BUSINESS LIVE: Currys raises outlook; Nightcap losses persist; Assetco has ‘exceptionally difficult’ year

Currys boosted its annual profit outlook on Monday following better-than-expected trading in the past two months.

The electronics retailer now anticipates reporting adjusted pre-tax profits of at least £115million for the current financial year, against a previous forecast of £105million to £115million.

Visits to British tourism sites are below pre-pandemic levels and the Government’s failure to scrap the tourist tax has hit visitor spending, research revealed yesterday.

There were 146.6million visits to major UK venues in 2023, down 11 per cent from 163.9million in 2019 before the pandemic and resulting lockdowns, according to trade figures.

British Land has sold half its stake in the Euston office building that was formerly home to Facebook owner Meta, to Royal London Asset Management.

It sold the 50 per cent stake in 1 Triton Square, Regents Place, to Royal London for £192.5million and the pair will now operate the building as a joint venture.

The trusty Individual Savings Account will be a quarter of a century old next month.

Although there will be no wild birthday celebrations or a national display of cheery bunting, there jolly well should be.

Adam Vettese, analyst at eToro, said: The building market in the UK has been under significant pressure due to inflation and higher rates and this also extends to those firms who supply the materials such as Marshalls.

The recovery has been slower than anticipated and profits have taken a sizeable hit as a result.

Whilst there is not much any company can do about the macro factors, Marshalls have been focused on keeping a lid on costs while the market has been tough which it has done reasonably well, though in relative terms, this has not done a great deal to offset the sluggish start to the year.

Landlords who sell up will likely face a higher tax bill than they did two years ago, despite Jeremy Hunt cutting the rate of capital gains tax on the sale of second homes in the Budget, according to new data.

Analysis from the estate agent Hamptons shows that successive cuts to the capital gains tax (CGT) personal allowance will mean the average landlord will typically be worse off when they sell.

Average property asking prices rose by 1.5 per cent in March to reach £368,118, according to the latest figures from listings website Rightmove.

The data, which looks at the prices of newly-listed homes, showed that the typical asking price has risen by £13,000 since December, though average asking prices are still £4,776 below their May 2023 peak.

The British stock market is enduring a ‘Dark Age’ that has seen international and domestic investors pull billions out of UK funds and shares.

In 2023, ordinary UK investors withdrew a staggering £13.6billion from funds that focus on investing in the British stock market, according to the Investment Association (IA). That is the worst level of outflows since comparable records began.

Hundreds of women who report sexual harassment or bullying at work are being silenced with gagging orders, the Mail can reveal.

More than one-in-four people who have been mistreated in the workplace are asked by their employers to sign ‘non-disclosure agreements’ (NDAs) which prevent them from speaking out in public.

The pound at 8am was 1.2740 dollars compared to 1.2732 dollars at the previous close.