UK house prices to fall five per cent this year June 23, 2020 UK house prices will continue to fall and won’t recover those losses until the end of 2022, analysts have forecast. Buyers are likely to be nervous about big purchases and house prices as personal finances come under scrutiny amid the coronavirus pandemic, forcing house prices to drop five per cent this year, the 9–22 June [...]
JD Sports lines up administrators for Go Outdoors June 22, 2020 JD Sports has today confirmed to investors that it is weighing up administration for Go Outdoors, after speculation that an official appointment could come within days. JD Sports said this morning that it has “considered a number of strategic options for Go and that Go’s directors have lodged the notice [to appoint administrators] in court”. [...]
Acacia Research offloads bargain Woodford stocks June 18, 2020 The US buyer that snapped up cut-price assets from Woodford’s failed Equity Income fund has offloaded the stocks just days after the deal. Acacia Research has started to sell some of the assets it agreed to buy earlier this month. In one instance, the US firm generated a profit of £750,000 from a sale of [...]
Nationwide to triple deposits for first-time buyers June 17, 2020 Nationwide is to triple its minimum required deposit from first time buyers for mortgages, as it steadies itself to avoid a crisis should the economy worsen. The country’s second largest mortgage lender said it would be increasing its minimum deposit from five per cent to 15 per cent, withdrawing loan deals for new customers. “The [...]
Welcome to the blended office June 17, 2020 Since the scribes of ancient kings worked together under a sunshade, we have had offices. Offices survived the Black Death, the Red Death, Spanish Flu, and Ricky Gervais. Offices aren’t about to disappear — but they may now be changing more than ever before. We should be ready for change, but do not be surprised [...]
Berkeley Group profits fall by a third after coronavirus lockdown June 17, 2020 Berkeley Group, the housebuilder, has pushed back a £455m payout to shareholders by two years because of the coronavirus pandemic. The FTSE 100 company saw sales fall dramatically over April and May, pushing its full-year profit and revenue down more than one-third each. However, shares in the company rose 3.6 per cent this morning as [...]
Covid hits hospitality: London will change, but there is light at the end of the tunnel June 17, 2020 City A.M. knows the hospitality industry is in trouble – and that London without its bars, restaurants and late-night dens wouldn’t be half the city it is. Hospitality entrepreneur Chris Miller writes today to say that the capital will change – but there are opportunities too. As the saying goes those who are tired of [...]
Boohoo set to swoop for bankrupt Oasis and Warehouse June 16, 2020 Online fashion giant Boohoo is set to announce the purchase of high street brands Oasis and Warehouse, which went bankrupt at the end of April. Sky News reported that the deal could be announced tomorrow when Boohoo releases its first quarter results. When the two brands collapsed into administration on 30 April, with 1,803 redundancies, [...]
Robert Jenrick looks to publish documents on ‘unlawful’ planning decision June 15, 2020 Under fire housing secretary Robert Jenrick has said he would seek to publish documents related to his controversial decision to approve a £1bn housing development. Jenrick told MPs today that he would “take advice” from his department’s top civil servant on “what further documentation we might be able to publish”. The housing secretary has come [...]
The City View: Robert Walters on the ‘perfect storm’ hitting the jobs market June 15, 2020 In this episode, Christian talks to Robert Walters, founder and CEO of Robert Walters, the London-listed global recruitment giant, about how the pandemic and lockdown has affected his business and what it means for professional recruitment in the months ahead. Robert is highly critical of the government’s messaging around easing the lockdown measures and offers a [...]