House prices are likely to continue rising for some time despite hitting a new record high in May, one of Britain’s biggest mortgage lenders has said. The monthly snapshot of the property market from Halifax showed a 1.3% jump in the cost of a home in May, taking the average selling price to a record...
The British pharmaceutical company Vectura Group, which is developing a pioneering inhaled treatment for Covid-19, has agreed a £958m takeover by Carlyle Group as it looks set to become the latest in a long line of UK businesses snapped up by private equity during the pandemic. The board is unanimously recommending that shareholders in the London-listed company...
A rush to drink and eat out at British pubs and restaurants has led to a surge in spending since coronavirus rules were relaxed further on Monday, allowing indoor dining for the first time in months. According to data from Barclaycard, revenues across the hospitality sector jumped 43% this week from the week before, after restrictions...
Amazon has won a court battle against the EU over allegations that the US technology company received €250m in “illegal state aid” tax benefits from Luxembourg. The ruling from Europe’s general court is the latest blow to the EU’s fight against “sweetheart deals” that allegedly allow big multinational tech companies to avoid hundreds of millions of euros in...
Aston Martin Lagonda’s losses more than halved in the first quarter as sales of its first-ever sports utility vehicle (SUV) accelerated, especially in markets such as China. The luxury carmaker – which will get a significant marketing boost later this year as James Bond’s car of choice when the next film in the spy franchise hits...
The retailer Dixons Carphone has decided to close permanently all of its outlets in airports, blaming the UK government’s decision to scrap tax-free shopping. The company said it did not expect a sufficient recovery in passenger numbers to make up for the loss of the retail scheme from 1 January, which enables non-EU visitors to reclaim VAT...
Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) is to temporarily shut down production at two of its main UK factories because of a shortage of computer chips, in the latest sign of the difficulties facing the global car industry during the pandemic. The company, which has the UK’s largest automotive manufacturing operation, confirmed to the Guardian it would have...
Ocado has invested £10m in a self-driving vehicles company to drive its ambition to make autonomous grocery deliveries and develop “kerb-to-kitchen robots” to drop off shopping in homes. The online grocer, which has previously tested a prototype self-driving truck delivering food and snacks to customers in south-east London, has moved to strike a commercial partnership with Oxford-based...
At Hamleys they are unboxing the teddies, vacuuming the Frozen castle and practising dance routines. John Lewis is cleaning its fitting rooms and beauty counters, while Debenhams is preparing for its closing down sale. After at least 15 weeks of lockdown – more in many parts of the UK – high streets are preparing to reopen on Monday....
It’s a fizzy, low-calorie, often fruit-flavoured alcoholic drink, and rapper Travis Scott and chef Gordon Ramsay own brands. American millennials are more likely to have drunk a White Claw hard seltzer in the past 30 days than any other drink with the exception of Bud Light or Corona. Now experts are predicting big things on this side of the...