Offshore energy industry pleads with Hunt for help: Windfall tax ‘rocked investor confidence’ amid US threat March 2, 2023 The UK’s North Sea industry body has urged Jeremy Hunt to create an attractive investment climate to compete with rival energy markets.
A bigger bite: Pret hikes team member salaries as commuter coffee favourite vows to invest in workforce March 2, 2023 Pret a Manger will increase the salaries of its workers from the start of next month to avoid falling foul of minimum wage laws, which change on April 1. Sandwich chain Pret said that it would hike pay for its worst-paid staff by 2.9 per cent, from £10.30 an hour to £10.60 an hour. It ensures [...]
ITV’s revenue up and profit down as I’m a Celeb broadcaster invests heavily in streaming and on-demand TV March 2, 2023 ITV had a mixed 2022 thanks to “deliberate strategic actions”, as revenue went up almost seven per cent while profit dipped due to lower advertising intake. The TV channel and on-demand service reported studio revenue of more than £2bn, a 19 per cent rise on 2021 by more than £300m. Its total group revenue was [...]
Metro Bank loss narrows to £70.7m as bank vows to put compliance issues behind it March 2, 2023 Higher interest rates helped Metro Bank narrow its loss for the year as the bank attempts to put a series of compliance missteps behind it. Metro Bank’s pretax loss narrowed to £70.7m in 2022, as the bank saw revenue jump 31 per cent on the back of higher interest rates. The bank noted it was [...]
Taylor Wimpey profits up nearly 22 per cent at £827m as builder notes signs of housing market ‘improvement’ March 2, 2023 Taylor Wimpey said it “acted quickly” to address rapidly changing market conditions, as the London-listed construction group reported 3.2 per cent year-on-year growth in revenue to £4.4bn during the year ending 2022. The group reported pre-tax profits of £827m, a rise of 21.8 per cent from £678m in the same period last year. As inflation [...]
The Square Mile and Me: JM Finn’s Hugo Bedford on crayfish hi-jinks, David Mayhew and hopes for 2023 March 2, 2023 Every week we ask the City’s highest flyers what they’ve learnt in the Square Mile – and what fun they had climbing the ladder. This week, it’s wealth manager JM Finn’s chief executive Hugo Bedford – on his early days in the Square Mile, why he admires David Mayhew and one particularly raucous lunch What [...]
Fintech won’t be derailed by recessions – but it still needs strong regulation to thrive March 2, 2023 Fintech will survive the current economic challenges - it always does. But in order to reach it full potential, it needs strong compliance and regulation to ensure trust, writes Dima Kats
Bank of England Governor Andrew Bailey warns interest rates may have to rise again to tackle inflation March 1, 2023 Governor of the Bank of England Andrew Bailey has today warned interest rates may need to rise even higher to tame inflation, signalling yet more pain is in store for families and businesses. Speaking at a conference on the cost of living crisis in London, Bailey, 63, said if the Bank does “too little with [...]
FTSE 100 close: Anglo American and Antofagasta receive China boost but Barratt drops after house price slide March 1, 2023 London’s FTSE 100 sprung higher today, propelled by investors piling into commodity giants after a batch of better than expected data indicated the Chinese economy is on the mend. The capital’s premier index flung 0.49 per cent higher to back above the 7,900 point mark, while the domestically-focused mid-cap FTSE 250 index, which is more [...]
Housing market: Shares in FTSE 100 house builders tumble as outlook weakens March 1, 2023 Investors are shying away from pumping their funds into the residential market after figures from the Bank of England show that mortgage approvals for house purchases plummeted to the lowest level since the 2008 financial crash.