McLaren poaches Talktalk finance chief to steer equity raise January 22, 2021 Iconic supercar maker McLaren has poached Talk Talk’s finance chief Kate Ferry as the firm continues its post-Covid restructuring programme. Ferry will take up the role of group chief financial officer at the Woking-based firm in April, McLaren announced today. She is currently handling the transformation of the listed mobile operator into a private firm [...]
Intel to probe results hack as chip demand lifts revenue January 22, 2021 Intel is investigating reports that financially sensitive information was stolen from its website last night in a hack that forced the chipmaker to release its quarterly results early. Chief financial officer George Davis told the Financial Times that a graphic in its financial report had been stolen by a hacker. “Once we became aware of [...]
UK appoints new ambassador to the EU January 22, 2021 The UK’s foreign office has appointed lifelong civil servant Lindsay Croisdale-Appleby as the country’s new ambassador to the EU. Croisdale-Appleby will take over the role, after former holder Sir Tim Barrow was shifted to a different civil service job. Foreign secretary Dominic Raab said: “As we begin a new chapter in our relationship with the [...]
Kwasi Kwarteng shouldn’t be ashamed of his free market principles January 22, 2021 New business secretary Kwasi Kwarteng MP is on paper one of the most pro-free enterprise ministers to run the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) in years. He takes over the role at a time when businesses, of all shapes and sizes, are struggling. Many risk closure and collapse. So, he must use [...]
Wall Street slides as ‘Biden bounce’ runs out of steam January 22, 2021 Wall Street fell today as global markets stepped back from the highs they reached on the back of Joe Biden’s new economic stimulus proposal. After once again hitting record highs earlier this week, Wall Street’s main markets once again showed that they were not immune to the malaise felt around the world. The S&P 500, [...]
Exclusive: ‘Banks should deliver the same experience as Amazon and Netflix’, says Ezbob CEO January 21, 2021 After a year that was hugely disrupted by Covid-19 and the entire economy and its workforce moved online, City A.M. sat down with Tomer Guriel, CEO of Mayfair-based Ezbob, which provides digital lending software to some of the biggest banks and financial institutions in the City. A vaccine is being rolled out, so the City [...]
Ten Entertainment revenue slumps amid Covid ‘confusion’ January 21, 2021 Bowling alley chain Ten Entertainment today forecast a sharp decline in revenue for the full year as coronavirus lockdowns and confusion over changing restrictions battered sales. The London-listed firm said it expected total sales to fall 60 per cent to £36.3m in 2020 after its venues were forced to close for roughly half the year. [...]
Teacher’s pet: Pearson shares lead the FTSE gainers after return to sales growth January 20, 2021 Teacher's pet: Pearson shares lead the FTSE gainers after return to sales growth
Office provider IWG takes further £160m hit on coronavirus crisis January 20, 2021 The impact of the coronavirus pandemic is expected to be prolonged for IWG, with the business forced to make further provision for up to £160m for network rationalisation. The office landlord announced in a market update this morning it was taking “further prudent actions” to reduce costs for the business, as it expected its recovery [...]
UK dividends won’t recover until 2025 at the earliest after bruising year January 20, 2021 UK dividends are unlikely to recover until 2025 at the earliest after a catastrophic year for payouts amid the pandemic. Eight years of growth wiped off UK dividends last year as companies started to make cuts at the beginning of the second quarter following the outbreak of coronavirus. Payouts fell 44 per cent to £61.9bn [...]