Number of shoppers in central London booms as Covid restrictions are eased April 12, 2021 Footfall rocketed this morning as England eased coronavirus restrictions and non-essential retail was allowed to open for business for the first time in months. In the first few hours of trading this morning footfall in shopping centres jumped nearly 340 per cent when compared with last week, according to the latest data from Springboard. Footfall [...]
Jon Holt elected KPMG UK’s new chief executive April 12, 2021 Following a partnership vote Jon Holt has been elected KPMG UK’s new chief executive, marking a transitionary moment for the Big Four firm after a bumpy start to the new year. Holt, formerly head of audit at the firm, will begin his new role immediately and serve as chief executive until the end of September [...]
Banks start process to claw back billions from Covid loans April 12, 2021 Some of Britain’s biggest lenders have begun sending letters to customers, warning them that repayments for crisis loans will soon be expected. HSBC, Barclays, NatWest and Lloyds have each begun sending letters to customers, the Mail on Sunday first revealed, with the first set repayments due to start in just two weeks. Banks handed out [...]
Londoners pay £2.26 more per pint than Scottish counterparts April 12, 2021 London pints are the most expensive of any city in the UK, with pub-goers forking out an average £2.26 per pint more than those living in Perth, Scotland. A pint in London now costs an average £5.33, an increase of three per cent from 2020, cementing the capital’s pints as the priciest in the UK [...]
Regulator zeroes in on KPMG over M&C Saatchi audit April 12, 2021 KPMG faces scrutiny from the audit regulator after an accounting scandal at M&C Saatchi saw the business overstate its profits £14m in irregularities dating back to 2014. The Financial Reporting Council (FRC) has made initial inquiries to determine whether KPMG’s auditing met the required standards, the Financial Times first reported. The inquiries are a formal [...]
FTSE falls as England starts to reopen April 12, 2021 London’s main market fell 0.4 per cent this morning despite positive sentiment about England starting to open up following the coronavirus lockdown. The FTSE 100 was down 0.4 per cent while the FTSE 250 fared slightly better, down a more moderate 0.2 per cent. For most, today marks the first day of 2021 that non-essential [...]
Swedish payments firm Trustly plans to go public imminently April 12, 2021 Swedish payments firm Trustly plans to launch an IPO in late April or early May that could value the business at €9bn. Trustly’s owner, buyout group Nordic Capital, is working with Goldman Sachs, JP Morgan and Carnegie on the IPO, Reuters reported in January. Trustly’s revenues were around €130m in 2019 and will be around [...]
Cake Box eyes 52 new stores ahead of expected record revenue April 12, 2021 Cake Box is expecting to deliver a strong performance for the year ending 31 March 2021, despite ongoing coronavirus restrictions leaving many retailers struggling. In a market update today the specialist dessert retailer revealed it was currently holding franchisee deposits for 52 sites across the country. Cake Box opened 17 new stores in the second [...]
Johnson urges nation to ‘behave responsibly’ as lockdown eases April 12, 2021 Prime Minister Boris Johnson has urged the public to “behave responsibly” as England’s lockdown measures ease today. From today pub gardens, indoor gyms, hairdressers and non-essential retail are among businesses that can now reopen in England, most for the first time in 2021. The change marks the next major step in the easing of the [...]
UK records strongest opening quarter IPO performance in 14 years April 12, 2021 UK listings got off to a strong start this year, with more funds raised in the opening quarter of 2021 than in any other opening quarter since 2007. The first quarter of 2021 also marked the most funds raised in a single quarter since 2014, according to new research from EY. Both the main market [...]