Hiscox sets aside $75m for catastrophe claims as gross premiums grow November 2, 2020 Insurance firm Hiscox said that it had set aside $75m (£58.1m) for natural disasters claims in the third quarter as gross written premiums grew in the first nine months of the year. In a trading statement this morning, the FTSE 250 firm revealed the decision to set aside the money after another autumn of dramatic [...]
West End braces to lose £2bn in Christmas sales due to new lockdown November 2, 2020 Retailers in London’ shopping district are set to lose up to £2bn in sales across the eight-week period up to Christmas, new data released today has found. According to the New West End Company, only 9m people will visit the West End in the festive season due to the new month-long lockdown. Previously the group, [...]
London lockdown: What the Government’s new rules mean for you November 1, 2020 There are differences between the first UK-wide lockdown of the Spring and what will come into effect from Thursday, so what do new restrictions mean for Londoners?
Coronavirus: England set for national lockdown, PM says October 31, 2020 Prime Minister Boris Johnson tonight ordered England back into a national lockdown
FSB: banks must ‘step up’ support for new Bounce Back Loan applications October 30, 2020 The Federation of Small Businesses (FSB) has called for the government to introduce further support measures and for banks to “step up” to ensure small businesses can access the financing they need. The organisation said it was “particularly concerned” by the number of small businesses that were struggling to access government-backed Bounce Back Loans (BBLs) [...]
Scrapping the VAT refund for tourists would be catastrophic for the UK economy October 30, 2020 Retail, hospitality and tourism are three of the sectors that have been hardest hit by Covid-19 and the ongoing lockdown restrictions. Employing close to six million people, job losses in these sectors are expected to be devastating. The government should be doing all it can to support these businesses at this critical time. Instead, it [...]
US firm Prologis sells UK logistics assets to Blackstone for record-breaking £473m October 29, 2020 US real estate firm Prologis has sold its UK logistics properties to Blackstone for a record-breaking £473m. It represents the largest sale of logistics real estate assets on record in the UK, Prologis said, and highlights the strength of the sector as an investment asset class. The portfolio comprises about 4.3m sq ft of buildings [...]
Coronavirus: London R rate catapults to highest in the country October 29, 2020 Covid-19 is now spreading fastest in the capital, according to the latest official estimates, raising fears of a Tier 3 London lockdown. The ‘R rate’ — the rate of spread of infection — has catapulted to a best estimate of 2.9 in London, the highest rate in the country. Figures released today by the Department [...]
StanChart considers resuming dividend after quarterly profit beats estimate October 29, 2020 Standard Chartered said it would consider resuming dividends after reporting a smaller-than-expected 40 per cent drop in third quarter profit as it lowered coronavirus loan loss expectations. The UK-based, Asia-focused lender posted an underlying pre-tax profit of $745m (£572m) for the three months to September, significantly ahead of bank-compiled analyst forecasts of $502m, Standard Chartered [...]
Generation Covid are being denied the opportunities we all took for granted October 29, 2020 This week, a new study by the London School of Economics — the most comprehensive of its kind — confirmed our worst fears about the economically divisive impact of the pandemic. Any pretext that we are “all in this together” has been utterly dashed. According to the research, young people have seen their job prospects and earnings [...]