A surge in demand for hotel rooms across the UK is increasingly pushing up daily rates for rooms. As a result, most hotel businesses see their revenues skyrocketing. 

Occupancy levels in the UK rose 10 per cent from the first quarter of this year to 80 per cent in the second quarter, BNP Paribas Real Estate said this morning.

This is the highest fourth quarter since 2019, so before the pandemic took hold and sent hotel demand plunging.

During the last quarter, hoteliers hiked prices to reflect the higher occupancy levels amid record inflation.

Dampened economic outlook caused transactions to decline, but this was still the best second quarter since 2018 with investment volumes at £1.2bn.

“The latest average daily rate growth figures are a reflection of the current confidence of hotel operators to raise their rates in light of high demand levels and in spite of the challenging economic backdrop,” explained Rebecca Shafran, senior...

In April 2015, an article was published on the BBC News website about “Bitcoin Island” – a place where you could use Bitcoin to buy a pint of beer from The Thirsty Pigeon and then scan a QR code to pay for your taxi ride home. The price of one bitcoin was a mere £230, and a fresh-faced Charlie Woolnough (Co-founder of Bitcoin exchange, CoinCorner) pondered the future of the “currency of the internet”. He needn’t have worried. Seven years later, the Isle of Man remains at the forefront of global Bitcoin adoption, thanks to continued technological innovation and community involvement. At the time of writing, over 100 local businesses are registered with CoinCorner, with more than 30 accepting Bitcoin for goods and services. 

The Victoria Line was crowned the noisiest on the Transport for London (TfL) network after it received the highest number of complaints from passengers, drivers and people that live nearby. 

Running from Brixton to Walthamstow, the line received 306 complaints since 2016, 108 of which for the section between King’s Cross and Highbury and Islington. 

The Northern Line trait from West Finchley to Hendon Central came in second, with 75 complaints while the Victoria –Pimlico and the Vauxhall–Stockwell segments on the Victoria Line both received 54 complaints. 

London Assembly member Caroline Pidgeon, who obtained the data through the Mayor’s Question Time, told the BBC: “People on the Tube increasingly are covering their ears when they’re on certain parts.

“The bit of the Jubilee Line I now use going out to City Hall near Canning Town is terrible, absolutely terrible.You cannot talk above it as you can’t hear a thing.”

TfL...

The UK’s accounting watchdog today fined PwC £2.5m over claims it failed to properly scrutinize BT accounts following the discovery of a half-a-billion-pound fraud within the telecommunications firm.

The UK’s Financial Reporting Council (FRC) said PwC and former partner Richard Hughes failed to treat BT’s management with sufficient professional scepticism following the discovery of a £512m fraud.     

PwC also failed to gather sufficient audit evidence after discovering the fraud in BT Italian operations during its 2017 audit of the firm.

The FRC adjusted the £60,000 fine against Hughes down to £42,000 after the former PwC partner admitted his failings and settled with the audit watchdog.

PwC’s fine was also adjusted down from £2.5m to £1.75m after the Big Four auditor also admitted its failings in the BT audit and settled with the FRC.   

Claudia Mortimore, Deputy Executive Counsel, said: “The sanctions...

Just under £300bn has been wiped off the value of UK corporate bonds since the start of this year following a major sell-off in the bond market in what is considered the biggest collapse in two decades.

In the first six months of this year, the total outstanding value of UK corporate bonds has fallen by 13.3% from £2.237 trillion to £1.940 trillion, a fall of £297.5 billion.

This compares to a fall of 3% for the FTSE100 over the same period, digital asset manager Collidr told City A.M. this morning.

Bond prices have been hit by rising interest rates and rising inflation since the start of the year, in response to central banks tightening monetary policy to control inflation.

Collidr’s research shows that £283.8bn has also been wiped off the value of Gilts (UK government bonds) since the start of the year.

Gilts have fallen by 14.8%, the biggest drop since the 1980s.

The collapse in bond prices has been a major challenge for...

A rally among financial stocks boosted London markets today as the City leans into the quieter summer period.

