Hotel Chocolat boss warns of melting profits next year amid cost of living crisis July 19, 2022 Hotel Chocolat revenue has risen more than a third over the past year, as it braces for a spending slow down amid the cost of living crisis in the UK. Revenue hit £226m in the 12-month period, up from £165m a year prior and ahead of market forecasts. However, co-founder and CEO Angus Thirlwell said [...]
Santander hands out four per cent pay rises to help 11,000 workers manage cost-of-living crunch July 19, 2022 Santander today pledged to give four per cent pay rises to all 11,000 of its workers on salaries of less than £35,000 a year. The bank said the pay rises, which will be handed out to around 60 per cent of Santander’s entire workforce, are aimed helping its staff deal with the UK’s cost-of-living crisis. [...]
Begbies Traynor bosses expect rising insolvencies in the coming months July 19, 2022 Begbies Traynor’s revenue has jumped more than a third over the past year, as the business recovery and financial advisory firm scoops up ailing firms. Executive chairman of the London-listed group, also a property services consultancy, said a string a acquisitions and a spike in trading has lifted its financials “comfortably ahead of original market [...]
Supermarket shoppers face £454 extra to yearly grocery bill as inflation bites July 19, 2022 Shoppers are now facing a £454 increase to their annual supermarket bills, with grocery price inflation edging towards the highest level since 2008. According to the latest numbers from Kantar, grocery price inflation now sits at 9.9 per cent for the past four weeks. This marks the second highest level of inflation seen since 2008, [...]
Rishi Sunak says tax cuts are a fairy tale, but he is chasing a Sleeping Beauty fantasy July 19, 2022 TIMES are tough. We need a bold plan to tackle the cost of living and get growth going. I have heard my friend Rishi Sunak argue that this is not the time to cut taxes, despite people facing the heaviest burden since the 1940s. With all due respect to the former chancellor, he is acting [...]
Letters: Throwing money at the problem July 19, 2022 [Re:War for talent swells new starter City pay packets, yesterday] Competition for talent is at fever pitch, and strong competition among City law firms has led to pay packages for the newest lawyers reaching dizzying heights at some of the US giants. However, with an economic slowdown potentially on the cards and existing employees disgruntled [...]
Tory leadership: Sunak builds lead as Tugendhat drops out July 18, 2022 Rishi Sunak has built a strong lead in the in the third round of voting in the Tory leadership contest, with Tom Tugendhat dropping out. Sunak got 115 votes from Tory MPs, followed by Penny Mordaunt on 82, Liz Truss on 71, Kemi Badenoch on 58 and Tugendhat on 31. The vote saw Sunak, Truss [...]
NatWest will provide £1.25bn in aid to farmers facing inflation July 18, 2022 NatWest will offer farmers a £1.25bn lending package amidst surging inflation in the UK. This package follows earlier support and takes the bank’s total lending for the agriculture sector to more than £6.7bn. The capital will be deployed through loans, asset finance, and higher overdraft limits, and will also help farmers transition to more sustainable practices [...]
Nearly 900 Tube journeys delayed in three years due to late drivers July 18, 2022 Almost 900 Tube journeys were delayed between 2019 and 2022 as a result of drivers turning up late to work, new Transport for London (TfL) figures have revealed. A Freedom of Information (FOI) request, made by the free market TaxPayers’ Alliance (TPA) think tank, found 894 Tube rides were late by at least two minutes [...]
London’s FTSE 100 jumps amid receding recession jitters July 18, 2022 Recession fears among investors eased today ahead of a bumper week of economic data. London’s premier FTSE 100 index jumped 0.9 per cent to 7,223.24 points, while the domestically-focused mid-cap FTSE 250 index, which is more aligned with the health of the UK economy, climbed 0.96 per cent to over 19,000 for the first time [...]