Treasury under fire following allegations it had ‘influence’ over RBS GRG unit January 30, 2019 The Treasury has been accused of a “flagrant breach” of the arms-length relationship it had with RBS during the financial crisis following allegations that a Whitehall agency exerted influence over the bank’s controversial restructuring unit. On Tuesday allegations came to light via a legal claim by one of RBS’s former customers, Oliver Morley, that the [...]
Personal insolvencies reach seven-year high as credit squeezed and wages stagnate January 29, 2019 The number of people in England and Wales turning to insolvency to deal with debt problems has risen to a seven-year high as consumer credit tightens and wages stagnate. There were 34,108 individual insolvencies in the fourth quarter, an increase of 34.8 per cent on the third quarter. In 2018 the number of people who [...]
Oddbins owner appoints administrators with hundreds of jobs at risk January 28, 2019 The owner of wine retailer Oddbins is preparing to appoint administrators for the second time in less than a decade. European Food Brokers, which owns subsidiaries Wine Cellar Trading and Whittalls Wine Merchants, said it has filed a notice of intent to appoint Duff & Phelps as administrators to fix an insolvency, Sky News reported tonight. EFB, [...]
Here’s what happened to the UK professional jobs market in 2018 and what to watch out for in 2019 January 24, 2019 It is not unusual after the rest and relaxation of Christmas for people to consider their current career path and decide to search for new opportunities. But it’s also important for these prospective jobseekers – and hiring managers – to look back at the previous year, in order to learn about the current state of [...]
Scammers cost savers £202m in blow to pension pots January 21, 2019 More than 3,000 savers have lost a combined £202m to pension scammers in recent years, whose companies were later shut down by the government. The Insolvency Service warned investors today to guard their pension savings from investment scammers and negligent trustees, after it applied to the courts to wind up 24 companies that have carried out a [...]
Late payments: Public sector outsourcers fail to pay cash-strapped suppliers for six weeks January 14, 2019 The government’s most frequently-used outsourcers took more than six weeks on average to pay their suppliers in 2017, 11 per cent longer than two years earlier, data published today reveals. Many of these suppliers are small businesses operating with a limited cash cushion, meaning late-paying clients could easily wipe out their short term liquidity or [...]
UK banks ‘robust’ enough to cope with no-deal Brexit, S&P Global says January 10, 2019 The UK’s major banks are robust enough to cope with a no-deal Brexit but the sector’s outlook for 2019 will hinge on Britain’s exit from the EU, S&P Global Ratings has said. The financial services firm issued a “broadly stable” rating on the UK banking system but said that view was based on an orderly [...]
High street remains in hedge funds’ sights as bets against the consumer sector rise in final quarter January 6, 2019 Hedge funds continued to turn the screws on high street retailers, restaurants and makers of consumer goods at the end of last year, with short positions in the sector increasing 20 per cent. The rise in bets against the industry came in the final three months of the year, and means nearly one-third of total [...]
Retail administrations rise for the second consecutive year January 5, 2019 The number of retail administrations has risen for the second year in a row after 125 retailers collapsed in 2018. Administrations rose six per cent last year from 118 in 2017, and 26 of the retailers that collapsed were large brands, compared to 17 the year before. There was a 53 per cent increase in [...]
Hundreds of jobs lost as Monarch airline’s engineering business collapses January 4, 2019 The engineering arm of Monarch airlines has gone into administration resulting in the loss of almost 500 jobs. Work at Monarch Aircraft Engineering’s (MAEL) base maintenance business, which undertakes aircraft overhaul and major heavy maintenance programmes, will be suspended immediately and around 250 employees have been made redundant. A further 200 members of staff based [...]