‘Hanging on a cliff’: how the pandemic pushed women to upskill online September 10, 2021 When the pandemic struck Adisa, a 41-year-old mother of two, was already struggling financially after being made redundant from her job of three and a half years. In lockdown, however, feelings of disappointment and fear quickly hardened into resolve. Like many women, both in the UK and worldwide, Adisa started an online course on leadership [...]
Want to avoid the worst health effects of alcohol? Drink wine, says study September 9, 2021 New research has revealed that alcohol is bad for health even in small doses except for wine which helps to prevent coronary heart disease. Dr Schutte, of Anglia Ruskin University, is disputing previous studies into alcohol which suggested low levels of alcohol consumption can be beneficial. Data collected from 446,439 people over seven years concluded [...]
888 bets big on William Hill with £2.2bn acquisition September 9, 2021 888, a world leading online betting company, beat the odds to snap up William Hill in a £2.2bn acquisition. 888 saw off fierce competition from Apollo Global Management and CVC Capital Partners to purchase the UK betting company which has over 1,400 retail betting shops across the country. The acquisition will create a global online [...]
Costa Coffee lifts wages by 5 per cent amid staff shortages September 9, 2021 Costa Coffee has boosted pay by 5 per cent and announced 2000 job vacancies as staff shortages hit the hospitality sector. From 1 October, the company’s 14,500-strong staff will be given a pay rise as the company prepares for a busy festive season. Fully trained baristas will see their pay go up by 64p per [...]
Gear4Music snares AV Online in £9.2m acquisition September 9, 2021 Gear4music, the UK’s largest retailer of musical instruments and equipment, has agreed to purchase AV Online in an acquisition deal to the tune of £9.2m. Founded in 2013 AV Online is a retailer of audio-visual equipment, such as home cinema systems. Gear4music will also purchase the domain name AV.com with a view to launching an [...]
Spending watchdog slams government’s Green Homes Scheme September 8, 2021 The National Audit Office (NAO) has criticised the government’s abandoned £1.5bn Green Homes scheme as “rushed,” saying it frustrated homeowners and failed to create jobs. The Green Homes grant scheme was introduced to help meet the Government meet its ambitious target of net-zero carbon emissions by 2050. Buildings account for 19 per cent of UK [...]
Amazon paid £492m in UK tax last year despite £20.6bn revenue September 8, 2021 Amazon has revealed that while revenue from UK activities surged 50 per cent in 2020 the company paid just £492m in direct taxes. The company’s total tax contribution from direct and indirect sources was £1.15bn following record revenue from UK activities of £20.63bn last year as successive lockdowns drove shoppers online. In 2019, Amazon raised [...]
The SEC to sue Coinbase over proposed lending product September 8, 2021 The US Securities and Exchange Commission has notified Coinbase, the country’s most popular crypto exchange, of its intention to sue. The SEC has served Coinbase with a Wells notice, an official document alerting a company to the start of court proceedings, over its plans to launch the Lend programme. Lend is marketed as a high interest [...]
Halfords sales grow 18.7 per cent in two years September 8, 2021 Halfords, the UK’s leading provider of motoring and cycling products, saw year on year sales growth of 10.5 per cent despite supply chain disruption. In the first 20 weeks of the year, sales were driven predominantly by interest in motoring, which saw like for like growth of 52.1 per cent and picked up the slack [...]
Dunelm sales grow 26.3 per cent in a year to £1.3bn September 8, 2021 The UK’s leading homeware retailer, Dunelm, has seen sales of £1.3bn for the 2021 financial year, up from £1.0bn in FY20. In the year ending June 26 2021, profit before tax soared by 44.6 per cent, jumping from £109m to £158m. Shareholders were treated to a bumper payout after going without in FY20. Diluted earnings [...]