The capital’s premier FTSE 100 index edged 0.26 per cent higher to 7,459.30 points, while the domestically-focused mid-cap FTSE 250 index, which is more aligned with the health of the UK economy, jumped 0.04 per cent to 20,059.48 points.

August is typically an extremely quiet period for markets, with most earnings announcements done and traders heading on holiday.

“The summer is supposed to be a quiet time for markets as many people are sitting on the beach, rather than glued to a screen trading stocks and shares,” Danni Hewson, financial analyst at AJ Bell, said.

“So far, this summer is proving to be a decent session, and one that will provide a nice surprise when people get back to their desks after a bit of sun, sand and sea,” she added.

Fund manager Hargreaves Lansdown shot up nearly eight per cent and to the top of the...

Politicians and political parties across Kenya have spent tens of millions on social media campaigns in recent weeks in a last effort to win over voters, as the East African country is going to the polls tomorrow.

Alongside hundreds of genuine statements and ads, fake and false online claims play a key role in the Kenyan elections.

Users across the country, but primarily in the capital Nairobi as well as the crucial Rift Valley and Central regions, have been targeted by hundreds of ads, clips, videos, statements and other online content by more than 16,000 candidates fighting for a local, regional or national seat.

Just under £300bn has been wiped off the value of UK corporate bonds since the start of this year following a major sell-off in the bond market in what is considered the biggest collapse in two decades.

In the first six months of this year, the total outstanding value of UK corporate bonds has fallen by 13.3% from £2.237 trillion to £1.940 trillion, a fall of £297.5 billion.

This compares to a fall of 3% for the FTSE100 over the same period, digital asset manager Collidr told City A.M. this morning.

Bond prices have been hit by rising interest rates and rising inflation since the start of the year, in response to central banks tightening monetary policy to control inflation.

Collidr’s research shows that £283.8bn has also been wiped off the value of Gilts (UK government bonds) since the start of the year.

Gilts have fallen by 14.8%, the biggest drop since the 1980s.

The collapse in bond prices has been a major challenge for...

As work reopens and many of us have adopted a hybrid schedule where we are at home a couple of days a week and in the office for another two or three days, the issue of how to hold an effective meeting has become a bigger and bigger problem.

When everyone was at home at the height of the pandemic and logging into the same Teams or Zoom meeting, it may have been a bit annoying dealing with wonky connections, people talking over each other and accidentally disconnecting themselves, but everyone was present together in one – albeit cloud-based – location.

Now, meetings are often a mix of some team members logging on from home, and some people in person in the office, all trying to avoid feedback loops, or gathered together around one screen, elbowing each other out of the way. It doesn’t work that well, but thanks to many employers’ requirements, lots of office workers are duty bound to be in the office for a portion of their working weeks.

Many of...

Aviva shareholders are braced to see whether the insurance giant can regain some momentum this week after its share price has stalled in recent months to trade no higher than 30 years ago.

The FTSE-100 firm will update the City on its first half results on Wednesday, with investors eager for an update on its shift in focus towards core British, Irish and Canadian operations, as well as an update on the £385m acquisition of Succession Wealth, the UK wealth management and financial planning business.

Shares in the firm have stalled in recent months and are trading down over 25 per cent this year, causing analysts to pare back their expectation for the stock in the past month. Credit Suisse, Deutsche Bank and RBC are all among the teams to trim their target price for the firm in the past month.

Equity analysts at AJ Bell said that breathing life back into its flagging share price will be near the top of the agenda for boss Amanda Blanc as she updates...

Just under £300bn has been wiped off the value of UK corporate bonds since the start of this year following a major sell-off in the bond market in what is considered the biggest collapse in two decades.

In the first six months of this year, the total outstanding value of UK corporate bonds has fallen by 13.3% from £2.237 trillion to £1.940 trillion, a fall of £297.5 billion.

This compares to a fall of 3% for the FTSE100 over the same period, digital asset manager Collidr told City A.M. this morning.

Bond prices have been hit by rising interest rates and rising inflation since the start of the year, in response to central banks tightening monetary policy to control inflation.

