Banking on beds pays off for Ikea UK as annual sales rise to £1.6bn and market share grows to 7.7 per cent November 24, 2015 Retailer Ikea has remained popular on British shores, with Ikea UK today revealing annual sales of £1.6bn for the financial year ended 31 August 2015, up 11 per cent. “We are delighted to have achieved double digit growth for the second year running and to be in our fourth consecutive year of growth here in [...]
Oil stocks drag down the FTSE ending its rally – London Report November 24, 2015 Traders’ concerns over miners and retailers yesterday pull down London’s main index, ending a week-long run. The FTSE 100 dropped 29.1 points to 6,305.5. Oil companies were struggled after Saudi Arabia indicated it will work to stabilise oil markets, sending the price pinballing. Producers ended lower, despite a late rally after the oil price bounced [...]
HSBC investors back mooted move from UK November 23, 2015 Major HSBC shareholders have said they would back the bank if it were to relocate away from London. HSBC announced earlier this year it was currently reviewing whether it would remain in the UK, with Hong Kong and the US widely regarded as possible options. A spokesperson for Aberdeen Asset Management, one of HSBC’s top 10 [...]
The financial sector jobs boom is spreading across the UK November 23, 2015 The jobs boom that has engulfed the capital and its financial sector is now on its way to other regions of the country, according to new figures released this morning. The number of permanent opportunities for professional roles was up six per cent in October compared with the same month last year, data from the Association of [...]
Deutsche Bank eyes further job cuts in London to reduce costs November 22, 2015 DEUTSCHE Bank could be about to cut 1,000 more jobs in London as it further scales back on it’s investment bank. Traders, back-office staff and fixed income specialists at the bank could be given redundancy notices in the new year, the Sunday Times reported. Earlier this month Deutsche confirmed ex-Goldman Sachs banker Alasdair Warren will [...]
What got us talking this week – including the Paris attacks reaction, Black Friday, the Autumn Statement, Cross Boris in Crossrail revelations, Adele’s new album and Eddie Jones November 20, 2015 It was a week where Boris Johnson found a tunnel under his house, we heard petrol could dip under £1 a litre and we asked how financially literate you are. Paris attacks – the reaction While the market's immediate reaction was subdued, the emotional outpouring following the Paris attacks has been palpable – in France, Europe and [...]
FTSE 100 boosted by Fed and ECB policy minutes – London Report November 20, 2015 The London market soared yesterday, pushed higher by stronger than forecast results at Royal Mail and more signals of an interest rate rise from the US. The blue-chip index closed up 0.8 per cent at 6,329.93, its fourth consecutive day of gains. The minutes of the policy-setting Fed committee, released after the close on Wednesday, [...]
Frugal innovation: Doing more with less – the six principles to adopt to innovate faster and cheaper November 20, 2015 Stagnant incomes and greater concern for the environment are making western consumers both more value and values conscious. Equally, ordinary people in the West are increasingly empowered to do with limited resources what only large firms could do in the past. Ubiquitous tools, such as smartphones, cloud computing, 3D printers, crowdfunding, and social media, [...]
NewRiver Retail shares boosted by record 217 per cent jump in profits November 18, 2015 NewRiver Retail said profits leapt by a record 217 per cent in the first half of the year, boosted by a frenzied acquisition spree that saw the retail and pub landlord’s assets under management hit £1bn for the first time. The company, which owns shopping centres including Regents Court in Leamington Spa, reported pre-tax profits [...]
Government promises of “fiscal neutrality” are a red herring: Changes to business rates are going to hurt firms November 18, 2015 Last week, Britain’s biggest high-street retailers publicly urged the government to reform its business rates regime ahead of next week’s Autumn Statement. Many find the current system complicated, unfair to small business and counterproductive to UK growth. Calls for reform have now reached fever-pitch. The government has pledged that any reforms to the current business [...]