How nine City experts reacted to Philip Hammond’s NIC u-turn March 15, 2017 It's official: Philip Hammond has bowed to criticism and scrapped his controversial plans to hike National Insurance Contributions for the self-employed. Reactions from have varied, from confusion to outright glee. Here's how nine of the City's most important organisations reacted. Read more: Hammond's U-turn on National Insurance hike plans – read his letter in full [...]
Leap 100 companies have shown how much can be achieved in just two years March 14, 2017 We're living in an unprecedented time of change. Technology is accelerating at breakneck pace, changing the way we work, creating new industries and, with them, new opportunities for ambitious British businesses. The UK is becoming an increasingly fertile nesting ground for new technology. According to London & Partners, the UK tech sector drew more investment [...]
New stamp duty rules annihilated buy-to-let mortgage borrowing in January March 14, 2017 The amount borrowed by prospective landlords fell 16 per cent in the year to January, as strict new rules on buy-to-let homes took their toll. Figures by the Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML) showed would-be landlords borrowed £800m to buy new homes in January, down from £1.4bn the year before, and £900m in December. The [...]
Here’s what MPs had to say after the House of Lords gave the green light on Brexit March 14, 2017 After the House of Lords joined MPs in passing legislation to give Prime Minister Theresa May the power to trigger Article 50, Conservative MPs said it’s time to get on with Brexit. Brexit secretary David Davis said the UK is on the threshold of “the most important negotiation for our country in a generation.” “So [...]
British book worms are spending more on reading this year, sending sales up £100m March 13, 2017 Britons are reading more than last year and increased spending by six per cent on books by as much as £100m more compared to 2016, according to research from Nielsen Book Research UK. Printed book sales were up seven per cent, driven by greater reading amongst younger generations, despite commonly held assumptions that young people [...]
Snap: Investors get spooked when you have no long term plans March 13, 2017 There are a number of reasons that, in the cold light of day, investors have become less confident about the long-term success of Snapchat. Putting aside the obvious facts that it is yet to trade anywhere near profit and is reliant on a young audience (more of that later), what are the main causes for [...]
How Camden Town Brewery is keeping its craft ale credentials after its £85m takeover by AB Inbev March 13, 2017 Brits are drinking craft beer as if it were going out of fashion. The number of new brewery openings in the UK surged 55 per cent to a record 520 last year, and between eight and nine per cent of the total beer sold in licensed premises in the UK is craft. That’s still significantly [...]
It’s up to business to make social mobility a reality for worried UK millennials March 13, 2017 Deloitte's sixth annual millennial survey revealed that just 36 per cent of millennials think they will be financially better off than their parents and only 31 per cent think they will be happier. The survey also found income inequality to be one of the issues of most concern to millennials and underlined a growing anxiety [...]
Elon Musk has another ambitious energy project and this time it’s free March 10, 2017 Elon Musk has risen to the challenge of fixing South Australia’s power crisis in 100 days. If he can’t accomplish the goal within that time? He’ll do it for free. The Tesla executive responded to co-founder of the software company Atlassian, Mike Cannon-Brookes, on Twitter following Tesla vice president Lyndon Rive's own claim that he would [...]
From PwC’s chair to the boss of Vodafone: Here are the top 30 men helping to tackle gender inequality in the workplace March 10, 2017 Lloyds Banking Group’s chief executive of commercial banking and the chairman of PwC have been named among the top 30 men challenging the status quo and promoting gender equality in the workplace. The Women’s Business Council and Management Today have revealed their 2017 Agents of Change, listing 30 male leaders who are actively working alongside women [...]