Exclusive: How London’s prime property financing space weathered Brexit, Covid and market mayhem October 24, 2022 Prime property finance is experiencing a boom in demand but battling falling prices. Yet, as the most resilient part of the market shows it can insulate itself from Brexit, the pandemic and current financial woes. While not immune from external shocks, its ability to recover faster than the rest of the industry makes it a [...]
Brits cutting spending sends profit warnings soaring October 24, 2022 Brits cutting spending in response to the cost of living crunch has driven a sharp uptick in the number of businesses warning profits will fall short of expectations, a new report out today shows. Some 86 listed companies issued a profit warning in the three months to September, up from 51 over the same period [...]
Bulb bidder Ovo Energy was on Ofgem’s nationalisation watchlist October 23, 2022 Ofgem was preparing for the potential nationalisation of Ovo Energy this summer, with the supplier considered at risk of failure.
Tesco pledges £1m for food banks and charities ahead of most difficult winter October 21, 2022 Tesco has put up £1m in support for food banks and charities following a desperate appeal about impending winter shortages. The supermarket giant responded to a plea from the Trussell Trust, who warned they are facing their most difficult winter to date. With the cost of living crisis eating into millions of people’s finances and [...]
Wickes reports sales growth ahead of winter dominated by rising energy costs October 21, 2022 Home improvement giant Wickes announced a boost in sales ground in the third quarter, as it looks to maintain “rigorous control” of costs ahead of a choppy winter. The retailer registered like-for-like sales growth of 2.6 per cent in the last three months, down from 5.4 per cent on the second quarter, but recovered from [...]
London Business School looks to buck SME downturn with incubator programme October 20, 2022 London Business School has tipped a wellness startup and postnatal depression firm as among the Capital’s most promising startups today as it looks to provide a platform for growth at a troubling time for the Capital's smaller firms.
Bank of England’s Broadbent urges markets to curb rate expectations October 20, 2022 One of the Bank of England’s top officials has today warned markets not to get carried away with the number of rate rises coming down the line. Ben Broadbent, a member of the monetary policy committee (MPC) and a deputy governor at the Bank, said Threadneedle Street’s internal calculations worked out the response to the [...]
Travis Perkins has strong sales growth in Q3 but prepares to ‘tightly manage’ cost pressures October 20, 2022 The UK’s largest distributor of building materials Travis Perkins had strong sales growth in the third quarter of the year, but is preparing to weather an inflationary winter. The firm had sales growth of 10.7 per cent while its merchandising business had 11.5 per cent, outperforming the individual market. The company’s arm which deals with [...]
Truss won’t be the first or the last to U-turn, but she taught us how not to do it October 20, 2022 It has been less than four weeks since the disastrous mini-budget, followed by a series of screeching U-turns in government policy. It’s made for sickeningly compelling viewing, partly because most of us have, at times, experienced our own shocking about-turns and forced mea culpas. We can all relate. And the next 12 months look likely [...]
Food price hikes will become baked in if we can’t choose a fiscal policy and stick with it October 20, 2022 Yesterday marked a grim milestone. Food and drink price inflation hit its highest recorded level since the 1980s. In the year to September, it has jumped to 14.6 per cent and the rise in food prices has helped push overall inflation over 10 per cent. What’s more, it hasn’t peaked yet – prices will certainly [...]