Lloyds Bank launches fresh £2bn funding for sustainable investment under Clean Growth Finance Scheme May 14, 2018 Lloyds Bank today announced £2bn of fresh funding to help UK businesses invest more sustainably. The funding will be part of the Clean Growth Finance Scheme. Lloyds said: “The Clean Growth Finance scheme aims to deliver the most inclusive UK green funding in the market by providing the incentive of discounted lending to help businesses [...]
IWG open to talks with private equity firms over potential takeover May 13, 2018 Serviced office firm International Workplace Group (IWG) is understood to be receptive to a full-share takeover after it was approached by three separate private equity firms over a potential deal. Formerly called Regus, IWG is expected to start talking to Lonestar, Starwood Capital and TDR Capital over the potential sale. On Friday, IWG put out [...]
Property of the Week: Isle House in the Docklands is a detached period home with gardens and rivers views – but you can walk to work May 11, 2018 Anyone house hunting around Canary Wharf won’t find many, well, houses. Residences within walking distance of the financial district tend to be sky-high apartments nestled in shiny glass towers. That’s what makes this detached, Grade II Listed house in Coldharbour such a rarity. With its own gardens backing on to the Thames, it’s closer to [...]
Zoopla’s parent group ZPG looks set to be taken over by US private equity firm Silver Lake for £2.2bn | City A.M. May 11, 2018 Zoopla’s parent group ZPG, which also owns businesses such as uSwitch and PrimeLocation, has recommended shareholders accept a £2.2bn takeover offer from US private equity firm Silver Lake. ZPG announced this morning that it had agreed the terms of a 490p per share cash offer, a premium of 31 per cent to the company’s share [...]
BT’s share price plummets as it confirms plan to slash 13,000 jobs and quit London HQ to cut £1.5bn in costs May 10, 2018 BT’s share price fell nearly 10 per cent this morning as the telecoms giant revealed plans to cut 13,000 jobs and quit its London headquarters as the telecoms giant looks to cut costs. The jobs – mainly back office and middle management roles, two-thirds of which are UK-based – will be lost over the next [...]
Housing reform is the only way to solve generational inequality May 10, 2018 This week, the Resolution Foundation published a report entitled A New Intergenerational Contract. The report, from the think tank’s Intergenerational Commission, found that millennials (born 1980-1996) are now half as likely to own a home at age 30 as baby boomers were. Four out of 10 millennials now rent privately at age 30 – double [...]
Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors: London house prices predicted to keep falling as market has worst month since 2009 May 10, 2018 London’s housing market has experienced its worst month in nearly a decade, with surveyors expecting prices to drop even further over the next year. A highly-regarded survey published this morning reveals that 65 per cent more property surveyors saw London prices fall during April rather than rise, the weakest reading since February 2009. Sinking prices [...]
Artificial Intelligence: The importance of identifying the problem May 9, 2018 Over the past few years, Artificial Intelligence (AI) has attracted a huge amount of attention. It is anticipated to transform almost every sector including key areas such as finance, healthcare, manufacturing, logistics, automotive and aviation. The impact of this technology is so great that it has led the government and the AI sector to agree [...]
Lloyd’s underwriter Hiscox bounces back from catastrophe-hit 2017 with strong first quarter results May 8, 2018 Insurance firm Hiscox announced a solid set of first quarter results this morning following a tough 2017 which was marked by a series of natural disasters. The Lloyd’s underwriter increased its gross written premiums by 24 per cent on a constant currency basis to $1.155bn (£855m), up from $929m in the same period last year. [...]
Millennials should receive £10,000 from the government to tackle generation gap says commission May 8, 2018 The government should introduce a £10,000 “citizen’s inheritance” for all 25-year-olds as part of a bid to boost millennials’ prospects, according to a commission bringing together top business groups and trade union bosses. The Intergenerational Commission will also propose a new £2.3bn National Health Service levy on pensioners’ earnings, a progressive property tax to replace [...]