We must not get stuck in an EU thicket January 22, 2020 Boris Johnson’s victory in the General Election means Britain will now, finally, after three years of dithering and obstruction, be free to set out on its own path of trade-energised growth and prosperity. Rather surprisingly, the UK’s political classes and business seem shocked that the UK will not be aligning to European regulations. They overlook [...]
Donald Trump threatens high EU car tariffs if deal is not reached January 22, 2020 US President Donald Trump has threatened to slap “very high” tariffs on car imports from the European Union unless it strikes a trade deal, accusing the bloc of being “tougher than China” to deal with. In an unexpected press conference at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, Trump trained his sights on the EU, [...]
Shopping centre owner New River ‘pleased’ with tenants’ Christmas trading January 22, 2020 Property landlord New River this morning said it was pleased with its tenants’ performance during the Christmas trading period despite a drop in footfall at its shopping centres. The real estate investment trust (REIT) said its top 15 tenants, which include Sainsbury’s, B&M, Primark, Next and Iceland, had reported a “robust” trading performance despite “challenging [...]
Close Brothers shares fall on subdued trading update January 22, 2020 Shares in UK merchant bank Close Brothers have dropped after a trading update showed economic weakness taking a toll on its banking division and it said that costs are likely to grow. The update – which covered the five months to 31 December – said the lender’s loan book remained flat, while modest growth in [...]
London’s rental growth hits four year high January 22, 2020 London’s rental growth hit a four year high last year as the number of properties available for tenants plummeted, according to the latest research. Rents in the capital rose at 2.8 per cent in 2019 – the highest rate for almost four years – as the available supply of homes has plummeted 20 per cent [...]
Sainsbury’s to cut hundreds of management jobs January 21, 2020 Supermarket giant Sainsbury’s said today it would cut hundreds of management roles. It said the move was part of its plan to further integrate Sainsbury’s with catalogue retailer Argos which it bought in 2016 in a £1.4bn deal. Sainsbury’s said it had reduced its senior leadership team by 20 per cent since the start of [...]
Energy services firm Sureserve enjoys rising profit as demand increases in core markets January 21, 2020 Sureserve enjoyed a rise in core profits of more than one-quarter last year, as demand grew in its two core compliance and energy services markets. The Aim-listed company maintains and installs boilers, and makes sure homes are energy efficient among other services Profit excluding exceptional items rose 26 per cent to £8.3m in the 12 [...]
UK property transactions soar after General Election January 21, 2020 UK property transactions soared at the end of last year, according to government data, as both sellers and buyers made the most of renewed confidence following the General Election result. Residential property transactions in December jumped 6.8 per cent year-on-year to 104,670, a 6.2 per cent rise on November’s number. The total number of non-residential [...]
City Moves for 21 January – Who’s switching jobs at Grosvenor, UHY Hacker Young and Bfinance? January 21, 2020 Today’s City Moves includes Grosvenor, UHY Hacker Young and Bfinance Grosvenor Property firm Grosvenor has announced the appointment of Tor Burrows as director of sustainibility and innovation — a new role designed to galvanize delivery of our environmental goals for 2030 which will see the business become net carbon zero. Tor will sit on the [...]
The wheels come off: Are car sales still a bellwether for the UK economy? January 21, 2020 Route planning is always tricky. For investors, charting a path through the busy roadworks of the UK economy in 2020 can be especially hard, so markets are quick to pounce on any data that might provide a turning signal for the future. That’s why figures released earlier this month by the Society of Motor Manufacturers [...]