UK employment statistics 2015: Job vacancies on the rise across London November 9, 2015 Jobs are on the up across a variety of sectors, according to several reports released today. The number of new vacancies in financial services in London rose by seven per cent to 9,480 in October compared to the month before, recruitment consultancy Morgan McKinley found. The figure also represents a 28 per cent increase compared [...]
UK unemployment figures set to be in the spotlight – London Report November 8, 2015 Following the US jobs report on Friday, UK investors will focus on Wednesday’s release of the September employment report and October’s tally for the claimant count. They will be published alongside a raft of secondtier indicators on retail sales and house prices. Today, funeral operator Dignity is expected to reveal a jump in revenues when [...]
How the Northern Powerhouse could boost SMEs – Investec Comment November 8, 2015 Critics of the chancellor's ambition to create a Northern Powerhouse often dismiss the idea as a gimmick. The challenge of rebalancing the UK economy is certainly immense. A recent report by the Centre of Cities showed that gross value added per worker in 2013 in the areas covered by the Northern Powerhouse was 13 per [...]
The UK is great at supporting startups – so why can’t we do the same with scale-ups? November 6, 2015 The last five years have seen an unprecedented growth in the number of new, registered companies and we have now surpassed the rate at which even the United States produces startups. This is terrific progress, but when these businesses grow and try to move to the next stage – be that taking on more employees, [...]
Handbag designer Kate Spade fashions a net profit of $2.3m for third quarter of 2015 November 5, 2015 Kate Spade & Company revealed today that it had fashioned a net profit of $2.3m (£1.5m) for its third quarter of 2015, up from a net loss of $9.1m for the same period last year. The company, best known for its quirky range of women’s accessories, also announced a rise in net sales to $277m from [...]
Cain Hoy partners with China’s largest property company Vanke for £750m Shoreditch project November 5, 2015 China's largest property company has made its first foray into the European market after partnering on the £750m redevelopment of a Shoreditch site where Shakespeare’s Curtain Theatre once stood. Vanke has taken a 21 per cent stake in The Stage, joining a consortium of investors headed by US private equity firm Cain Hoy and joint venture partners MG Partners, Galliard Homes and Investec Property Finance. The [...]
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 [...]