Exclusive: Government offshoring customs jobs to prep UK firms for Brexit December 3, 2020 A government grant programme is paying for overseas workers to help British logistics firms prepare for Brexit. A loophole in the HM Revenue and Customs’ (HMRC) £50m grant programme means taxpayer funds can be given to train overseas workers as long as their company has a UK base. The Customs Grants Scheme, which is being [...]
Exclusive: Capital gains tax on French properties to soar for UK residents post-Brexit December 2, 2020 UK residents with a second home in France will have to pay substantially more capital gains tax on property sales starting from next year when Britain leaves the Brexit transition period. French tax authorities confirmed today that UK residents will no longer benefit from the EU exemption from a social levies tax and will need [...]
Government slammed for relying ‘too much’ on management consultants in Brexit preparations December 1, 2020 The government relies “too much” on management consultants for work on Brexit preparations “that could be better done by civil servants”, the select committee on government spending has warned. In a wide-ranging report published today, the Public Accounts Committee slammed the government’s negligence of civil servants in preparing for Brexit, amid warnings that ministers are [...]
Business bodies warn that three-quarters of pubs, bars and casinos could go bust under new tier system December 1, 2020 The UK’s leading business bodies have slammed MPs’ decision to vote the new tier system in place from midnight tonight as the “nail in the coffin” for many businesses, warning that it will cause three-quarters of night-time venues to shut forever. The Prime Minister this evening fought off the largest Tory backbench rebellion in his [...]
Gove ‘doesn’t know’ how many customs agents UK has ready for Brexit, says lorry group December 1, 2020 The country’s largest lorry lobby group has said Michael Gove does not know how many customs agents the UK will have available post-Brexit and that there will be chaos at the border on 1 January deal or no deal. Gove, the minister responsible for Brexit preparations, today refused in an interview to answer how many [...]
Debenhams closure: What next for struggling retail landlords? December 1, 2020 Retail landlords are set to take a multimillion pound hit following the collapse of Debenhams and Arcadia’s fall into administration, and could struggle to fill the space left by closed flagship stores. Many property owners, which have already been impacted during the pandemic due to a spike in retail restructurings and renegotiated rents, will lose [...]
Restaurants and clubs that survive Covid may see a boom like never before December 1, 2020 For those in the hospitality industry, 2020 can’t end soon enough. Recent news suggests that by Spring, London finally will start to see some semblance of normal life return, with a lifting of this year’s countless rules and regulations. The hospitality industry has been decimated this year, despite the Government’s attempts to help by offering [...]
Global Britain: should the dramatic shift in ownership of the UK stock market be feared or cheered? November 30, 2020 How global will Britain be in future? This is a question that polarises opinion. But while the UK still needs to define its place in a post-Brexit world, its financial markets have never been more populated with foreigners. According to data from the Office for National Statistics, more than half of the UK stock market is [...]
Lloyds names HSBC’s Charlie Nunn as next chief executive November 30, 2020 Lloyds Banking Group has named HSBC head of wealth and personal banking Charlie Nunn as its next chief executive. Nunn will replace Antonio Horta-Osorio who said in July that he would step down next year once a successor was appointed. The new chief executive will be paid a salary of £1,125,000 and a fixed share [...]
Before the bell: Equity sentiment slips while all eyes are on OPEC November 30, 2020 Equity markets had a positive run last week on the back of more progress being made with respect to developing a Covid-10 vaccine. In addition to that traders are more optimistic that President Trump will leave office quietly in January. The main story of the week was that the drug being developed by AstraZeneca and [...]