The government’s Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme went live on 20 April after Chancellor Rishi Sunak extended it until the end of June. The scheme allows businesses to furlough their employees, with the government paying 80% of their wages up to a maximum of £2,500. HMRC has emailed two million employers providing a link to a […]

UK retail sales plummeted by 27% during the first two weeks of the coronavirus (COVID-19) lockdown, according to the latest figures from the British Retail Consortium (BRC). Overall, total retail sales in March fell by 4.3% when compared with the same month in 2019. Demand rose sharply in the early part of the month, with […]

A significant number of UK firms face the prospect of running out of cash within three months, according to a survey carried out by the British Chambers of Commerce (BCC). The BCC’s first Coronavirus Business Impact Tracker polled over 600 firms between 25 and 27 March. It revealed that the majority of firms reported a […]

The seven largest UK banks have agreed to the proposal put forward by the Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA) that they suspend dividends and bonuses until the end of 2020. In a statement, HSBC, Nationwide, Santander, Standard Chartered Bank, Barclays, RBS and Lloyds Banking Group said they will ‘suspend dividends and buybacks on ordinary shares until […]