Amazon quarterly sales near $100bn amid online shopping boom October 29, 2020 Amazon has continued its bumper year of trading, posting quarterly sales of nearly $100bn (£77.4bn) as the pandemic sparked a surge in demand for online shopping. The ecommerce giant said net sales had increased 37 per cent year on year to hit $96.1bn in the three months to the end of September. Net profit hit [...]
US firm Prologis sells UK logistics assets to Blackstone for record-breaking £473m October 29, 2020 US real estate firm Prologis has sold its UK logistics properties to Blackstone for a record-breaking £473m. It represents the largest sale of logistics real estate assets on record in the UK, Prologis said, and highlights the strength of the sector as an investment asset class. The portfolio comprises about 4.3m sq ft of buildings [...]
WPP client wins help revenue decline slow October 29, 2020 Ad giant WPP reported another fall in sales in the third quarter but the pace of decline slowed from the previous quarter. The British owner of the Ogilvy, Grey and GroupM agencies said its like-for-like sales had dropped by 5.5 per cent to £2.97bn, compared with a 11.5 per cent drop in the previous quarter. [...]
Death of the middleman? The myth of selling straight to the customer October 29, 2020 This pandemic has driven consumers online at a pace no one could predict, with Covid-19 forecast to generate an additional £4.5bn of UK online sales in 2020. Social distancing has set in motion a dramatic shift in how we shop — our business alone saw a more than 230 per cent growth rate in online [...]
Covid-19 ‘doughnut effect’ creates retail opportunities in outer London, experts say October 28, 2020 Outer London boroughs have recovered faster from the coronavirus restrictions than the city centre, creating a “doughnut effect”, which could provide new opportunities for retailers and landlords, experts have said. Research by estate agent Savills showed that in the six weeks to 23 October footfall in the City and Westminster was down 72 per cent [...]
Two-thirds of all UK businesses at risk of insolvency October 28, 2020 Two-thirds of all businesses across the UK currently trading have a “low to severe risk of insolvency”, according to the Office for National Statistics (ONS). The latest Business Impact of Coronavirus Survey (BICS) from the ONS found that 64 per cent of businesses across all industries are at risk of insolvency, with 43 per cent [...]
Crypto AM shines its Spotlight on INX October 28, 2020 Trailblazers In Unchartered Territory: INX, The First SEC-Registered Token IPO INX Limited is enabling the future of finance by creating a new asset class; with higher flexibility and innovative functionality for asset listings, trading and governance. We are witnessing change across all industries in this post-pandemic world, and capital markets are no exception. Security tokens [...]
Snakes and Ladders: Who is moving jobs in the City this week? October 28, 2020 Snakes and Ladders provides a roundup of the most important hires and job moves across the City, every Wednesday afternoon. Email citymoves@cityam.com to be featured. City firms are continuing to adapt to the challenges and opportunities presented by the pandemic as they vie to be in prime position to recover from the economic fallout of the crisis. This [...]
Institutions don’t share retail investors’ optimism on returns October 28, 2020 Schroders’ studies suggest retail – or individual – investors are more optimistic about future returns than investors at large institutions. Individuals have indicated that they expect average annual returns of nearly 11% over the next five years while institutional investors anticipate a more moderate 6%. Schroders’ Institutional Investor Study is an analysis of views from [...]
Next hikes profit forecast after stronger than expected sales October 28, 2020 Next has hiked its profit forecast for the year after sales in the third quarter were stronger than expected. The high street retailer said full-year profit before tax is now expected to be £365m, £65m higher than the forecast given in September. Full price sales in the three months ended 24 October increased 2.8 per [...]