Banks suffer hundreds of high street closures during 2018 January 31, 2019 Walk-in banks suffered more net closures than any other type of retailer last year, as fast-growing digital rivals lured shoppers away from traditional high street heavyweights. While beleaguered department stores have been stealing the doom-and-gloom headlines for the retail sector in recent months, Britain’s bricks-and-mortar banks saw the greatest retrenchment last year, with some 716 [...]
Metro Bank shares plunge after warning on UK operating environment January 30, 2019 Shares in Metro Bank fell more than 10 per cent this morning after the challenger bank felt the ripple effect of Banco Santander’s cautionary comments on the UK market. In its full-year results this morning Banco Santander said the UK’s operating environment is “competitive and uncertain”, dragging down the share price of Metro Bank which [...]
Santander closures: 14 London branches to be shut down January 23, 2019 Santander has announced that 14 London stores will be shuttered as part of the bank's plan to close a total of 140 branches across the UK. Three branches will be closed in the Square Mile, with the Gracechurch Street, Leather Lane and Ludgate Circus banks facing closure this year. Read more: Santander cuts 140 branches – putting 1,270 [...]
Santander cuts 140 branches – putting 1,270 jobs at risk January 23, 2019 A total of 1,270 jobs are at risk after Santander announced plans to close 140 branches across the UK today. The bank said it expects to redeploy around a third of the employees affected within the business. A shift in customer behaviour is to blame for the closures, the lender said, after research found that [...]
London fintech Marketinvoice lands £56m in funding from Barclays and Santander January 21, 2019 London-based fintech business lender Marketinvoice has today closed a £56m round made up of equity and debt funding, led by Barclays and Santander's venture arm Innoventures. The series B-stage equity funding, which amounted to £26m, also received significant participation from European venture capital firm Northzone, which has previously backed the likes of Spotify, Trustpilot and fellow fintech lender Zopa. [...]
Everyman cinemas on track as punters flock to picture palace January 17, 2019 Cinema chain Everyman Media today reported 2018 trading in line with expectations as it eyes a series of new openings. The boutique cinema group, which currently operates 26 venues across the country, said trading for the 52 weeks to 3 January was on track to hit forecasts. Read more: Chinese cinemas show bumper profits, but growth slows [...]
Santander cancels appointment of Orcel over compensation January 15, 2019 Banco Santander stunned the banking world this evening by announcing the reversal of its decision to appoint Andrea Orcel as its new chief executive because of the cost of compensating him for leaving his previous role. The bank had announced the high profile appointment of Orcel, former head of investment banking at UBS, in September. [...]
Atom Bank poised to appoint Citi for potential sale to Spanish bank January 14, 2019 Digital lender Atom Bank is in talks with advisers over a potential instruction that could lead to its takeover by Spanish banking behemoth BBVA. According to Sky News, the Durham-based bank is in discussions with Citi about a role advising the board of the business on its future options. Last year Atom Bank raised nearly [...]
Government considers ban on credit card gambling in bid to tackle addiction January 12, 2019 The government is considering a ban on the use of credit cards for gambling as part of a wider crackdown aimed at tackling betting addiction. The culture secretary, Jeremy Wright, has called on retail banks and bookmakers to meet to discuss the issue of people betting with money they do not have. The statement comes [...]
Cityfibre secures £1.12bn debt package to fund UK full-fibre rollout December 18, 2018 Fibre network provider Cityfibre has secured a £1.12bn debt package from seven major financial institutions to help fund its rollout of full-fibre broadband across the UK. Proceeds from the infrastructure debt package will be used to fund the first part of Cityfibre’s £2.5bn plan to bring full-fibre to five million homes, the company said today. [...]