British Land shares rise as it restarts dividend payments October 9, 2020 Shares in property development company British Land climbed 3.9 per cent after it announced it would resume paying its dividend, saying footfall at its retail parks was ahead of the wider market. The shopping centre and office-owner intends to pay dividends twice a year, in February and August. It previously paid them quarterly but suspended [...]
The pensions triple-lock is unjustifiable in normal times — in the Covid era, it is utterly unconscionable October 9, 2020 Imagine you a Conservative chancellor trying to steer the economy through the midst of the worst pandemic in modern history. You have done your best to protect jobs and support struggling businesses in the face of drastic lockdown restrictions, while tax receipts shrivelled and the healthcare bill has ballooned beyond all previous measures. Despite your [...]
Reviews website Trustpilot mulls £800m London float October 8, 2020 Business review platform Trustpilot is muling plans involving a London flotation that could take place as early as next year. The Copenhagen-based firm is understood this week to have held talks with a number of investment banks about plans for a debut on the London Stock Exchange, Sky News first reported. A spokesperson for Trustpilot [...]
Get e-scooter trials rolling in London, ministers urged October 8, 2020 A group of e-scooter firms have joined forces to call for the government to roll out a capital-wide trial of the new transport option. In an open letter to ministers co-ordinated by think tank the Centre for London, firms such as Lime, Spin, and Voi said e-e scooters could “help create a low carbon, inclusive, [...]
Back London today — so that London may back the UK tomorrow October 8, 2020 At the Conservative Party Conference this week, chancellor Rishi Sunak promised he “will always be pragmatic”. Right now, however, the policies governing our towns and cities appear anything but pragmatic. Given that the UK’s major cities, and especially London, are going to be vital in helping our economy recover from the impact of Covid-19, it [...]
Ecommerce platform Clearbanc injects £500m into British startups October 8, 2020 Ecommerce investor Clearbanc has announced its plans to invest £500m into British SMEs over the next year as part of its UK launch. The alternative capital platform, founded by Canadian Dragons’ Den star Michele Romanow, will use its AI platform to invest in British online startups to help with future growth. Clearbanc has already invested [...]
Consumers expect free delivery amid online shopping boom October 6, 2020 Consumers expect free delivery when buying items online, new research has shown, amid a surge in internet shopping due to the coronavirus pandemic. A survey of 2,000 UK adults found that delivery services have risen up shoppers’ agenda since the outbreak of the pandemic, with Amazon Prime the standard to which other retailers are held. [...]
Watches of Switzerland shares soar as it clocks strong sales during pandemic October 6, 2020 Watches of Switzerland has raised its full-year expectations after the company saw sales jump 20 per cent over the last quarter, sending shares up almost 23 per cent in morning trading. Revenue at the luxury watchmaker beat expectations over the 10 weeks to 25 October, hiking 20.2 per cent year on year to £202.7m. The [...]
Chanel snaps up Bond Street boutique for £310m October 5, 2020 French luxury fashion brand Chanel has reportedly bought its boutique store on Bond Street for £310m in a vote of confidence for the central London commercial property market. Reports that the designer firm will pay around £70m above the £240m asking price for the property cements Bond Street’s status as a “safe haven”, despite plummeting [...]
Wet weather and 10pm curfew dampens high street footfall recovery October 5, 2020 Retail footfall dropped for the second week in a row as the pub and restaurant curfew and wet weather brought further gloom for the embattled UK high street. Footfall across all retail destinations declined 3.5 per cent last week compared the previous week, dragged down by a 7.1 per cent slump in high street shopper [...]