Hargreaves Lansdown pulls in £1.3bn worth of new business as client base swells October 15, 2021 Financial services firm Hargreaves Lansdown has pulled in £1.3bn worth of new business in its last quarter, as its client base grows. Some 23,000 new clients joined the firm in the three months to 30 September, taking active member figures to more than 1.6m. Shares slipped 0.4 per cent to 1,490.5p per share during its [...]
Editorial: From fireworks to business rates, it’s time to move forward October 15, 2021 On the face of it, whether or not a fabulous yellow roman candle explodes like a spider across the stars for London’s New Year’s Eve celebrations is not the world’s most pressing issue. But in its own luminous way, the decision by the Mayor to cancel the capital’s midnight show for the second time in [...]
Dunelm boss pay quadruples despite refusal to repay business rates holiday savings October 14, 2021 Even though homewares chain Dunelm continuing to insist it should not repay savings made from the business rates holiday, the company revealed today its boss’ pay package has more than quadrupled to over £4m. The retailer has repeatedly claimed it was right to enjoy the £22m in tax savings, as its stores were forced to [...]
Poundland faced with staggering tenfold rise in shipping costs October 14, 2021 Discount retail giant Pound has seen shipping costs rise tenfold due to global supply chain issues. Andy Bond, chief executive of PepCo, which also runs Dealz stores across Europe, said the retailer has enough stock to keep shelves full although he admitted price pressures are being felt. He did not expect the pressures to ease [...]
Sunak deaf to industry calls to overhaul business rates October 14, 2021 Chancellor Rishi Sunak has ignored calls from industry chiefs to shake up the business rate regime at the next budget. According to The Telegraph, government plans to overhaul the business rate system have been “thrown into the long grass”. The Chancellor has not had enough time to consider the effects of wholesale changes to the [...]
City rejects looming interest rate rise: ‘Old Lady should adopt Maradona theory’ October 14, 2021 Markets are increasingly betting that the Bank of England will raise interest rates before Christmas to contain spiralling inflation. The shift came after two of the Old Lady’s most senior officials gave the strongest signal yet that the central bank is ready to choke off inflation. Strengthening predictions over a looming rate hike triggered a [...]
Tax hikes to derail UK economy at the final hurdle October 14, 2021 Imposing punitive tax hikes on businesses will blow the UK economic recovery off course just as it is in touching distance of reaching pre-pandemic strength. That’s the warning to Chancellor Rishi Sunak from economists and industry leaders after data from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) revealed Britain is inches away from full repair. “Our [...]
Top industry brass press Sunak on business rates overhaul October 14, 2021 The UK’s top business groups who represent over 9m workers are pressing Chancellor Rishi Sunak to overhaul the business rates regime. The Confederation of British Industry (CBI), alongside 41 trade associations acting on behalf of 261,000 businesses, have called on Sunak to reduce the burden of business rates on firms at this month’s budget to [...]
Businesses facing all-time difficult battle to recruit staff October 14, 2021 Nine out of ten hotel and catering firms struggled to recruit in the third quarter, as hospitality bosses have called for government intervention. Pub bosses are struggling to find chefs while nightclubs have found it hard to recruit door staff. There have been calls in the hospitality sector for a Covid Recovery Visa to help [...]
NatWest to launch first eco-friendly loans as part of new £100bn green funding pot October 13, 2021 NatWest said this morning it plans to bring £100bn to green funding to the market by the end of 2025 and the City bank will also roll out its first eco-friendly business loans. The bank stressed its strategy is to help small firms capitalise on the drive to tackle climate change. The pledge sees the [...]