OneSavings Bank results: challenger bank reports a rise in its loan book November 4, 2015 Challenger OneSavings Bank reported a rise in its loan book for the first three quarters today, saying it continued to expect full-year growth to be a “few percentage points ahead” of the 29 per cent growth delivered last year. The specialist lending and retail savings bank first listed on the London Stock Exchange last year. The [...]
Rangers chairman Dave King defends £7.5m annual loss November 4, 2015 Rangers chairman Dave King insists a £7.5m loss revealed in the club's annual accounts does not reflect improvements made by the consortium that took control in March. The leaders of the Scottish Championship revealed that the company requires "up to £2.5m by way of debt or equity funding" by the end of the season to meet [...]
Standard Chartered results: Investors are backing Bill Winters while analysts raise red flags November 3, 2015 Standard Chartered may have posted another “disappointing” set of results, but the Asia-focused bank’s biggest investors are enthusiastically backing new chief executive Bill Winters. Winters announced earlier today that he planned to axe 15,000 jobs and raise $5.1bn (£3.3bn) in capital, as the bank posted an operating loss of $139m in the third quarter. Revenue had [...]
UK businesses to face squeeze in rents over next 12 months November 3, 2015 UK business are predicted to come under increasing pressure from rising rents as the economy gathers pace and competition for space heats up, the Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) has warned. In its latest commercial market survey, RICS forecasts that UK rental values will jump by four per cent over the next 12 months. Businesses [...]
HSBC’s ringfence relief but HQ could still move November 2, 2015 Concerns that HSBC could lose control of its UK retail arm under ring-fencing rules have been “satisfactorily” dealt with according to the bank’s chief executive. New regulations to take effect in 2019 requiring banks to “ring-fence” their high street operations had caused the bank to worry it would have no say over the capital, dividends, [...]
We need a campaign for Living Costs – not for a Living Wage – to really help the poorest November 2, 2015 It's “Living Wage Week”. For seven days, the Living Wage Foundation’s campaign for employers to pay workers at least £8.25 per hour (or £9.40 in London) receives almost wall-to-wall coverage. Campaigners line up to tell us raising pay to this level is good for business as well as employees. Many large firms, most of [...]
As it pushes back a decision on its domicile, would HSBC be better off moving its headquarters out of London? November 2, 2015 Darius McDermott, managing director at Chelsea Financial Services, says Yes HSBC gets 70 per cent of its revenue from Asia and, given it expects to get most of its future growth from this region, it seems common sense that the bank should be based there. On top of this, the UK political environment remains hostile [...]
Christmas adverts: John Lewis, Sainsburys, Burberry & Marks and Spencer beaten by Universal for most shared festive ad of all time November 2, 2015 It's that time of year already. John Lewis is poised to unveil its Christmas advert on Friday (8am if you're really keen) and once again will be launching in on social media first, followed by a grand pushing out to TV audiences at the weekend. It has become an iconic start to the festive period, [...]
HSBC share price down sinks despite smashes expectations and shrugging off China slowdown – but no news on headquarters move November 2, 2015 HSBC has beaten expectations for profits in the third quarter, shrugging off the slowdown in China. The figures The UK’s biggest bank reported a jump in pre-tax profit to $6.1bn (£3.95bn) for the third quarter, from $4.6bn during the same period last year. This outstripped most analysts’ expectations, which hovered around $5.2bn. Revenues, however, fell four per cent year-on-year, [...]
The right trousers: Tom Cridland on Leonardo DiCaprio, swine flu and the importance of startup loans in the developing world November 2, 2015 Working alone isn’t an issue for Tom Cridland, founder of the eponymous fashion label. “It doesn’t bother me at all. Some people love the office vibe, but I’d just get distracted. Just me and my laptop is fine.” The 25 year-old opened Tom Cridland in January 2014. Starting with just a £6,000 government startup loan [...]