M&S set to announce hundreds of UK job cuts this week July 20, 2020 Supermarket giant Marks and Spencer (M&S) is set to announce plans for hundreds of job cuts later this week, according to reports, as the retailer undergoes a wide-scale restructure in the wake of the coronavirus crisis. M&S will begin announcing redundancy plans over the next few days, which are expected to run into their thousands [...]
UK housing market enjoys ‘mini-boom’ as asking prices soar in July, says Rightmove July 20, 2020 Residential property asking prices soared in July as coronavirus lockdown restrictions were lifted, sparking a “mini-boom” in the UK housing market. The average asking price of property coming to market in July was up 2.4 per cent compared to March, before the coronavirus lockdown was announced. The 3.7 per cent annual rate of increase recorded [...]
Fees plunge at Hays as coronavirus hammers hiring July 16, 2020 Net fees at recruitment firm Hays plummeted by a third in the latest quarter, as coronavirus pressed paused on hiring and caused a huge spike in unemployment around the world. The FTSE 250 company, which provides recruitment services in 33 countries globally, reported a dent in hiring in every region in the world, with the [...]
Stamp duty holiday: Estate agent enquiries into homes worth £500,000 soar July 15, 2020 Estate agents have seen a spike in enquiries for homes priced between £400,000 and £500,000 since the government announced a stamp duty holiday for homebuyers. The government last week lifted the threshold for stamp duty from £125,000 to £500,000 in a bid to reignite the housing market after months at a standstill during the coronavirus [...]
Rishi Sunak orders review into UK capital gains tax July 14, 2020 Chancellor Rishi Sunak has commissioned a report into capital gains taxes, which could lead to the government increasing the tax burden to help pay for its coronavirus spending. Sunak has asked the Office of Tax Simplification to conduct the review, with the body launching a survey today asking for “evidence to seek views about capital [...]
COVID-19: How stock exchanges can help us #BuildBackBetter July 14, 2020 Mark Oliphant, Head of Communications at The International Stock Exchange Group, explores how agile public markets can help the economic and social recovery from COVID-19. Stock exchanges have been somewhat out of fashion in recent years and this seemed to be a trend reinforced earlier this year during the onset of the coronavirus (COVID-19) global [...]
Morgan Sindall lands £250m Lewisham Gateway development deal July 14, 2020 Construction firm Morgan Sindall has received £252m in funding from private landlord Get Living to complete the Lewisham Gateway redevelopment project. The development, which is expected to be completed in 2023, will 649 rentable properties, as well as a combined 50,000 square feet of shops, restaurants and office spaces. It will also contain Lewisham’s first [...]
Expectation drives price. Utility drives value. July 14, 2020 Digital asset prices are driven by two factors; value and expectation of future value. When expectation of value increases at a faster rate than real value, you get a bubble. If real value grows faster than expectations of value, you get an opportunity. Looking back on the 2017 super-cycle it is painstakingly obvious that it [...]
Common mistakes founders make – a lawyers’ point of view July 14, 2020 There is a ton of noise on how to succeed in making fail-proof start-ups or nailing the elevator pitch. What doesn’t find much mention is mistakes founders make for lack of a legal budget. As a lawyer I will obviously say that there is just no substitute for proper legal advice, but I also recognise [...]
Derwent London to sell two Soho properties to Travelex founder July 13, 2020 Property developer Derwent London has inked a deal to sell two properties in Soho to Travelex founder Sir Lloyd Dorfman’s family property interests for £40.5m. The sale includes the long leasehold interest on 2 and 4 Soho Place, part of Derwent’s Soho Place development scheme, which is due to be finished in 2022. The deal [...]