Corporate debt swells to record £6tn as interest rates begin to cool borrowing appetite July 12, 2023 The debt pile sitting under global corporates has swelled to record levels in the past year despite rate hikes beginning to cool firms’ appetite for borrowing, new research has revealed.
Oil markets await US inflation data as IEA maintains tight supply predictions July 12, 2023 Oil prices are flat in this morning trading session, as investors await the latest US inflation data for signs of future rate-hikes.
Loungers: Cafe and Bar operator looks for further expansion as cooling inflation for hospitality boosts revenue July 12, 2023 Cafe and bar operator Loungers revenues jumped 19 per cent during the year, as the owner of the Lounger and Cosy Club was bolstered by 29 new site openings. The London-listed hospitality chain recorded earnings of £47.3m which represents growth of 66 per cent since it first listed on the stock exchange in April 2019. [...]
Hostelworld has record revenues thanks to ‘bed price inflation’ and return of Aussie holidays July 12, 2023 Hostelworld reported record revenues of €51.5m (£43.3m), on the back of resurgent demand for big trips to Asia and Australia and “bed price inflation” helped prop up its margins. The travel platform saw revenue growth of 57 per cent year on year, on the back of 3.4 million bookings across Europe, Asia and Australian markets [...]
Bank of England says UK’s big banks passed stress test and are ‘resilient’ to rising rates July 12, 2023 The UK’s largest lenders passed the Bank of England’s stress tests with flying colours, even as concerns grow around the health of the mortgage market. In its latest stress test, the Bank of England concluded that banks were “resilient”, enabling them to withstand persistently higher inflation and a deep global recession. “The UK banking system [...]
J D Wetherspoon: ‘Misrepresentation’ to claim boozers sell-off was for ‘money-raising’ alone July 12, 2023 JD Wetherspoon hit back at critics over its decision to sell off a flurry of pubs, telling investors it is a “misinterpretation” to claim it was a purely “money-raising” move. The budget boozer sold, closed or surrendered to the landlord 28 pubs, however said that while the move raised a small bit of capital, it [...]
Interview: Businesses need to get their ‘pound of flesh’ from home workers, says Addison Lee chief July 12, 2023 “We are a real barometer for the London economy,” Liam Griffin, the boss of Addison Lee, says as we chat in the firms’ Paddington offices. The private hire taxi firm has been a stalwart of London for nearly 45 years now, ferrying customers through the boom of the early 2000s, the financial crash of 2008 [...]
‘I started this as a hobby’: Cricket star Stuart Broad reflects on his naive start to the world of hospitality July 12, 2023 England cricketer turned pub landlord Stuart Broad has admitted he had a “naive” understanding about what it took to run a hospitality business, as he reopens his pub amid a period of soaring bills and red hot inflation. The 37-year old sports star has recently relaunched his pub and restaurant The Tap and Run in [...]
UK families set for another year of cost of living crisis and £65bn hit to finances July 12, 2023 UK families are poised to be gripped by the cost of living crisis for nearly another whole year due to the Bank of England keeping interest rates higher for longer in a bid to vanquish inflation, a new report out today claims. Household finances will be corroded by rising living costs and elevated rates until [...]
FTSE 100 close: London index nips higher as Bank of England rate hike bets step up July 11, 2023 London’s FTSE 100 crept higher today as another set of hotter than feared wage numbers pushed pound sterling to its highest level in 15 months. The capital’s premier index nipped 0.12 per cent higher to 7,282.51 points, while the domestically-focused mid-cap FTSE 250 index, which is more aligned with the health of the UK economy, [...]