BRITAIN'S economy grew by more than previously thought in the April-June period before what looks like a sharp slowdown more recently as post-lockdown bottlenecks, including a shortage of truck drivers, mount.
Gross domestic product increased by 5.5 per cent in the second quarter, the Office for National Statistics said, stronger than its preliminary estimate of growth of 4.8 per cent.
The ONS said the data had been adjusted to take account of more complete data from the health sector as well as an update of its sources and methodology for calculating British economic output.
The figures provided a more complete picture of Britain's swift economic bounce-back from its coronavirus lockdown earlier this year, but there are now signs of a loss of momentum due to shortages of supplies and staff as the global economy reopens.
"While the upward revisions to GDP are clearly welcome, Q2 was three months ago, and the recovery appears to have stagnated since," Ruth Gregory, an economist at Capital Economics, said.
"Even so, given that there is now thought to be less spare capacity in the economy that will only encourage the Bank of England to hike rates in the not too distant future."
On Wednesday, BoE Governor Andrew Bailey said he thought the economy would regain its pre-pandemic level of output in early 2022 - a month or two later than the BoE had forecast in August.
Despite the slowdown, the British central bank has signalled that it is moving towards a first interest rate hike since the pandemic as it expects inflation to head above 4 per cent.
Thursday's data showed households increased their spending by almost 8 per cent in the April-June period and they dipped into their coronavirus lockdown savings to fund it.
The savings ratio, which measures the income households saved as a proportion of their total available disposable income, fell to 11.7 per cent from 18.4 per cent in the first quarter of 2020, the ONS said.
GDP growth was driven by the services sector, especially in the accommodation and food industry where output rose by 87.6 per cent in quarterly terms as it reopened from lockdown.
Manufacturing output rose by 1.8 per cent in the second quarter, despite a shortage of microchips hurting car production. Food and beverage manufacturing performed strongly.
The ONS said construction output had broadly returned to its pre-pandemic level.
The data also showed that Britain's current account deficit with the rest of the world held steady at 8.6 billion pounds in the second quarter, equivalent to 1.5 per cent of gross domestic product. In the first quarter, the shortfall was 1.6 per cent of GDP.
Excluding volatile trade in precious metals, the deficit widened to 1.8% of GDP from 0.2 per cent in the first quarter, due to a worsening of Britain's trade balance and a fall in earnings on foreign investments.
UK-BASED Nanak Hotels recently acquired the 60-room Kings Court Hotel, a 17th-century property in Warwickshire, England, for £2.75 million. This is the first regional acquisition by the privately held firm led by British Indians Harpreet Singh Saluja and Karamvir Singh.
Nanak Hotels, which operates a UK property portfolio, plans to invest in the property's refurbishment and repositioning, according to a statement from Colliers International UK, which brokered the transaction.
“We’re excited to bring Kings Court Hotel into our portfolio as our first Warwickshire acquisition,” said Saluja. “It has a solid foundation and loyal customer base. We see potential to develop the hotel while preserving its heritage.”
The West Midlands hotel, on a 4.2-acre site between Alcester and Redditch, began as a 17th-century farmhouse and now operates as a hospitality business with public areas, event and conference facilities and wedding capacity for up to 130 guests.
The hotel’s previous owner said Kings Court had been central to their work for over 30 years.
“It’s been a privilege to grow it into what it is today,” the owner said. “As we retire, we’re pleased to see it pass to a new owner who shares our commitment to hospitality and has a vision for its future.”
“The sale of Kings Court Hotel drew strong interest due to its size, location and trading performance,” said Josh Sullivan and Peter Brunt of Colliers International UK. “We’re pleased to have completed the transaction with Nanak Hotels and look forward to seeing how they develop the asset.”
In February, UK-based Shiva Hotels, led by founder and CEO Rishi Sachdev, secured $372m (£289m) to renovate The BoTree in Marylebone, London. Separately, Indian tech firm Oyo announced a $62m (£48m), three-year plan to expand its UK hotel portfolio by acquiring inventory and securing leasehold and management contracts, supporting 1,000 jobs.
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PRIYA NAIR has been appointed as the CEO and managing director of Hindustan Unilever Ltd (HUL), effective from August 1. She will be the first woman to lead the company in its history.
The announcement was made by HUL on Thursday (10). Nair, who currently serves as president, Beauty & Wellbeing at Unilever, will take over the role from Rohit Jawa, who will step down on July 31 to pursue other interests.
