Nationwide Building Society will hand £100 to more than four million members following what it described as an “outstanding twelve months” of performance, capped by its takeover of Virgin Money and a surge in mortgage lending. The £410 million “Fairer Share” payout — the third consecutive annual bonus to qualifying members — was revealed in […]
Capita, Pizza Express, Lidl and British Airways are among more than 500 companies publicly named and shamed by the UK government for failing to pay thousands of staff the legal minimum wage. The Department for Business and Trade on Thursday published a list of 518 employers who collectively owed £7.4 million to nearly 60,000 workers. […]
Michael O’Leary, the outspoken chief executive of Ryanair, has qualified for share options worth over €100 million after the airline’s stock sustained a major milestone for nearly a month — hitting a share price target set more than six years ago. Shares in Europe’s largest low-cost airline closed above €21 for a 28th consecutive trading […]
Millions of savers could see their retirement pots put at risk under sweeping new pension reforms unveiled by the government, leading experts and campaigners have warned. A series of proposed changes, confirmed on Thursday as part of the new Pension Schemes Bill, would loosen rules on how surplus funds can be extracted from defined benefit […]
Britain’s car industry suffered its worst April in over 70 years, with new figures revealing a sharp fall in vehicle production that underscores deepening challenges facing the sector. Data from the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) showed that UK car output fell by 8.9 per cent last month, with only 56,500 vehicles rolling […]
High street banks have begun hiking mortgage rates for borrowers with large deposits, in a move that could add hundreds of pounds a year to the cost of remortgaging for wealthier homeowners. The shift comes as stubborn inflation figures dampen hopes of further interest rate cuts this summer. Over the past week, nine lenders — […]
Hopes for a sustained recovery in UK hiring “hang in the balance” as employer sentiment is hit by concerns over rising payroll taxes and incoming workers’ rights legislation, according to a new report by the Recruitment & Employment Confederation (REC). In its latest survey released on Thursday, the REC found that while short and medium-term […]
Thames Water has been handed a record-breaking £122.7 million fine by Ofwat following two damning investigations into the UK’s largest water utility. The regulator found the company had breached key obligations relating to its wastewater operations and had unlawfully issued dividends despite poor environmental and customer performance. Ofwat confirmed this morning that £104.5 million of […]
The UK’s government bond market is increasingly exposed to the risk of sharp price swings and sudden sell-offs, the International Monetary Fund has warned, due to a growing reliance on hedge funds and foreign investors. In its annual health check of the UK economy, the IMF said the gilts market was showing signs of potential […]
University of Cambridge leaders have issued a stark warning that the UK risks falling behind in the race to commercialise world-class research unless it does more to support academic spin-out companies struggling to scale. Speaking at a London showcase of Cambridge’s most promising spin-outs, university figures and venture capitalists said that while Britain remains a […]