Matalan founder sues PwC over tax haven advice May 20, 2020 The founder of budget fashion retailer Matalan is suing PwC, claiming the accounting giant gave him bad advice on how to avoid paying taxes in the UK when he moved to Monaco. Multimillionare John Hargreaves said PwC had been negligent in its advice on his relocation from England to Monaco, which would have enabled him [...]
£500m Future Fund launch mired by fears startups will miss out May 20, 2020 Future Fund, the government’s £500m answer to startups’ need for cash to survive coronavirus, is set to launch today – but risks freezing out a swathe of British firms, entrepreneurs and investors have warned. That many startups cannot yet demonstrate a turnover, and that they typically rely on equity investment for cash flow, excludes most [...]
Coronavirus: There are opportunities for wily – and brave – investors May 4, 2020 Britain’s investors could be forgiven for feeling desperate in the current crisis. They have faced a triple whammy from world markets, governments and companies. Not only have they seen the value of their portfolios fall by up to 20%, but with company after company cancelling dividends, their income has fallen by half. Heavyweights such as [...]
A new economic era beckons after this crisis April 29, 2020 Current events likely mark a turning point in economic policy and the end of a 40-year spell of free market capitalism. Nobody can know how long the Covid-19 crisis will last, but I think that regardless of this it will mark a profound long-term change in economic policy. It is likely a turning point in [...]
Coronavirus: Will rescue package make tax hikes inevitable? April 29, 2020 In the past six weeks the Chancellor has, quite rightly, announced a far-reaching package of measures to support the economy through the Covid-19 crisis that could cost up to £100bn. He may yet need to do more. Tax revenues will also be much lower than expected due to the hit to economic activity from the [...]
UK borrowing higher than expected before coronavirus lockdown April 23, 2020 The UK went over its borrowing target for the most recent financial year, it revealed today, but coronavirus spending is set to dwarf its budget deficit. Borrowing between April 2019 and March 2020 rose to £48.7bn, compared to forecasts of £47.4bn, according to the Office for National Statistics (ONS). But a swathe of public spending [...]
What’s happening to dividends and what next? 11 questions answered April 23, 2020 Nick Kirrage, co-head of the Value team, and Sean Markowicz, part of the Research and Analytics team, chatted with us about the future of dividends and buybacks. With so many investors reliant on dividends to boost their income or support their retirement we wanted know what’s happening now, whether investors should be concerned and what [...]
One in five residential property sales could be affected by new tax laws this April March 30, 2020 From 6 April 2020, a major change to tax payment dates will come into force. It will apply to landlords, second home owners, divorcing couples – indeed any UK resident who sells or gifts a residential property situated in the UK, on which a capital gains tax (CGT) bill arises. At present, individuals who dispose [...]
How coronavirus is turning the spotlight on sustainable investing March 25, 2020 It is difficult to start any article without referring to the threat presented by the coronavirus sweeping across countries. The human impacts are clearly devastating for anyone affected, even if the overall impact is at present relatively small in the context of major pandemics through history. The economic and financial impacts are also proving significant. [...]
Shell and Total slash costs and suspend buybacks amid oil price slump March 23, 2020 Oil giants Shell and Total have suspended their share buyback programmes and announced billions of dollars of cost cutting as they try to weather the recent crash in oil prices. The price of Brent crude slumped to a 17-year low last week as the coronavirus pandemic has cut global demand for oil and a price [...]