Chocolate retailer Thorntons has today announced plans to close 120 stores over the next three years. The firm also said, as part of a strategic review of the business, a further 60 shops could close as it blamed challenging trading conditions for the latest measures. The announcement comes just one day after it was revealed [...]
Comet owner Kesa Electricals has announced plans to shut almost a dozen stores and axe 150 staff after sales fell amid the challenging economic environment. Kesa said same-store sales at Comet dived by 15.2% in the 12 weeks to 30 April as the High Street continues to suffer as consumers rein in their spending amid [...]
Unilever has announced it is to close its final salary pension scheme citing “unsustainable” costs. The manufacturer of food and household products is the latest in a long line of companies to adopt these measures as a result of rising costs. Defined benefit [final salary] schemes have become significantly more expensive to operate and costs [...]
Lloyds Banking Group has announced it will close down its Equity Markets division – as part of its strategy to dispose of non-core assets. The division has around a dozen employees and the announcement comes shortly after the bank said 200 jobs would go at its insurance arm. Since the onset of the financial crisis, [...]
Supermarket giant Asda has announced it is to close its final salary pension scheme – a decision which will affect almost 4,000 employees. The supermarket, which is the UK’s second largest, is the latest in a series of companies to adopt these measures as final salary schemes have become significantly more expensive to operate. A [...]
The Shanghai composite index has today closed at a 15-month low over concerns about rising inflation and a slowdown in the economy. The index lost 19 points (0.8%) to close at 2,364, which represented the lowest since April 8, 2009. The index is now down 32% from its high in August last year. The Chinese [...]
Nationalised Northern Rock has announced it will axe a further 650 jobs by the end of the year as it prepares to return to the private sector. The reduction in headcount is part of the bank’s radical turnaround plan and comes just one week after it said it is to close its banking operation in [...]
Nationalised Northern Rock has today announced it is to close its banking operation in Guernsey on 2 September. The closure of Guernsey‘s activities, which come after a review of offshore operations, is the latest step in the bank’s turnaround plan. Its Guernsey operation was launched in February 1996 and it currently has some 6,000 customers, [...]
It has been announced today that Newcastle Building Society is to close four branches and axe 126 jobs. The Newcastle, which is the UK’s eighth largest building society, said the affected branches are: West Road in Newcastle, Crook in County Durham, Yarm in Stockton-on-Tees and York, and the cuts will bring its branch total down [...]
It has emerged today that Coventry Airport is to close immediately with the loss of 70 jobs, as a result of financial difficulties. West Midlands International Airport, which owns Coventry, were due to appear in the High Court tomorrow to face a winding-up order. A spokeswoman for Coventry Airport issued a short statement: “The board [...]
Telecoms company Vodafone has announced it is to close its final salary pension scheme to 4,000 current employees. The mobile phone giant is the latest in a long line of companies to adopt these measures as a result of rising costs amid the recession. The company recently announced it was looking to increase its £1 [...]
It has been revealed that sugar firm Tate & Lyle and newspaper publisher Trinity Mirror are the latest firms to close their final-salary pension schemes. Tate & Lyle blamed the decision on a hike in the scheme’s deficit to £110 million which will see the scheme close to half of its UK workforce next April. [...]
According to The Times, the Land Registry is today set to announce plans to close 25% of its national offices, which will result in 1,500 job losses. The Registry, which has 20 offices across the country, covers England and Wales and records and guarantees the ownership of domestic and commercial property. The organisation enables anyone [...]
Santander plans to discontinue the 6% current account at its UK banks. The 6% + 6% offer, which pays new Abbey and Alliance & Leicester customers 6% interest on their current account and on monthly savings, will close later this week. Savers taking maximum advantage of the offer could earn nearly £250 interest in the [...]
Budget airline Ryanair is to close or switch nine of its 10 routes from Manchester airport, citing the airport’s refusal to lower its charges. The measures will lead to 600 job losses within the area and the loss of 60,000 passengers a year. However, Manchester airport highlighted that the 600 jobs will be switched to [...]
A survey of over 250 employers by consultants Watson Wyatt has revealed that half of Britain’s companies will close final salary pension schemes in the private sector to existing employees between now and 2012. The survey, conducted in July, also found that another 28% will keep their scheme open to existing members but on less [...]