Collidr’s research shows that £283.8bn has also been wiped off the value of Gilts (UK government bonds) since the start of the year.

Gilts have fallen by 14.8%, the biggest drop since the 1980s.

The collapse in bond prices has been a major challenge for...

The Governor of the Bank of England, Andrew Bailey, has defended not raising interest rates earlier.

His comments come after Attorney General Suella Braverman said interest rates “should have been raised a long time ago and the Bank of England has been too slow in this regard”.

Bailey told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme: “If you go back two years, which is, given the monetary transmission mechanisms, where we’d have to go back to, given the situation we were facing at that point in the context of Covid, in the context of the labour market, the idea that at that point we would have tightened monetary policy, you know I don’t remember there were many people saying that.”

The BBC said the full interview will be played at 8.10am.

Bailey also appeared to touch on the question of pay rises and their link to inflation, saying: “I put this in terms of high pay rises and high price increases, because in that world it’s the people who are least well...

A surge in demand for hotel rooms across the UK is increasingly pushing up daily rates for rooms. As a result, most hotel businesses see their revenues skyrocketing. 

Occupancy levels in the UK rose 10 per cent from the first quarter of this year to 80 per cent in the second quarter, BNP Paribas Real Estate said this morning.

This is the highest fourth quarter since 2019, so before the pandemic took hold and sent hotel demand plunging.

During the last quarter, hoteliers hiked prices to reflect the higher occupancy levels amid record inflation.

Dampened economic outlook caused transactions to decline, but this was still the best second quarter since 2018 with investment volumes at £1.2bn.

“The latest average daily rate growth figures are a reflection of the current confidence of hotel operators to raise their rates in light of high demand levels and in spite of the challenging economic backdrop,” explained Rebecca Shafran, senior...

Just under £300bn has been wiped off the value of UK corporate bonds since the start of this year following a major sell-off in the bond market in what is considered the biggest collapse in two decades.

In the first six months of this year, the total outstanding value of UK corporate bonds has fallen by 13.3% from £2.237 trillion to £1.940 trillion, a fall of £297.5 billion.

This compares to a fall of 3% for the FTSE100 over the same period, digital asset manager Collidr told City A.M. this morning.

Bond prices have been hit by rising interest rates and rising inflation since the start of the year, in response to central banks tightening monetary policy to control inflation.

Collidr’s research shows that £283.8bn has also been wiped off the value of Gilts (UK government bonds) since the start of the year.

Gilts have fallen by 14.8%, the biggest drop since the 1980s.

The collapse in bond prices has been a major challenge for...

Revenue at Lok’nStore has jumped in the past year, as the storage container company looks to expand.

The AIM-listed company is set to open four new stress next year, as self-storage revenue grew more than 17 per cent in the 12-months to 31 July, after prices increased by some 13 per cent.

The new sites will be located in Basildon, Bedford, Peterborough and Staines.

The “unprecedented occupancy” has seen 55,479 square feet of space taken up in the period, the company said in a trading update today.

In July, the company added a further development site in Bolton, Greater Manchester, bringing the total secured pipeline to ten store projects.

Bosses expect the pipeline to increase owned trading space by a further 44.1 per cent.

In April 2015, an article was published on the BBC News website about “Bitcoin Island” – a place where you could use Bitcoin to buy a pint of beer from The Thirsty Pigeon and then scan a QR code to pay for your taxi ride home. The price of one bitcoin was a mere £230, and a fresh-faced Charlie Woolnough (Co-founder of Bitcoin exchange, CoinCorner) pondered the future of the “currency of the internet”. He needn’t have worried. Seven years later, the Isle of Man remains at the forefront of global Bitcoin adoption, thanks to continued technological innovation and community involvement. At the time of writing, over 100 local businesses are registered with CoinCorner, with more than 30 accepting Bitcoin for goods and services. 

Shipping services provider Clarkson has posted a profit boost for the first six months of the year, with underlying profit before tax sitting at £42.2m.

The London-listed firm saw underlying profit before tax rise some 53.5 per cent in the period.

