Aldi Christmas revenue tops £1bn but growth slows January 6, 2020 German discount retailer Aldi said today that its Christmas sales increased 7.9 per cent year-on-year to break £1bn for the first time. The supermarket chain said its sales in the four weeks ended Christmas eve were driven by strong growth in beers, wines and spirits, its premium Specially Selected range and fresh meat. Total beers, [...]
DEBATE: Will this be a better year for the economy than 2019? January 6, 2020 Will this be a better year for the economy than 2019? Dr Victoria Bateman, lecturer and fellow in Economics at Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge, says YES. It’s the start of a new year, a time of hope and new beginnings, so I’m going to kick things off on an optimistic note While there was [...]
Lloyds Bank commits to £18bn of lending for UK companies January 6, 2020 Lloyds Bank has committed to lending £18bn to UK businesses over the course of 2020, the same amount as it promised in 2019 despite the uncertainties of the year ahead. The high-street bank said the money will be lent to companies across the spectrum, from “micro-businesses” to large multinationals. Read more: Barclays, Lloyds and RBS [...]
Public-to-private deals for UK firms jump 40 per cent January 6, 2020 The number of “public-to-private” deals rose by 40 per cent last year compared to a year earlier, new analysis has shown, as buyers took advantage of low interest rates and cheap valuations to snap up UK firms. There were 28 agreements reached in 2019 to take UK companies off the stock market and into private [...]
Seedrs says amount invested on its platform jumped 49 per cent in 2019 January 6, 2020 Crowd-funding platform Seedrs said today that the amount invested in pitches on its platform grew 49 per cent to £238m in 2019. It said it completed 250 deals during the year, up from 186 in 2018, and delivered 7,858 investor exits on its secondary market. Highlights included Scottish fintech Paysend raising £10.7m and football club [...]
The week ahead in Westminster: MPs get ready to return January 5, 2020 Parliament is set to resume tomorrow as MPs prepare to scrutinise the government’s withdrawal agreement bill over a three-day period. MPs already voted to approve the bill, by 358 to 234, on its second reading last month and agreed to the three-day timetable set by the government. Read more: Brexit bill: MPs approve EU withdrawal [...]
London Chamber of Commerce appoints Richard Burge as new chief executive January 5, 2020 The London Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI) has appointed international affairs specialist Richard Burge as its new chief executive officer. Burge has joined LCCI from his most recent position as senior adviser on Diplomatic Engagement for the City of London Corporation. Read more: London Chamber of Commerce warns dramatic rethink needed for London traffic [...]
Andrew Bailey: Three issues the new Bank of England chief will have to tackle January 5, 2020 A safe pair of hands. That’s the cliche about the new Bank of England governor Andrew Bailey, who will take over the position from Mark Carney in March. The City and the British public will be hoping it is correct. Bailey does indeed have about as much experience of the BoE as it is possible [...]
2020 Vision: What to expect from sport this year, by industry insiders January 5, 2020 What will sport look like in 2020? We asked a host of industry experts for their predictions – and this is what they said. Neil Hopkins, global head of strategy at M&C Saatchi Sport and Entertainment Euros offer ticket to ride Football fans used to tournaments taking place in one or, at most, two host [...]
Labour leadership contenders make early pitches January 5, 2020 Four Labour leadership contenders have distanced themselves from the party’s election manifesto as they began their respective campaigns. Labour’s 2019 election manifesto was considered to be one of the most left-wing offerings in party history, with mass nationalisation and spending plans at its core. Speaking to the BBC this morning, Sir Keir Starmer said the [...]