Laterooms collapses after failure to sell business August 1, 2019 Holiday bookings site Laterooms has collapsed into insolvency after its parent company Malvern Group ran out of cash before it could secure a sale. Last month Malvern appointed KPMG to undertake an accelerated sales process after Cox & Kings India, which owned a 49 per cent stake in Malvern, defaulted on loan repayments. The default [...]
Intu share price fall continues after dividend cancellation August 1, 2019 Shares in retail landlord Intu continued to fall this morning after the Trafford Centre owner yesterday cancelled its dividend as it fell to a £900m loss. Intu’s share price was down as much as 6.7 per cent at 44.6p this morning before recovering slightly to 45.45p. Read more: Intu share price crashes at it cancels [...]
Number of UK firms in ‘significant distress’ rises July 30, 2019 The number of UK businesses facing “significant distress” has increased as consumer spending slumps due to ongoing uncertainty. In total, 14 per cent of all UK businesses – 484,000 – said they were experiencing significant distress at the end of June, with the leisure and retail industries hit the hardest. Read more: Consumer spending to [...]
Primark demands rent cuts after rivals secure insolvency boost July 28, 2019 Primark is said to be demanding rent cuts on dozens of stores as it looks to keep up with struggling rivals that have cut costs through insolvency procedures. The fashion chain is asking landlords to slash rent by 30 per cent on stores where the leases have several years remaining, and is offering lease extensions [...]
Fewer firms are going bust despite high profile collapses July 22, 2019 Fewer companies went bust in England and Wales in the second quarter than in the first three months of 2019, according to professional services firm KPMG, despite a handful of high profile business collapses. Read more: Jamie’s Italian to slim down with restaurant closures The number of firms going into administration fell by 14 per [...]
London law firm Mishcon de Reya to explore IPO option July 20, 2019 London law firm Mishcon de Reya has begun preparations for a flotation or stake sale valuing the firm at several hundred million pounds, according to Sky News. Mishcon is looking to hire bankers in the coming months to explore its options, although any formal decisions about raising capital are yet to be made. Read more: [...]
Regulator investigates ‘shape-shifting’ firms who shirk duties on employee pensions July 17, 2019 The Pensions Regulator said today it will hunt down companies that change their names to dodge workplace pension obligations. Several small and medium-sized employers have tried to employ “shape-shifting” tactics to avoid paying their staff’s pensions, it said. Those breaching their auto-enrolment duties could be subject to “short-notice inspections”. Read more: Prudential UK property fund delays [...]
How CEO Christian Sewing can save Deutsche Bank July 16, 2019 Pity Christian Sewing. The chief executive of German banking giant Deutsche Bank is not having a good time. What started with a tough but brave call to close his equities business has turned into a low point in the company’s history. There is the potential investigation into its entanglement with the scandal concerning the insolvent [...]
It’s not just cricket – finance and friendship underpin Britain’s bond with India July 16, 2019 The deep love of cricket that the UK and India share was clearly on show last week. But our relationship goes much further than just a passion for sport. It is a family affair, with parents and children, brothers and sisters living, working and moving between our two great nations. It is no surprise then [...]
Thomas Cook: How did it end up like this? July 12, 2019 Companies in the travel industry have endured a turbulent year – and none more than Thomas Cook. Read more: Thomas Cook shares plunge to record low as investors face being wiped out The embattled firm this morning said it is closing in on a bailout deal which would see Chinese firm Fosun give it £750m [...]