Commercial news round-up: Goldman Sachs, Brexit, retail figures, John Lewis, Diageo
updated on 11 May 2017
With just four weeks to go, the levels of furious electioneering continue to rocket upwards. While the big political story today may be Labour’s leaked manifesto, it is the prospect of Brexit and all that means in terms of business and consumer confidence that most concerns UK businesses. Read on for this past week’s related stories and more:
- In a frank interview, the boss of Goldman Sachs has warned that London’s reputation as the financial capital of the world “will stall” as a direct result of the risks presented by Brexit.
- Perhaps confirming the above, in a study undertaken by Freshfields, most City firms will need more than two years to complete the complex restructuring required by Brexit.
- The later than usual Easter holidays proved to be a much-needed boost for the retail sector, with sales up 5.6% compared to April last year. Food sales were way out ahead, with one expert observing that “consumer spend on food and non-food items is diverging”.
- John Lewis has knocked £36 million of its annual profits as it was revealed that a payroll error meant that the company breached National Minimum Wage rules, and is now in the process of reimbursing staff.
- Drinks company Diageo must pay £107 million to HMRC under the new “diverted profits tax regime” – or “Google tax” – which is aimed at multinationals and imposes a 25% charge on taxable profits that have been diverted from the UK.
Be sure to check the News section every Thursday for this weekly commercial news round-up. Follow @LawCareersNetUK on Twitter and like us on Facebook for instant business news updates.
