Retailers pay less than 15 per cent of rent for June quarter as property crisis deepens June 25, 2020 Britain’s retailers paid just 13.8 per cent of their rent for the last quarter, in a sign of how hard the coronavirus pandemic has hit the sector. Rent receipts on 24 June, the day commercial tenants’ payments were due for the quarter, were even lower than those three months ago, according to commercial property management [...]
Sadiq Khan is wrong — extending the furlough scheme would hinder London’s recovery, not help it June 25, 2020 Warning of a “looming unemployment crisis”, Sadiq Khan this week made an appeal for a further extension of the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme (CJRS), under which more than a million Londoners have been furloughed. His concern for London jobs is understandable. But it would be wrong to continue the scheme beyond October. Furloughing made sense [...]
‘Subscription box economy’ helps to fuel parcel delivery surge June 24, 2020 “Just a second, I need to get to the front door – a delivery’s just arrived”: it’s become as familiar a scenario during a Zoom call as someone forgetting that they’re on mute. The sound of doorbells ringing as packages are deposited on doorsteps, with delivery drivers dutifully stepping two metres back, has become a [...]
Rent day: Landlords braced for as little as one-sixth of quarterly payments June 24, 2020 Commercial property owners are braced to receive as little as 15 per cent of the rent they are owed today, with quarterly payments due by the end of today. Experts have warned of an impending crisis on both the landlord and tenant side without further government support, with businesses across the spectrum unable to pay [...]
Boxpark chief: Rent crisis could be disastrous for London hospitality June 24, 2020 On a normal, pre-lockdown night just a short walk from Liverpool Street, Boxpark Shoreditch would usually be buzzing with small retailers and rooftop bars packed full. As anybody who has walked through the area recently will know, though, an eerie silence has fallen on that particular corner of Shoreditch – just as it has at [...]
Accounting watchdog investigates London Capital & Finance audits June 24, 2020 The accounting watchdog has launched three investigations into audits of collapsed mini-bond seller London Capital & Finance (LCF). The Financial Reporting Council (FRC) will investigate audits of the investment firm carried out by Oliver Clive & Co., PwC, and EY. LCF went into administration in January 2019, leaving 11,600 investors facing losses of up to [...]
Tax system to the rescue: Six policy tweaks that could kickstart the economy June 23, 2020 The past three months have seen a deluge of economic, political, and legal moves that would have been unthinkable at the start of the year. As civil liberties were curtailed on a scale never seen in peacetime and ten million children were turned away from school, new hospitals were built in a matter of weeks, [...]
Grocery sales surge in lockdown as shoppers go online June 23, 2020 Grocery sales in the UK grew 18.9 per cent in the four weeks up to 14 June, new data has shown, as online shopping and convenience stores continued to attract shoppers through the coronavirus lockdown period. According to data firm Kantar, online sales were the main driver of the rise, increasing 91 per cent over [...]
Crypto AM shines its Spotlight on 220 June 23, 2020 A New Generation of Wealth with 220 The World of banking has been undergoing a revolution in the last decade, with many challengers coming for the retail banking market, yet there has been one region of banking that hasn’t been truly challenged for nearly 600 years, Private Banking, that is, until now. 220, is a [...]
The City View: With Billy Hult, President of Tradeweb, on markets and management during a crisis June 23, 2020 In this episode Christian is joined by Billy Hult, President of Tradeweb, the Nasdaq-listed trading giant. Subscribe to The City View Podcast: Apple / Google / Spotify / RSS Billy talks about how his platform adapted to market volatility and how the market adapted to the pandemic and the US Fed’s response. He also shares his thoughts on leadership during a crisis and [...]