How Hiscox has benefited from Brexit July 25, 2016 Hiscox today has become one of the first companies to show how Brexit can benefit a bottom line, after currency shifts boosted its profits. The figures The insurer reported profits before tax of £206m for the half year to June, an increase of 52.5 per cent compared with £135.1m the year before, and gross premiums written [...]
Sir Philip Green leadership failure and personal greed led to collapse of BHS, MPs say July 25, 2016 Sir Philip Green is ultimately responsible for the failure of BHS, according to senior MPs who today publish the findings of a parliamentary inquiry in the retailer's collapse. The joint inquiry by the work and pensions select committee and the business, innovation and skills select committee found that Green's family became "incredibly wealthy" during their [...]
Heathrow boss says Brexit means airport expansion plans need to move forward as company reports revenue grew to £1.3bn in first half of 2016 July 22, 2016 Heathrow boss John Holland-Kaye today said expanding the west London airport will give Britain the post-Brexit boost it needs, as the company reported revenue and profit grew in the six months to 30 June. Revenue was up one per cent to £1.32bn, from £1.31bn in the same period of 2015, while pre-tax profit jumped 8.7 [...]
No-click-to-buy apps are a risk, but the rewards will be worth it July 22, 2016 Payments have come a long way, fast. In April, Domino’s began offering “zero-click ordering”, which allows customers to re-order a pizza simply by opening an app, removing the need for in-app tapping. There are now so many payment methods – contactless mobile, card and watch payments, swipes and taps on a mobile screen – it [...]
New homes on sale in London this weekend: from the biggest development in Chelsea for a century to the regeneration of Catford July 21, 2016 Chelsea Waterfront From £1.55m Overseas buyers are showing a strong interest in new homes at Chelsea Waterfront following the EU Referendum result, according to its developer Hutchinson Property Group. The first phase of the redevelopment of the former Lots Road Power Station has sold out, and 17 out of 28 units remain in the second [...]
Sainsbury’s creates 900 new jobs at fulfilment centre in London July 21, 2016 Sainsbury’s announced this morning that it is creating 900 jobs at its new online fulfilment centre in Bromley-by- Bow in east London. The 185,000 sq ft centre, due to open this autumn, was built as part of the retailer’s strategy to cater for growing demand in the capital for its online groceries service. At the moment, online orders are picked [...]
Demand for commercial property “subdued” and could hit rents, says Land Securities July 21, 2016 Land Securities' chief executive has warned today that occupier demand for commercial property is likely to be "subdued" – and that rental values could be hit as a results. CEO Rob Noel released a statement ahead of Land Securities' annual general meeting today saying the company expects uncertainty to continue while the UK negotiates its Brexit [...]
Peter Thiel’s just plunged more cash into this fintech startup July 20, 2016 Renowned investor Peter Thiel is ploughing more cash into a fintech startup he first invested in earlier this year. Retail banking platform Deposit Solutions has raised €15m in a new funding round from top investors, valuing the firm at €110m. In addition to Thiel, the Hamburg-founded fintech firm landed investment from another prior investor, FinLab, [...]
City Moves for 20 July 2016 | Who’s switching jobs July 20, 2016 Coople Coople, the on-demand staffing platform, has appointed Jacques de la Bouillerie as its new UK managing director. Jacques joins Coople with over 15 years’ extensive experience with business transformation and leadership in companies at various stages of development, ranging from very early stage through to fast growing to maturity. He was previously heading up [...]
Shot in the Arm for the City as £24bn mega-deal is agreed July 19, 2016 British tech giant Arm Holdings yesterday agreed to a £24.3bn takeover by telecoms group Softbank, in a move that would go down as the second largest outbound Japanese deal on record. Softbank has pounced for the Cambridge-based chip-maker following a sharp drop in the value of the pound, largely prompted by last month’s vote to leave [...]