Is the UK rail industry getting back on track? October 2, 2024 With no more strike action and reform well-underway, the signs are looking positive of the UK's railway industry.
Office Depot owner loses over £50m ahead of quitting UK thanks to working from home trend October 2, 2024 OT Group, the owner of Office Depot and the Spicers wholesale brand, lost more than £50m in the year before it revealed plans to quit the UK. The Greater Manchester-headquartered group has posted a pre-tax loss of £52.5m for 2023, having also lost £15.8m in 2022. Newly-filed accounts with Companies House also reveal that turnover [...]
Bumper pay day for ‘Chicken King’ Boparan October 2, 2024 Ranjit Singh Boparan, the so-called ‘Chicken King’, received a bumper pay day after profit at his private office jumped to almost £125m. Boparan’s private office includes high street restaurant brands like Carluccio’s and Gourmet Burger Kitchen as well as Bernard Matthews, Banham Poultry and Elkes Biscuits. Newly-filed accounts with Companies House have revealed that the [...]
Tax burden ‘will not fall in my lifetime’ warns IFS chief September 30, 2024 Over recent years the tax burden has climbed to a post-war high of 37 per cent of national income despite the attempts of the previous government to cut taxes.
City of London elects veteran financier as next Lord Mayor September 30, 2024 A financial services and asset management veteran has been elected as the 696th Lord Mayor of the City of London, and will take up his post in November. Alderman Alastair King will serve as the Square Mile’s global ambassador, taking up the historic role on 8 November, succeeding Professor Michael Mainelli. King will assume his [...]
Leon: Restaurant chain’s loss-making streak continues amid Asda takeover September 30, 2024 Restaurant chain Leon lost almost £20m in the year it was sold by the billionaire Issa brothers to Asda, it has been revealed. The company had been purchased by the brothers’ Lancashire-based EG Group in 2021 before most of the group’s UK operations were sold to the supermarket giant for £2bn in October 2023. At [...]
UK growth revised down to 0.5 per cent in second quarter September 30, 2024 Liz McKeown, ONS director of economic statistics, said the updated figures included new survey data, VAT returns and updated information about the size of different industries.
Clearbank eyes flurry of new products amid ‘huge demand’ for fintech September 30, 2024 ClearBank is eyeing up a string of new business lines after hitting profitability and taking its first steps towards international expansion.
Can Asos fight back against Shein and Temu in the market it once dominated? September 30, 2024 To say that investors have lost confidence in Asos may be something of an understatement: its share price has plummeted since April 2021, to the tune of about 90 per cent. The stock resembles a playground slide, dotted with small cliffs that correspond to profit warnings, news of a slump in sales, or lowered guidance. [...]
Blackstone: Private equity giant backs £10bn AI data centre deal in UK September 26, 2024 Private equity giant Blackstone has injected £10bn into the UK to build one of the largest artificial intelligence data centres in Europe. The investment will build a data centre in Blyth, in the north east of England, creating more than 4,000 jobs. Construction of the site is expected to begin next year. It comes after [...]