Lloyds Banking Group is announcing further job losses today with the closure of all its 160 UK Cheltenham & Gloucester (C&G) branches with the loss of 1,500 jobs. Since April, Lloyds has axed almost 3,000 jobs which resulted in the Unite union accusing the banking giant of a embarking on a strategy of “death by [...]
Oil giant BP announced yesterday it is to close its UK final salary pension scheme to new members from April next year, in a bid to cut costs for the company. The scheme currently has more than 60,000 members, with 12,000 staff paying in. In the meantime, banking giant Barclays has announced today that it [...]
In an attempt to slash costs and fight off bankruptcy, struggling US carmaker General Motors (GM) has announced plans to close 1,100 of its dealerships. It is also severing ties with another 470 Saturn, Hummer and Saab dealers, according to the BBC. The news comes just 24 hours after fellow US carmaker, Chrysler, announced it [...]
The High Streets of Britain could be unrecognisable this time next year, as consumers struggle with the recession and the retail sector takes the sort of pounding that is already making regular headlines. Credit rating specialist, Experian, has predicted that 72,000 retails outlets could close during 2009, pushing up the number of empty units in [...]
M&S Money launches 3% cash ISA
M&S Money has launched an Advantage Cash ISA paying 3 per cent, and which allows transfers in from other ISAs. It can be opened with a minimum deposit of £100 lump sum followed by minimum monthly deposits of £25. The 3% rate is variable, but there is no short-term bonus so the return won’t plummet [...]
Google suspends UK Compare Mortgages site
Google has closed its UK mortgage comparison site which it launched in July last year, after it proved to be less popular than expected. Mortgage comparison sites are designed to allow visitors to compare mortgages quickly and easily without having to visit each lender’s individual site. Google was competing with several well-established comparison sites, including [...]
AA launches ‘black-box’ policy for young drivers
The AA is launching an innovative car insurance policy called Drivesafe which could help younger drivers save up to £850 a year. Younger drivers already pay substantially higher premiums than other motorists and these costs are increasing. A new study by Confused.com suggests insurance costs for younger driver have gone up by 5.7 per cent [...]
ATOL scheme updated to protect online bookers
ATOL, a financial protection scheme managed by the Civil Aviation Authority, is being extended to protect up to six million more holidays a year. The scheme ensures that holiday makers do not lose out financially if a travel company collapses, and that they are not stranded abroad. An increase in the number of holidays booked [...]
Home repossessions lowest for four years
The number of UK homes repossessed fell to 36,200 in 2011, significantly below the Council of Mortgage Lenders’ forecast of 40,000, and lower than 2010 when 37,100 homes were repossessed. With interest rates remaining low and lenders adopting a sympathetic attitude to customers in financial difficulty, repossessions fell to their lowest level since 2007. However, [...]
Monthly pay lasting just 17 days
Workers are running out of money just 17 days after receiving their monthly pay, according to new research by the Halifax bank. This means that the average UK worker spends half the month worrying about money. The study, based on the responses of more than 2,000 adults, found that 10 per cent of workers start [...]
Women disadvantaged by auto-enrolment changes
Government proposals to increase the auto-enrolment threshold to £10,000 could put 1.8 million women at risk of missing out on a pension, the TUC has warned. Under the auto-enrolment scheme, which will be phased in from October, private sector employers will automatically enrol workers between the age of 22 years and the state pension age, [...]
Emergency household repairs company Homeserve is taking longer than expected to get back on track after its operations were suspended last October. The company expected customer numbers to fall by 5% this year but it has increased this estimate to 8% and announced the loss of 200 jobs. It estimates that renewal revenue in 2013 [...]
Sale rumoured for Yorkshire and Clydesdale banks
There is growing speculation that National Australia Bank (NAB) may sell Yorkshire Bank and Clydesdale Bank after the Australian parent company announced a strategic review of the two banks’ operations. The Australian economy is performing well and NAB reported strong profits for the final quarter of 2011 but with the UK economy at a virtual [...]
More women experiencing debt difficulties
Women in Debt, which offers female-focused debt advice, has warned that the number of UK women facing serious debt has grown significantly over recent years. The organisation believes that more women will need advice on solving debt problems in the future because they are building up an unsustainable level of indebtedness. Women in Debt’s director, [...]
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