John Lewis repays government loan after strong festive period January 22, 2021 John Lewis has announced it will pay back its £300m government loan almost two months early after a better-than-expected festive period. The John Lewis Partnership announced it would pay back £300m of the government’s Covid Corporate Financing Facility which was due to be repaid in March of this year. Under the CCFF, the Bank of [...]
When it rains, it pours: Storm Christoph strikes up to £120m of insurance damage across the UK January 22, 2021 UK insurance losses could reach up to £120m in the wake of Storm Christoph with Wales hit the hardest, according to a PwC insurance leader. Residents have been forced to leave their homes and a major incident declared in Wales after enduring the highest rainfall of the four UK nations. Around 80 people, including care [...]
Lloyd’s lures Aviva’s MD for new chief of markets role January 22, 2021 Lloyd’s said this morning it has created a new chief of markets role which will oversee performance and distribution at the insurance giant. Patrick Tiernan has been hired for the position once he has seen out his current stint as managing director at Aviva, where he was previously chief financial officer. Tiernan has 24 years [...]
UK retail sales stage tentative recovery over Christmas January 22, 2021 Retail sales made a tentative recovery over the Christmas period as the UK emerged from its second national lockdown. Retail sales volumes rose 0.3 per cent in December following a 4.1 per cent fall in November as the country moved into the more relaxed tier restrictions. It is 2.7 per cent higher than February’s pre-lockdown [...]
Wall Street slides as ‘Biden bounce’ runs out of steam January 22, 2021 Wall Street fell today as global markets stepped back from the highs they reached on the back of Joe Biden’s new economic stimulus proposal. After once again hitting record highs earlier this week, Wall Street’s main markets once again showed that they were not immune to the malaise felt around the world. The S&P 500, [...]
Exclusive: ‘Banks should deliver the same experience as Amazon and Netflix’, says Ezbob CEO January 21, 2021 After a year that was hugely disrupted by Covid-19 and the entire economy and its workforce moved online, City A.M. sat down with Tomer Guriel, CEO of Mayfair-based Ezbob, which provides digital lending software to some of the biggest banks and financial institutions in the City. A vaccine is being rolled out, so the City [...]
Pets at Home sales surge as animal ownership soars January 21, 2021 Pets at Home has reported an 18 per cent leap in revenue to £302m for the third quarter of 2020. The UK’s leading pet care firm showed a strong performance despite coronavirus lockdowns effecting store openings on both a regional and national level. Trading built momentum over the festive period, with like-for-like sales seeing a [...]
Bank of England’s Bailey expects ‘pronounced recovery’ for economy January 21, 2021 Bank of England Governor Andrew Bailey said yesterday he expected Britain’s economy would recover strongly as the country moves ahead with vaccinating its population against Covid-19. “I really do think that we are going to see a pronounced recovery in the economy as the vaccination programme, as it is doing now, rolls out,” Bailey said. [...]
Card payments help Paypoint offset its drop in revenue January 21, 2021 An increase in card payment transactions has helped Paypoint weather the Covid storm as it targets more retail partners amid the pandemic. Underlying group net revenue fell nearly 11 per cent to £24.5m in the third quarter following the end of its contract with British Gas. Its revenue from UK retail services fell 1.4 per [...]
Covid-19 volatility boosts profits at investment bank Morgan Stanley, echoing rival Goldman Sachs January 20, 2021 Covid-19 volatility boosts profits at investment bank Morgan Stanley