UK hospitality firms predict 41 per cent drop in summer sales August 27, 2020 UK hospitality firms are predicting a 41 per cent drop in sales over the summer months, although businesses are optimistic that trade will pick up this winter. According to the latest research, six per cent of hospitality and leisure sector companies are confident about growth this summer. However confidence surges in the winter months, with [...]
Ex-Australian PM Tony Abbott to be given top UK trade role August 26, 2020 Former Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott is set to be unveiled as Boris Johnson’s choice to lead the UK’s post-Brexit trade mission. Abbott has reportedly been appointed as joint president – along with trade secretary Liz Truss – to Britain’s Board of Trade and will be tasked with promoting the UK as a trade destination [...]
City figures brought in to advise on UK trade negotiations August 25, 2020 Some of the City of London’s most prominent business leaders have been drafted in by the government to consult on the UK’s ongoing trade negotiations. Leaders from companies such as EY, Barclays and HSBC will be members of the Department of International Trade’s newly formed trade advisory groups. The government is simultaneously negotiating trade deal [...]
Finablr to miss accounts deadline amid fraud claims August 25, 2020 Troubled payments business Finablr which is entangled in a fraud probe today said it would miss its deadline this week to publish its financial accounts. The Travelex-owner said on 23 June that it had changed its accounting reference date to 28 February, resulting in a deadline of 28 August to publish its financial statements. Finablr [...]
Coronavirus crisis: How far will the UK economy fall in 2020? August 24, 2020 HSBC last week became the latest big institution to downgrade its forecasts for the UK economy and disagree strongly with the Bank of England’s rosy expectations. It said the historic 20.4 per cent slump in GDP in the second quarter “was worse than we had expected”. The lender said it was therefore now “more pessimistic” [...]
The Wirecard scandal is a warning to the EU to think twice before cutting itself off from London’s financial expertise August 24, 2020 “The last place we expected something like this to happen was Germany,” said Peter Altmaier, the German economy minister in the wake of the Wirecard fiasco. But is it really? City A.M. readers will likely now be fully familiar with the Wirecard debacle. But for those who are not, here is a potted history. Since [...]
Former bosses of Finablr and NMC Health face fraud accusations August 23, 2020 The former chief executives of Finablr and NMC Health are among a group of 17 people who are claimed to have embezzled millions of UAE dirhams from the firms, the Sunday Telegraph reported today. According to a report prepared for billionaire tycoon Bavaguthu Shetty, who founded the companies, brothers Prasanth and Promoth Manghat, who led [...]
UK businesses grow at fastest rate in seven years as economy reopens August 21, 2020 The UK economy bounced back sharply in August after coronavirus restrictions were lifted, with a closely-watched measure of growth hitting its highest level in almost seven years. However, companies slashed jobs at the fastest pace since May as they adjusted to life during the pandemic, in a worrying sign of what could turn into a [...]
Finablr founder BR Shetty resigns amid HMRC probe August 17, 2020 The founder of Finablr has resigned as co-chair of the scandal-hit payments firm as UK tax authorities move to shut down parts of the business. Indian mogul BR Shetty has stepped down from the board with immediate effect, the company announced today. The London-listed firm has been on the rocks since the discovery of more [...]
UK falls into worst recession after record 20.4 per cent GDP plunge August 12, 2020 UK GDP shrank a record 20.4 per cent in the second quarter to plunge the country into its largest recession on record as the coronavirus pandemic decimated economies around the world. According to the Office of National Statistics (ONS), the economy is now 22.1 per cent smaller than it was at the end of 2019. [...]