She has been appointed for a five-year term and will also join the HUL board, subject to necessary approvals. She will continue to be a member of the Unilever Leadership Executive.
Nair began her career with HUL in 1995 and has held various roles across sales and marketing in the company’s Home Care, Beauty & Wellbeing, and Personal Care businesses.
Between 2014 and 2020, she served as executive director, Home Care and later as executive director, Beauty & Personal Care from 2020 to 2022. She then moved to a global role as the chief marketing officer for Beauty & Wellbeing at Unilever, and in 2023, was named president of the business.
Under her leadership, the Beauty & Wellbeing division has grown into a more than £10 billion global business covering hair care, skin care, prestige beauty, and health and wellbeing, including vitamins, minerals and supplements.
She has overseen brand building, innovation, revenue growth, digital transformation, and profit delivery.
Speaking on her appointment, HUL chairman Nitin Paranjpe said, “Priya has had an outstanding career in HUL and Unilever. I am certain that with her deep understanding of the Indian market and excellent track record, Priya will take HUL to the next level of performance.”
Nair’s appointment comes after Jawa’s two-year term, during which the company focused on volume-led growth. “On behalf of the Board of HUL, I would like to thank Rohit for leading the business through tough market conditions and strengthening its foundations for success,” Paranjpe added.
Over her 28-year career, Nair has built and managed several leading consumer brands. She is recognised for turning around underperforming businesses and leading cross-functional teams.
The Indian executive has also served as an independent director on the board of a publicly listed Indian company, a board member of the Advertising Standards Council of India (ASCI), and a member of several government-backed partnerships and industry bodies.
Nair currently lives in London with her husband and daughter.
(with inputs from PTI)
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The bank's commitment to green lending reflects focus on sustainability (Photo: Getty Images)
BANKING major State Bank of India (UK) has cut interest rates on its buy-to-let mortgage products to help landlords reduce borrowing costs.
The bank said the rate cuts would help landlords invest in rental properties and meet growing demand for rental homes across the UK.
For the Standard Product Range, interest rates have been reduced by up to 35 basis points across all Loan-to-Value (LTV) tiers for five-year fixed-term products. In the SPV Product Range, rates have been cut by up to 40 basis points. Additionally, a flat fee has been introduced on larger loans for limited companies, aiming to simplify the lending process, a statement said.
The Houses in multiple occupation (HMO) product range has seen significant improvements. Rates have been reduced by up to 90 basis points on two-year fixed products and up to 50 basis points on five-year fixed products. Non-green properties now benefit from a flat rate of 5.15 per cent for five-year terms.
Fees for five-year products have also been lowered to 1.50 per cent for 50 per cent and 65 per cent LTV. Furthermore, green properties receive an additional discount of 10 basis points. Also, pricing for Multi-Unit Freehold Blocks (MUFB) has been brought in line with the HMO product range, offering similar rate reductions and terms.
Abhishek Sahay, chief business officer at SBI UK, said the bank wanted to support landlords with better lending deals.
"We understand the importance of service standards and have added capacity to our underwriting team to process applications in a timely manner," he said. "We recognise the crucial role landlords play in the UK housing ecosystem, and these rate reductions are designed to help them thrive in a dynamic market."
He added that the bank's ongoing commitment to green lending reflects focus on sustainability and reduction in the carbon footprint of the housing sector.
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Starlink will next need to acquire spectrum from the government, build ground infrastructure, and carry out testing and trials to meet the agreed security requirements. (Photo: Reuters)
INDIA’s space regulator on Wednesday granted Starlink a licence to begin commercial operations in the country, removing the final regulatory barrier for the satellite internet provider.
The company, led by Elon Musk, has been waiting since 2022 for licences to start operations in India. It received an initial approval last month from India’s telecom ministry and was waiting for clearance from the space regulator.
The licence, issued by the Indian National Space Promotion and Authorization Centre (IN-SPACe), is valid for five years.
Earlier on Wednesday, Reuters reported, citing sources, that Starlink had secured the licence from IN-SPACe.
Starlink is now the third company to receive approval to enter the Indian satellite communications market. India has previously cleared applications from Eutelsat’s OneWeb and Reliance Jio.
The company will next need to acquire spectrum from the government, build ground infrastructure, and carry out testing and trials to meet the agreed security requirements.
Musk and Reliance Jio’s Mukesh Ambani had disagreed for several months over how spectrum should be allocated for satellite services. The Indian government later supported Musk’s position that spectrum should be assigned, not auctioned.
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