UK economy suffers unprecedented slump amid coronavirus lockdown April 23, 2020 The UK economy suffered an unprecedented blow in April as the coronavirus lockdown choked off demand, according to a closely watched gauge which slumped to its lowest level since records began. The IHS Markit/Cips composite purchasing managers’ index (PMI) crashed to a reading of 12.9 in April. This was the worst score since the survey [...]
Exclusive: UK tech startup confidence slumps amid Covid-19 crisis April 22, 2020 Confidence levels among tech startups have slumped since the start of the year as the coronavirus crisis takes its toll on the UK’s thriving tech sector. Just 32 per cent of businesses are confident or very confident that their turnover will increase in the year ahead, City A.M. can reveal. This marks a quarterly drop [...]
David Buik: Tories could lose next election over coronavirus loans delays April 22, 2020 Top City commentator David Buik has warned the slow payment of coronavirus loans to businesses could mean the Tories lose the next election. The City of London’s veteran financial pundit has urged chancellor Rishi Sunak to “rethink” the government’s stance on loans to businesses hit by coronavirus, with UK lending far outstripped by other countries. [...]
Bank governor Andrew Bailey warns against lifting coronavirus measures too quickly April 22, 2020 Bank of England governor Andrew Bailey has warned against lifting coronavirus lockdown measures too quickly and putting people’s safety at risk in a bid to boost the economy. Bailey added that a “false start”, when lockdown measures had to be reinstated, “would damage people’s confidence very severely”. The governor’s intervention come amid a heated debate [...]
City minister John Glen praises frontline financial services staff for coronavirus efforts April 21, 2020 City minister John Glen has thanked frontline financial services staff for their “vital” role during the coronavirus crisis. In a letter published today, Glen said the services provided by bank branch and contact centre workers will be a “lifeline” to many during the pandemic. He praised the “herculean efforts” to help customers in financial difficulty [...]
Exclusive: Businesses call for bank-by-bank breakdown of coronavirus lending April 21, 2020 British businesses have called on industry body UK Finance to publish a bank-by-bank breakdown of lending through the coronavirus support scheme, as it emerges that Natwest has so far made roughly half of all loans through the programme. Data from Natwest today showed that as of Sunday evening the group (formerly called RBS) had approved [...]
Coronavirus: Billionaire entrepreneur John Caudwell calls on government to extend business support April 21, 2020 Billionaire businessman John Caudwell has called on the government to ramp up its coronavirus support scheme, including underwriting 100 per cent of business loans and extending the job retention scheme. Caudwell, who co-founded Phones4u, said the government must provide 100 per cent loan guarantees to encourage banks to lend to struggling businesses. The government is [...]
Applications worth £1.5bn now made to coronavirus job retention scheme April 21, 2020 A further 45,000 businesses and 300,000 employees have registered for the government’s wage subsidy scheme, according to the Treasury. A Treasury spokesman said today that 185,000 businesses with 1.3m employees had applied for the job retention scheme as of midnight last night. The total amount this covers would be £1.5bn, however the spokesman said that [...]
Richard Branson hits out as Virgin Australia goes into administration April 21, 2020 Billionaire businessman Sir Richard Branson has hit out at the Australian government after low-cost airline Virgin Australia went into administration this morning. In an open letter, Branson, whose Virgin group owns 10 per cent of the airline, wrote: “In most countries federal governments have stepped in, in this unprecedented crisis for aviation, to help their [...]
More than £6bn of coronavirus grants given to English businesses April 21, 2020 More than £6bn of business grants have been distributed to English small and medium sized businesses through the government’s coronavirus grant schemes. A total of 491,725 grants, worth £6.11bn, have been distributed out of a pot of £12.3bn as of last night, translating into a 49.58 per cent delivery rate. Grants of £10,000 are available to [...]