Sterling slips as UK prepares to take part in European elections May 8, 2019 The pound slipped 0.23 per cent this morning from $1.307 to $1.304 following yesterday's confirmation that the UK will take part in the EU elections. The 0.23 per cent drop comes after the government repeatedly said it did not want the UK to take part in the elections to the European Parliament later this month. [...]
Insurer Direct Line suffers as premiums drop in a competitive market May 8, 2019 Shares fell at Direct Line this morning as the insurer faced lower gross written premiums in the first quarter of the year. The measure fell 2.1 per cent to £753.9m, driven by a 4.2 per cent contraction in the UK’s largest motor insurance unit to £386.9m. Read more: FTSE 100 insurer Direct Line posts drop [...]
Facebook taps London talent for its global Whatsapp payments drive May 7, 2019 Facebook has chosen London as the global centre of a payments push for messaging platform Whatsapp, as the capital gains another boost in tech workers and post-Brexit confidence. Whatsapp, which is owned by Facebook, will hire around 100 people in an expansion of its workforce by about a quarter, the Financial Times first reported. Read [...]
Purplebricks shares drop after founder Michael Bruce steps down May 7, 2019 Shares in online estate agent Purplebricks fell as much as eight per cent in early trading after it revealed founder and chief executive Michael Bruce is stepping down. Purplebricks said Bruce has resigned with immediate effect and will be replaced by chief operating officer Vic Darvey. Read more: Shares in Purplebricks plummet as UK and [...]
West End landlord Shaftesbury braced for court row with tycoon shareholder May 2, 2019 A bitter row between a major London landlord and one of its largest shareholders has descended into threats of legal action this morning. FTSE 250 property giant Shaftesbury Group, which owns large parts of the West End including much of Carnaby Street and Chinatown, is braced for a court battle with Hong Kong billionaire Samuel Tak Lee [...]
Here’s why Boohoo shares are climbing higher May 2, 2019 By Graeme Evans from interactive investor. Stock markets are struggling on boohoo's results day, but the retailer is defying the gloom. Fast fashion is back in vogue on the London market, with well-received results from Boohoo adding to euphoria over a spectacular 2019 for shares in AIM-listed rival ASOS (LSE:ASC). Their recent turnaround follows an [...]
Defence secretary Gavin Williamson ousted from cabinet over Huawei security leak May 1, 2019 Defence secretary Gavin Williamson has been fired from the cabinet after an investigation into the leak of details of a National Security Council (NSC) meeting discussing Chinese tech firm Huawei. Prime Minister Theresa May wrote in a letter released today that "no other credible version of events to explain this leak has been identified". Read more: [...]
Europe’s development banks lured into new Canary Wharf HQ May 1, 2019 Canary Wharf landed a major financial tenant today, as Europe’s development bank shifted its new HQ to the business district in a post-Brexit commitment to the capital. The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) is set to take more than 360,000 square feet (sq ft) at 1-5 Bank Street, moving its headquarters from Exchange [...]
Workspace giant IWG posts double-digit growth as international demand swells May 1, 2019 The world’s largest serviced offices group posted a double-digit rise in revenue this morning amid growing international appetite for its workspace brands. Read more: IWG shares surge after £320m Japanese franchise deal IWG, the firm which owns Regus and Spaces, revealed a 10 per cent rise in its first-quarter revenue today, rising in line with [...]
Trivago profits rise amid revamp of advertising spend May 1, 2019 Hotel booking site Trivago has posted a sharp increase in profitability in its first-quarter results amid a revamp of its marketing strategy. Read more: Two-thirds of hotel websites leak guests’ personal data The figures Trivago posted net profit of €7.8m (£6.7m) in the three months to the end of March, compared to a net loss [...]