Austin Reed collapses into administration with 1,200 jobs at risk
Menswear chain Austin Reed has collapsed into administration, dealing another blow to Britain’s high streets a day after the failure of BHS. Alix Partners, the restructuring firm, was officially appointed as administrator to the 116-year old British tailor on Tuesday morning, a move that puts almost 1,200 jobs at risk. It comes 24 hours after the collapse of 88-year-old BHS, once a stalwart of British high streets, threatened 11,000 jobs. Austin Reed gave...
Interest rates could go negative, says Bank of England rate setter
The UK’s interest rates could be cut below zero, according to a leading Bank of England policymaker. Gertjan Vlieghe, a member of the Bank’s nine-strong monetary policy committee, which sets interest rates, said that they could go "a little bit negative”. Speaking to the Evening Standard, Mr Vlieghe said that sub-zero rates were a theoretical possibility that the Bank would “have to think about very carefully”. Central banks across Europe, as well as in...
Grants for Businesses
Across Yorkshire and the North East there are a number of grants schemes available to businesses. LEP Skills Service - Leeds City Region Provide help in identifying the right training for your staff. Grants of up to 50% are available for companies in the priority sectors (see link for more details). LEP Grant - Leeds City Region For asset purchases, up to 20% funding available to companies operating in the priority sectors who will create new, permanent jobs as a result of the...
Business Unemployment rises for first time since mid-2015
People looking for work climbed by 21,000 to 1.7m in the three months through February, according to the Office for National Statistics. That left the jobless rate unchanged at 5.1pc, as forecast by economists. Employment rose by 20,000, the weakest reading since June last year. The figure also showed few signs of wage pressure. Pay- growth excluding bonuses was unchanged at 2.2pc in the latest three month. Total pay moderated to 1.8pc from 2.1pc in the prior period, reflecting a...
Confidence among UK businesses fell 29 percentage points to 44% in the first quarter of 2016
New research from Grant Thornton's International Business Report (IBR) reveals that optimism amongst UK businesses fell by 29 percentage points (pp) in the first quarter of the year. UK business confidence fell to net 44%, representing the largest drop in confidence of any EU member state covered by Grant Thornton's quarterly global survey of 2,500 businesses in 36 economies. Despite the significant drop, UK business confidence remains well above the global quarterly average of net 26% -...
SME growth expectations bounce back in Q1
UK SMEs have signalled a more bullish outlook in the first quarter of 2016, according to Bibby Financial Services’ (BFS) latest SME Confidence Tracker. The research shows that growth expectations rose by twelve percentage points in Q1 2016 when compared to Q4 2015, while the number of small businesses expecting sales to decline fell by over half from 17 per cent in Q4 2015 to 8 per cent in Q1. Almost half (48%) of businesses surveyed expect to see increasing sales over Q1 and Q2, compared...
Negative rates could fuel fresh ‘boom and bust’
Negative interest rates could fuel another dangerous “boom and bust” cycle if policymakers start to rely on them to boost growth, the International Monetary Fund has warned. The IMF said a prolonged period of sub-zero rates could even spark a public backlash if banks started to charge savers to hold their cash. Its financial stability chief said negative rates posed a “significant profitability challenge” for some commercial banks that could lead to “excessive risk...
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