Death of the High Street? Why we’re still backing UK retail April 9, 2019 Following some dire headlines you might rightly wonder why the share prices of UK retailers have recorded double-digit gains this year (see graphic, below). Surely the relentlessly downbeat mood music from the mainstream media (and pessimism among analysts) is confirmation that the UK consumer is in full retreat, and consumer-exposed sectors are in deep trouble? [...]
Lloyds Bank stars as FTSE 100 rockets in Q1 April 9, 2019 By Graeme Evans from interactive investor. After a great first quarter for stock markets, we assess the best and worst blue-chips of 2019 so far. It’s been a storming start to 2019 for the FTSE 100 index, with popular interactive investor stocks including Lloyds Banking Group (LSE:LLOY), Next (LSE:NXT) and Tesco (LSE:TSCO) among those on [...]
Hotels stump up for new business rate bills April 7, 2019 Some of London’s most iconic hotels are facing renewed pressure from rising property taxes, according to business rate experts who fear that the sector could be hit by the latest round of bills. Real estate services firm Colliers found that 93 London hotels have been charged with a combined total rates bill of £12.2m this [...]
Dormant assets scheme could be expanded following government report April 4, 2019 A scheme to reallocate dormant assets to charitable causes could be extended to the investment and wealth management sector following the publication of a government report. An independent report commissioned by the government found that extending the scheme to other financial services, also including the insurance and pensions sector, could "significantly expand the money available to good [...]
The burden of business rates falls unfairly on the West End April 4, 2019 This week, UK retailers received one of their biggest tax bills of the year. The consequences of the 2017 revaluation of business rates will again be felt, with a further hike of nearly 50 per cent for some companies. Retailers in London’s West End and Mayfair will once again be hardest hit, paying the lion’s [...]
The AA’s opting for the long road to stability April 4, 2019 Shares in the AA have been swerving all over the place since it returned to the stock market in 2014. After jumping from a float price of 250p to 430p the following year, the ambitions of the team that steered the roadside rescue outfit through an unusual management-buyout-cum-IPO began to stutter. The stock slid and [...]
May called business chiefs to reassure over latest change in Brexit negotiation plan April 3, 2019 Theresa May last night tried to reassure bosses at some of Britain’s biggest firms, including Rolls-Royce, BT and GlaxoSmithKline, about her latest change in direction on Brexit negotiations. The PM hosted a call with the co-chairs of her business councils last night, shortly after announcing she would look for another extension to Article 50 so [...]
Discounter Aldi ramps up market share as Easter approaches April 2, 2019 Cut-price supermarket Aldi continued its rise up the grocery food chain in March, achieving a record market share of eight per cent as it made ground on its rivals. The German-owned chain’s sales increased by 10.6 per cent in the 12 months to 24 March compared to a year earlier, pushing its market share up [...]
Euribor rate-rigging trial delivers the fraud office a much-needed win April 1, 2019 The convictions of two former Barclays bankers in the Serious Fraud Office’s long and protracted probe into Euribor manipulation will inject a new sense of purpose into an agency weary from a string of defeats and climbdowns. Today Carlo Palombo and Colin Bermingham were sentenced to a combined nine years in prison for their role in [...]
Tesco boss accuses business rates system of ‘killing’ retailers March 28, 2019 The chief executive of Tesco, Dave Lewis, has harshly criticised the UK’s business rates system, saying it has become “a rising tax on investment” in a speech today. Lewis said that increasing business rates have come as retailers are squeezed by online competitors, and called for an online sales levy. He brushed off criticism that this [...]