Brexit trade talks: Michel Barnier cites ‘serious differences’ between EU and UK stances March 5, 2020 The EU’s chief negotiator has warned of “very serious divergence” between Britain and Brussels over the future relationship, following the first round of post-Brexit trade talks. Michel Barnier said he was confident a deal could be struck between the two sides, saying “an agreement is possible, even if it is difficult”. But he warned there [...]
Tenant restructurings hit shopping centre owner Capital & Regional March 5, 2020 Shopping centre owner Capital & Regional posted a drop in net rental income for last year as it was hit by retailer restructurings. Net rental income fell five per cent to £49.3m compared to £51.9m the previous year after a £3m hit from retailer company voluntary arrangements and restructuring plans. Adjusted profit fell 10.2 per [...]
Coronavirus: ITV shares fall as travel firms pull advertising March 5, 2020 Coronavirus has hurt 2020 demand for ITV advertising as travel operators stopped booking ads with the broadcaster, but it has posted better than expected earnings for 2019. MGM and Universal’s decision yesterday to delay the release of the next James Bond movie, No Time To Die, from April to November due to the coronavirus outbreak, [...]
Office Space: Take a look behind the scenes of Amazon’s sprawling, 15-storey London headquarters at Principal Place March 2, 2020 There’s always money in the banana stand. Or at least there would be, were the bananas not being handed out for free. Each morning outside Amazon’s HQ in Shoreditch a fruitmonger dispenses complimentary bananas to Amazon staff, peckish commuters and anybody who cares to take one. The tradition was started by Jeff Bezos himself on [...]
Twitter bans ‘non-critical’ business travel over coronavirus fears March 2, 2020 Twitter has rolled out a ban on all “non-critical” business travel and events as the social media firm ramps up its health precautions amid the coronavirus outbreak. In a blog post published yesterday, Twitter’s chief HR officer Jennifer Christie said the company had informed staff of the new measures at the end of last week. [...]
From Russia with kefir: How Biotiful Dairy sold a new drink to the British public March 2, 2020 How do you convince the British public to try a whole new food category, especially when it doesn’t sound very appealing at first glance? That was the challenge facing the Russian-born entrepreneur Natasha Bowes when she decided to try to start selling kefir in the UK. Kefir is a type of fermented milk drink made [...]
Numis Securities remains City’s most popular stockbroker March 2, 2020 Numis Securities remains the City’s most popular stockbroker despite its first large decline in client numbers for over a decade. The stockbroker has lost net six clients since last quarter but retains its top position 221 clients, according to figures from Adviser Rankings. Despite Numis’ popularity, Morgan Stanley has moved into the lead by aggregate [...]
Coronavirus: the investment impact in seven charts February 28, 2020 The spread of coronavirus, COVID-19, beyond China has created fresh uncertainty for the global growth outlook and sparked volatility in financial markets. Outbreaks in South Korea, Iran and Italy have raised concerns that the spread outside of China may be accelerating. We offer key facts on the spread of the virus, interspersed with views from [...]
Burford Capital nominates three new male directors for all-male board February 27, 2020 Burford Capital today nominated three new directors for its all-male board, all of who are men. The litigation funder said it was “sensitive to the fact that its board will remain, with these new appointments, entirely male, which is not our desire and is inconsistent with the significant level of gender diversity in the business”. [...]
Serco grows revenue for first times since 2013 as outsourcer puts past behind it February 26, 2020 Outsourcing giant Serco posted its first year of revenue growth since 2013 and paid its first dividend since 2014 as the firm entered the new decade in style. Shares in the firm rose over three per cent over the day’s trading. The figures Revenue grew 15 per cent in 2019, from £2.8bn in 2018 to [...]