New RBS boss Alison Rose to be based solely in London February 2, 2020 New Royal Bank of Scotland chief executive Alison Rose is to be based solely in London, even though the state-owned lender is headquartered in Edinburgh. Rose’s employment contrast lists RBS’s office on Bishopsgate as her sole place of work, the Sunday Times reported. Her predecessor, Ross McEwan, had a contract for London and Edinburgh. Rose, [...]
Exclusive: Politicians slam House of Fraser for continuing to sell Presidents Club clothing line January 30, 2020 Politicians, businesswomen and equality campaigners have called on House of Fraser to stop selling a clothing line appearing to reference the Presidents Club dinner where businessmen allegedly groped hostesses. The Presidents Club annual dinner was plunged into scandal in 2018 after details emerged of attendees’ behaviour and revealing dresses hostesses were told to wear. The [...]
Retail property market misses out on ‘Boris bounce’ January 30, 2020 London’s retail property market has continued to struggle, despite a bounce in the wider commercial real estate sector driven by the General Election result. Occupier demand in the retail sector fell in the fourth quarter of last year, according to research published today that found 70 per cent of chartered surveyors in the capital had [...]
Barclays takes a stake in digital receipts startup Flux January 29, 2020 Barclays will today take its relationship with digital receipts startup Flux one step further by acquiring a minority stake in the London tech firm. The startup said Barclays will also soon begin an expansion of its ongoing partnership with Flux to reach its entire UK mobile banking customer base, after a successful trial period on [...]
Consumer optimism rises to five-year high January 28, 2020 Consumer optimism for the coming year has jumped to a five-year high due to increased political certainty, according to the latest research. More UK consumers believe they will be financially better off over the next 12 months than worse off, as net sentiment has jumped from minus seven to three for the first time in [...]
Number of UK firms in ‘significant financial distress’ hits record high January 27, 2020 The number of UK businesses in significant financial distress has risen to almost 500,000, hitting the highest level since records began 16 years ago. The latest research showed that the number of firms facing significant difficulties has soared 81 per cent since 2016, reaching 494,000 in the fourth quarter of last year. Recently formed companies [...]
The new Downing Street team can’t afford to ignore business January 27, 2020 Political wisdom has it that the first hundred days of any new government is its most vital opportunity to set its agenda. Not so with this government. Having just racked up its first 50 days, it risks accusations of being coy by its lack of public visibility and the paucity of new policy proclamations since [...]
Quintain secures £150m to build more Wembley homes January 23, 2020 Property developer Quintain is planning to build almost 400 new homes in Wembley after completing a £150m financing deal with Goldman Sachs. The funding will allow Quintain to construct 398 rental homes across three new buildings in Wembley Park, next to the Boxpark site. The development – due to be completed by May 2022 – [...]
Not as easy as 1,2,3: Seven accounting errors that rocked FTSE firms January 22, 2020 Ted Baker today experienced the dubious honour of joining a list of FTSE firms that have been shaken by accounting errors in the past year. The fashion retailer revealed an accounting error was more than twice as bad as it previously thought, knocking shares down seven per cent. But it is by no means the [...]
Empty pockets: Why shops going cashless is good for business — and consumers January 22, 2020 In the market stalls, pop-up shops, and beer taprooms of our great city, card payment is increasingly common. And it’s not just a London trend — while card-only shops are primarily cropping up in the capital, they have appeared up and down the country too. This is a phenomenon dominated by small businesses, and it’s [...]