Music, books and games retailer HMV has today reported a pre-tax profit of £28.9 million in the 12 months to the end of April – a fall of 61% compared with the £74.2 million in the same period a year earlier. Furthermore, like-for-like sales have dived 11% over the past year as it struggles with [...]
Shares in troubled music, books and games retailer HMV have risen today after it emerged that it has secured a new refinancing deal with its lenders. The deal, worth £220 million, will see the taxpayer taking a stake in the company. The group’s main lenders are taxpayer-backed Royal Bank of Scotland and Lloyds Banking Group. [...]
An interim report published by the Independent Commission on Banking (ICB) has said more competition is required in retail banking. The ICB, which was established in June 2010, has until September 2011 to make its recommendations about the banking industry to the Government and one of its suggestions is for banking giant Lloyds to sell-off [...]
Music, books, DVD and games retailer, HMV, has issued its third profits warning in as many months. It expects full-year pre-tax profits to be around £30 million – lower than the £38 million it estimated a month ago. The 90-year old retailer, which also owns Waterstone’s bookshops, in January said it was struggling to meet [...]
Music, books, DVDs and games retailer, HMV, has watched its shares plummet 20% today after the firm issued another profits warning. It also revealed it would currently fail to meet the conditions of its loan agreements in April. The retailer, which also owns Waterstone’s bookshops, in January said it was struggling to meet the terms [...]
Music, books, DVDs and games retailer, HMV, has today said it is planning to close 60 stores over the next year. The announcement came after it revealed sales were hit by the recent heavy snowfall. The chain also continues to struggle amid tough competition from supermarkets and internet companies, such as Amazon. Shares in the [...]
Outgoing Chief Executive of Lloyds Banking Group, Eric Daniels, has today said he is opposed to the proposal of splitting up Britain’s banks, arguing that it will not enhance competition within the sector. Meanwhile, chief executive of Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS), Stephen Hester, agreed and said breaking up banks won’t improve the outcome for [...]
Outgoing chief executive of Lloyds Banking Group, Eric Daniels, is calling on the Government to allow the bank to keep HBOS. The controversial takeover, which occurred at the height of the financial crisis, could be scrapped if a Government investigation establishes it has damaged competition. Final recommendations with regard to the takeover will be known [...]
Employers’ group, the Confederation of British Industry (CBI) has today said it is against existing banking giants being broken up. The comments from the CBI come just a few weeks after Britain’s Independent Commission on Banking (ICB) said it was looking at ways to increase competition and choice among high street banks. One option could [...]
According to the Daily Mail, the controversial takeover of HBOS by Lloyds could be scrapped if a Government investigation establishes it has damaged competition. The hasty takeover, which took place at the height of the financial crisis, created a banking giant but has been heavily criticised and has resulted in thousands of job losses because [...]
It has been announced that the National Lottery operator, Camelot, has been sold to a Canadian teachers’ pension fund in a deal valued at £389 million. The buyer, the Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan – simply known as Teachers’ – has stakes in Northumbrian Water and Bristol and Birmingham airports. Teachers‘ beat off strong competition from [...]
In yesterday’s Budget, Chancellor Alistair Darling unveiled plans for rescued banks, Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) and Lloyds Banking Group, to lend more to businesses. In a legally binding agreement, RBS and Lloyds, which are 84% and 41% owned by the taxpayer respectively, were rescued at the height of the financial crisis but there have [...]
Virgin Money, which is set to launch as a retail bank later this year, has announced it will charge a monthly fee for current account customers. However, the company said the fees will be low and will replace high overdraft charges. Sir Richard Branson’s Virgin Money recently acquired regional bank Church House Trust. Virgin Money, [...]
The Office of Fair Trading (OFT) is recommending a “shake-up” of the way in which most Britons sell their homes, including new legislation that encourages innovation in the estate agency market. Following a study of the home-buying and selling process, the watchdog concludes: “The housing market remains dominated by traditional estate agents with weak competition [...]
The planned merger between mobile phone giants, T-Mobile UK and Orange, is set to be investigated by the Office of Fair Trading (OFT). The OFT said the merger “threatens significantly to affect competition in mobile telecommunications in the UK”. At the time of the proposed merger in September, the two phone giants said a deal [...]
Alliance & Leicester (A&L) replaced HSBC as the UK’s most consistently competitive mortgage lender during the final quarter of 2009. According to research by mortgage search software firm, Evaluate Technologies, A&L surged ahead despite having failed to register any of its home loans in best buy tables during the previous quarter. The lender, which is [...]
Sir Richard Branson’s Virgin Money has announced it is to buy regional bank Church House Trust for £12.3 million and will invest £37.3 million into the business. Virgin Money, which was unsuccessful in acquiring crisis-torn Northern Rock two years ago, already offers savings, credit card and investment products to around 2.5 million customers. The purchase [...]
Low-cost airline bmi has announced plans to axe around 600 jobs as part of a restructuring plan. The carrier, like many others around the world, has been hit by a slump in demand, higher fuel prices and increased competition. The economic downturn has meant many airlines have been forced out of business as fewer people [...]
WHSmith has abandoned talks with bookshop chain Borders, which is set to see Borders UK enter administration unless a sale is imminent. Borders is understood to not have sufficient cash to see it through to Christmas as it has suffered amid increased competition from supermarkets and online retailers, such as Amazon. As a result, the [...]
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, [...]
About | Privacy | Disclaimer | Resources | XML Feeds | Press Releases | Directory | Contact us