The shipping firm posted £266.7m in revenue for the six months to 30 June, with Clarksons benefiting from a supply shortage in shipping fleets across the world.

Underlying earnings per share increased by 54.5 per cent to 98.9p, compared to 64.0p in 2021.

“I am pleased to report that Clarksons has had a strong first six months of 2022, with a positive performance across all divisions,” Andi Case, chief executive officer, said on Monday morning.

The company’s outlook “remains strong due to the structural supply shortage in the global shipping fleet,” he added.

“We continue to benefit from our international footprint, leading market position, diverse offering and a deep understanding of...

Aviva shareholders are braced to see whether the insurance giant can regain some momentum this week after its share price has stalled in recent months to trade no higher than 30 years ago.

The FTSE-100 firm will update the City on its first half results on Wednesday, with investors eager for an update on its shift in focus towards core British, Irish and Canadian operations, as well as an update on the £385m acquisition of Succession Wealth, the UK wealth management and financial planning business.

Shares in the firm have stalled in recent months and are trading down over 25 per cent this year, causing analysts to pare back their expectation for the stock in the past month. Credit Suisse, Deutsche Bank and RBC are all among the teams to trim their target price for the firm in the past month.

Equity analysts at AJ Bell said that breathing life back into its flagging share price will be near the top of the agenda for boss Amanda Blanc as she updates...

Alliance Pharma has appointed Big Four giant Deloitte as auditor after the pharmaceutical company’s go-to for six years KMPG resigned. 

Deloitte will be the company’s auditor until the end of 2022 and will need to be approved by Alliance Pharma’s shareholders to be re-appointed for 2023. It was appointed following a tender process, which KPMG did not participate in. 

KPMG has submitted a resignation letter to Alliance Pharma letter explaining its reasons.

Only the UK’s highest earners have been given inflation-busting pay rises so far this year, as the country’s lowest earners see pay growth ‘flatline’, according to the latest research.

The highest earners, typically concentrated in the City of London among finance, professional and technical sectors, have seen annual pay growth of 10 per cent, while lowest earners have seen just a one per cent rise, analysis from the Centre for Economics and Business Research (Cebr), a consultancy, bankers, financial professionals, has revealed today.

Cebr has urged that more support be focused on the UK’s lowest-income households, for those in and out of work, “if they are to avoid worsening hardship”, it said.  

The biggest salaries has performed particularly well this year, with finance and insurance pay packet growth peaking at 19.8 per cent, leaving current inflation levels of 9.4 per cent in the dust.

Cebr found that recent wage spikes have...

Joules has confirmed weekend speculation that Next is set to acquire a minority stake in the lifestyle retailer for around £15m.

Sky News reported at the weekend that the high street staple had been in talks with Joules for several weeks over a deal.

Now, Joules has confirmed these discussions are taking place, with talks over a “potential equity investment” raising proceeds of c.£15m.

This would be “at no less than Joules’ current market price,” and mean the fashion giant  would become a strategic minority shareholder in the group. 

The struggling retailer and Next were also discussing Next adopting its Total Platform services “to support the group’s long term growth plans.”

The equity investment would be subject to approval by Joules’ shareholders, the statement added.

“There can be no certainty these discussions will lead to any agreement. A further announcement will be made if and when appropriate,” it...

Just under £300bn has been wiped off the value of UK corporate bonds since the start of this year following a major sell-off in the bond market in what is considered the biggest collapse in two decades.

In the first six months of this year, the total outstanding value of UK corporate bonds has fallen by 13.3% from £2.237 trillion to £1.940 trillion, a fall of £297.5 billion.

This compares to a fall of 3% for the FTSE100 over the same period, digital asset manager Collidr told City A.M. this morning.

Bond prices have been hit by rising interest rates and rising inflation since the start of the year, in response to central banks tightening monetary policy to control inflation.

Collidr’s research shows that £283.8bn has also been wiped off the value of Gilts (UK government bonds) since the start of the year.

Gilts have fallen by 14.8%, the biggest drop since the 1980s.

The collapse in bond prices has been a major challenge for...