Used car sales double as chip shortages deplete new model stocks August 10, 2021 The number of used cars changing hands doubled in the second quarter as stock shortages forced some people to turn to second hand models. According to the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT), 2,167,504 used models were bought in the last period, up 108 per cent on 2020. The number sold was also up [...]
Lockdowns will cost Australia’s economy £530m per week, say UBS economists August 10, 2021 Australia’s “zero Covid” approach will cost AU$1bn (£530m) per week to the country’s economy, as its three most populous states are currently in lockdown due to a surge in the delta variant. Economists at the UBS bank have said the cumulative economic cost of the current lockdown in New South Wales will be of AU$25bn [...]
Consumer fatigue slows retail sales growth August 10, 2021 Signs of fatigue among consumers after the initial burst in spending triggered by the gradual easing of Covid restrictions are starting to emerge, according to new figures released today. Research from the British Retail Consortium and KPMG show retail sales jumped 9.8 per cent in July compared to the same period in 2019, before the [...]
The future of film: Big screen’s make or break moment August 9, 2021 As blockbuster season explodes into action and Cannes finally reconvenes, it may seem like business as usual for cinema. But peek behind the scenes and there are still huge challenges to overcome. Three CAs in the sector tell Christian Koch about the big screen’s make-or-break moment. This article first appeared in ICAS’ CA magazine. Hollywood and [...]
Weekend Read: We may be about to find out what shape the recovery takes August 7, 2021 Since the first cases of Covid-19 began to disrupt the global economy, economists have not been shy of predictions. V-shaped, L-shaped, even hockey-stick recoveries have all been on the table. We may be about to find out who was right. While output growth and economic activity are still historically strong, in developed economies, those indicators [...]
Exclusive: Cult Beauty founder Jessica DeLuca on selling to THG and what happens next August 6, 2021 In the thirteen years since launching online cosmetics retailer Cult Beauty, Jessica DeLuca and Alexia Inge grew the business from £72,000 to £275m – the amount it sold to The Hut Group (THG) for this week. Jessica DeLuca, a former IT analyst, worked in the spare bedroom of her basement flat through 2007 building the [...]
Could technology trigger a lasting boost to productivity? August 6, 2021 Two years ago, we identified a series of inescapable investment “truths” that we expected would shape the following decade. Among these truths, we highlighted the accelerated adoption of technology and increased populism as two disruptive trends to watch. But have these two trends been strengthened or challenged by the pandemic? Growth outlook stronger as economies adapt Despite [...]
Amazon tries to cut waste after backlash from ITV investigation August 5, 2021 E-commerce giant Amazon is to reduce rubbish with two new policies following an ITV News investigation which found the company destroying millions of items of unsold stock. The largest online retailer came under fire two months ago after ITV released footage of an Amazon warehouse in Dunfermline, Scotland destroyed everything from laptops and TV’s to [...]
KPMG fined £13m over Silentnight sale misconduct August 5, 2021 The accounting firm has been fined and ordered to pay over £2.75m in costs, for serious misconduct in its role in the 2011 sale of bed retailer Silentnight to a private equity group. An independent tribunal found that KPMG and one of its partners did not comply with the UK professional accounting principles of objectivity [...]
Powered up: Daniel Sherfield CA, CFO of Grind, talks about the growth of the brand, its city venues and ecommerce stream August 5, 2021 It’s gone from being Silicon Roundabout’s all-day caffeine fix to a chain of cafes and ecommerce business. Daniel Sherfield CA talks to Cherry Casey about the growth of Grind. This article first appeared in ICAS’ CA magazine. If there is one word to describe the journey Grind has taken in the decade since its inception it would be [...]