the owner of the The Westbury Hotel, is seeking a £1bn offer for its Mayfair property estate, which also includes Bond Street’s Burberry store and a private members club. Kurdish-born millionaire Bakir Cola owns the group, which has recently received planning permission to redevelop the five-star hotel in Conduit Street to attract “top [...]
Treasury to push back target date to sell off RBS stake March 10, 2020 The Treasury is set to push back its target date for selling its stake in the Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) in the wake of stock market uncertainty. The government is due to announce tomorrow that it will not divest its 62 per cent stake in RBS until 2025. An exit strategy the Treasury published [...]
Coronavirus provides ‘market opportunities’ for TP ICAP March 10, 2020 TP ICAP’s full year earnings were in line with expectations today as the firm reported that coronavirus uncertainty could create more opportunities going forward. The world’s largest inter-dealer broker released its full year results today, recording £1.83bn in group revenue – a four per cent increase. This translated into operating profit of £279m, which was [...]
Can the chancellor protect the UK economy from coronavirus? March 10, 2020 You have to feel sympathy for Rishi Sunak. Suddenly appointed as chancellor after the unexpected resignation of Sajid Javid, he found himself with just weeks to put together the first Budget of the Boris Johnson era. Any chance he could simply copy Javid’s homework was then dashed when the former chancellor gave the Times chapter [...]
Coronavirus: FTSE 100 loses £144bn after worst day since 2008 March 9, 2020 The FTSE 100 has had £144bn wiped off its value today as it closed below 6,000 points and suffered its biggest intraday fall since 2008. The coronavirus outbreak and plunging oil prices dragged the index down as much as 8.7 per cent to just 5,899 points as it opened following a weekend of coronavirus turmoil. [...]