Kingfisher poaches British Land CFO; Hikma buys Xellia assets; AstraZeneca gains US approval

Most hospitality firms say Brexit is still impacting their ability to hire staff, according to research – with firms now looking to lure workers from other parts of the UK with lucrative relocation packages.

In a new report, hospitality jobs website Caterer said 69 per cent of hospitality businesses were having difficulty recruiting personnel because of Brexit.

Just before close, the FTSE 100 was just 0.03% down at 8,144.44.

Meanwhile, the FTSE 250 was 0.27% higher at 20,174.43.

(PA) – Manufacturers are seeing signs of growth amid a better outlook for the economy, according to new research.

Make UK said a survey of 320 companies found that output and orders were increasing, with the sector forecast to outpace the economy this year.

Business confidence has risen to equal its highest level in the last decade, as companies look to emerge from a two-year “slump”, said the report.

The survey showed that manufacturers want the next Government to make delivering an industrial strategy its top priority.

James Brougham, senior economist at Make UK, said: “At long last, manufacturers can see concrete signs of growth and a much better economic outlook ahead.

“With prices cooling and potential cuts in interest rates to come, the next Government must capitalise by delivering a modern, long-term industrial strategy which goes beyond the 2030s and has cross-Government support.

WHSmith have recalled a product as a ‘precautionary measure’ due to possible E. coli contamination.

Food manufacturer THIS! has issued a recall notice to customers over its vegan chicken and bacon wrap, according to the Food Standards Agency.

A leading trade body has warned that the new national minimum wage is leading to fewer vacancies for summer work.

The Recruitment and Employment Confederation said there was a ‘dramatic fall in demand’ for seasonal staff in April and May – when summer staff are traditionally lined up – compared to the same time last year.

Rachael Griffin, tax and financial planning expert at Quilter, comments on Reform UK’s manifesto:

In a move that’s sure to stir the political pot, Reform UK has unveiled a suite of policies aimed squarely at the values of the Conservative right. By promising to raise the stakes in the tax and migration debate, the party is offering a feast of ‘red meat’ policies that are likely to energise right-wing supporters.

The pledge to increase tax thresholds would be a welcome proposition for many, signalling a potential increase in take-home pay for hardworking people. However, the specifics of how that would be funded lacks detail, leaving voters to wonder about the financial feasibility of such promises.

As with many tweaks to the tax system while this policy would lift lots of people out of having to pay income tax, it also means that those on higher-than-average salaries pay much less in tax too.

There are lots of reasons why a lower tax environment can stimulate economic growth but measures like these can take time to feed through and on the face of it these kinds of pledges can look like a giveaway to the wealthier.

Given the current economic environment, the optics of handing someone with a salary of £75,000 a nearly £5,500 per year saving while those on the average salary only save £1,486 might be difficult for many to stomach.

Hikma Pharmaceuticals will acquire parts of Danish firm Xellia Pharmaceuticals, a drug company specialising in injectable antibiotics.

The London-listed firm will pay $135million (£106million), with an additional $50million (£39million) subject to the achievement of certain regulatory and commercial milestones.

(PA) – The UK has overtaken France as the home of Europe’s biggest stock market, as political divisions have resulted in billions of euros being wiped off Paris’s top index in a matter of days.

The French stock market was knocked off the top spot by a narrow margin, after taking the title 18 months ago.

According to data compiled by Bloomberg, stocks in the country are now collectively worth about $3.1trillion (£2.5trillion), fractionally behind the UK’s collective $3.2trillion (£2.5trillion).

Paris’s top index, the CAC 40, shed more than 6% of its value last week in one of the worst weeks of trading for more than two decades.

The index counts the likes of banks BNP Paribas and Societe Generale and consumer goods giants LVMH and Pernod Ricard among the companies listed.

A group of analysts at Deutsche Bank said the sell-off was its largest weekly decline since March 2022 and, other than during the early Covid period, “you would have to go back to the aftermath of 9/11 in 2001 to see such extremes”.

Ovo is the most complained about UK energy supplier after figures showed it had thousands of customer complaints launched against it.

A new table visualising which energy supplier gets the most complaints has shown the company held the top spot in 2021, but it was knocked off in 2022.

Football fans are on a treasure hunt to unearth rare autographed Euro 2024 trading cards which are selling online for huge sums of money.

As part of its Match Attax card range for Euro 2024, Topps has launched a series of autographed cards for each team in the competition.

Bosses have criticised rival elite firms for giving their junior lawyers ‘insane’ pay rises, with some graduates on salaries starting at £150,000-a-year.

Pay for the most junior ranks at some UK ‘magic circle’ legal firms has jumped 50 per cent over the last five years.

British Land’s finance boss will stand down within the next year to take up the same role at B&Q and Screwfix owner Kingfisher.

Bhavesh Mistry has been chief financial officer of British Land since July 2021, during which time the property development firm has shifted its portfolio from shopping centres to retail parks and urban logistics.

AstraZeneca revealed that US Food and Drug Administration has approved its lung cancer drug alongside other chemotherapy treatment.

In a statement, Britain’s largest pharmaceutical group said that Imfinzi, in combination with carboplatin and paclitaxel, followed by Imfinzi monotherapy has been approved.

(PA) – Swiss banking giant UBS has offered to pay former Credit Suisse customers 90% of the funds they invested with failed specialist finance firm Greensill Capital.

UBS said the offer, which was launched on Monday, will remain open until July 31 and that it would put by $900million (£710million) in the second quarter to cover costs.

It stressed the provision would have no material impact on UBS.

UBS is looking to close the chapter on a damaging saga that was among a number of scandals that led to the collapse of Credit Suisse and a rescue takeover.

The firm bought its stricken rival last year amid worries that severe losses at Credit Suisse would destabilise the global banking system, prompting the involvement of Swiss regulators.

In early 2021, Credit Suisse found itself exposed to the collapse of UK supply chain finance firm Greensill Capital.

One in three used car buyers say they’ve bought a motor that still had personal data belonging to the previous owner stored in it.

The majority of modern models are fitted with infotainment systems that can link to an owner’s smartphone and allows them to input their home address in the sat-nav as well other private details.

Property asking prices fell from their record high this month – but only by £21, according to Rightmove.

It means the average property on the market is now on sale for £375,110, though they typically sell for less with the average property sale price sitting at just under £289,000 according to the latest data from Halifax.

The number of pubs disappearing from communities across England and Wales jumped a third over the first months of 2024 amid pressure on punters’ budgets, according to figures.

Official Government statistics have revealed 239 pubs were demolished or converted for other uses over the three months to March 31.

The founder of aerospace technology group Melrose Industries is set to list a new firm on London’s junior stock market.

Former boss Simon Peckham is leading plans to launch Rosebank Industries on the AIM sub-market for smaller firms. And there are talks to raise more than £40m from institutional investors.

Hopes of a pre-election rate cut are set to be dashed this week as economists warn that lower borrowing costs later this summer are ‘not a done deal’ either.

The Bank of England is expected to keep interest rates at 5.25 per cent when its Monetary Policy Committee meets on 20 June.

British manufacturers’ confidence is at its highest level in a decade as businesses hail ‘concrete signs’ of an economic turnaround.

A closely watched survey of firms has revealed a rebound in companies’ hopes about their growth prospects.