First football, now padel: US investors take fight to Qatar for future of the racket sport April 18, 2023 Heard the one about the historically European sports property turbo-charged by Middle Eastern sovereign wealth and now in the crosshairs of serial sports investors from the US? This isn’t football, though, but padel, the fast-growing racket sport now at the centre of a tug of war between rival competitions backed by the Qatari owners of [...]
Greggs fights for its right to sell late night sausage rolls at flagship London Leicester Square store April 18, 2023 Greggs is gearing up for a court battle against its ban on selling late night sausage rolls and steak bakes at its flagship site in Leicester Square. As first reported in the Evening Standard, Greggs was prohibited from serving its baked goods 24hrs a day after the police feared the extended opening times could lead [...]
Transport for London warns of huge crowds on Coronation weekend – and here’s what they’re doing about it April 18, 2023 Service providers such as Transport for London which operates the tube and bus network in the Capital have warned of huge central London crowds between 6 and 8 May over the bank holiday weekend. Extra train services are being laid on for the King’s coronation weekend, but the transport operation will not match the scale [...]
Insolvencies at ‘jaw dropping’ level as debt industry warns UK economy ‘is not out of the woods yet’ April 18, 2023 More companies in England and Wales entered insolvency during March than at any point since monthly records started three years ago, according to official data that showed a 16 per cent increase on a year ago. The Insolvency Service reported 2,457 corporate insolvencies last month, up from 1,784 in February. The rate of companies falling into insolvency [...]
Halfords share price soars as retailer’s motoring offering woos cash-strapped Brits April 18, 2023 Halfords‘ share price soared over eight per cent this morning as the motoring and cycling giant revealed its sales could top £1.9bn. The Birmingham headquartered retailer, which has seen its shares slide 30 per cent in the last year, said it expected pre-tax profits to come in at around £90m to £110m, up from £50m [...]
E-scooter rental firm blames vandals for having to pull out of UK city April 18, 2023 An e-scooter rental firm has blamed vandals for its decision to pull out of Sunderland after just four months. Zwings began operating in the city in January after the last provider pulled out, saying rising energy costs were a key factor. But now the rental company said it will cut the number of its e-scooters [...]
Bitcoin and Ethereum drifting sideways as fears over Shanghai upgrade are yet to play out April 18, 2023 Bitcoin is again trading below the psychological $30k threshold after a strong push over the past week.
EasyJet profits expected to fly past £260m as demand and ticket prices soar April 18, 2023 Easyjet announced a £120m improvement in its first half performance year on year, as the low-cost airline continued to turnaround its business. Headline losses before tax for the first half are expected to be between £405m and £425m, in spite of economic challenges including inflation, rising fuel costs and preparation costs for summer. The airline [...]
Wise misses estimates as currency volatility slows cash transfers overseas April 18, 2023 Money transfer fintech Wise reported a slump in the amount of cash sent on its platform for a second consecutive quarter today as a cost of living squeeze and currency fluctuations unsettled customers. The London-listed fintech missed analyst estimates as the volume of money transferred per customer dropped four per cent on the previous quarter, [...]
Regulators must be kept in check, Tory MPs warn April 18, 2023 Tory MPs have warned powerful regulators operating “largely unchecked” are holding back the UK’s economy and “directly hindering” the country’s growth prospects. The backbench Regulatory Reform Group (RRG) has called for increased parliamentary oversight of the UK’s regulators – from water and energy watchdogs Ofwat and Ofgem to banking supervisor the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA). [...]