Admiral said on Tuesday that it will be providing a refund to its customers as they are staying at home and driving less during the COVID-19 crisis. The UK government announced stricter lockdown rules last month to encourage people to stay indoors and practice social distancing. Admiral will automatically issue a £25 refund to all customers for each car and van covered with its insurance. The British insurer said that it is expecting fewer claims seeing as there have been a reduced number of cars on the road over the lockdown period. A total of £110 million in refunds will be returned to 4.4 million vehicles. Admiral added that it is supporting its staff during this period of uncertainty by continuing to pay all employees their full salary, and no staff are being furloughed. “During this challenging period, our main priorities have been helping our customers, supporting our local community and protecting the wellbeing of our staff, which is why we have introduced these initiatives to give something back to the customers and communities we serve,” Cristina Nestares, CEO of UK Insurance at Admiral, said in a company statement. “This is an unprecedented time when people across the country are driving significantly less than before the lockdown, and we expect this to lead to a fall in the number of claims we are seeing.” “We want to give the money we would have used to pay these claims back to our loyal customers in this difficult time. We have also already reflected this change in driving behaviour in our pricing for customers and will continue to do so.” Cristina Nestares continued: “The Admiral Stay At Home Refund was launched to recognise the considerable efforts people are making by staying home as much as possible and as a result driving less. Customers don’t have to contact us to receive this, we’ll be in touch with them in the coming weeks to explain how we’ll refund them.”

Just Eat revealed this week that it will deliver free meals to vulnerable people and those who have been isolated following the outbreak of COVID-19 in the UK. As the crisis continues to develop in the UK, many people are vulnerable to the illness and have had to take special care when social distancing. The UK government introduced stricter lockdown rules last month to ensure everyone follows social distancing rules. With many finding themselves isolated and lonely during a time of significant uncertainty, Just Eat has teamed up with the charity FoodCycle to deliver food parcels to those most in need. The service will be supported by delivery partner Stuart, Just Eat said. In addition to this measure to help those impacted by the virus, Just Eat recently introduced discounted meals for NHS workers. “As the UK’s leading food delivery business, we’re committed to doing our bit and supporting the vulnerable in our communities,” Andrew Kenny, UK Managing Director at Just Eat, said in a statement. “With millions doing the right thing and staying at home, this service has never been more important. We are proud to be able to provide continued support to FoodCycle, and make a difference for those who need it the most,” Andrew Kenny continued. David Saenz, Chief Operating Officer at Stuart, also provided a comment: “We are excited to be partnering with FoodCycle and Just Eat to help deliver meals to the most vulnerable members of the community in Birmingham. Being able to work together with our courier partners on such a rewarding mission is a privilege. At a time like this, we are thrilled to contribute to all of the efforts being made UK-wide to support each other.” FoodCycle usually provides community meals using surplus food, but the service has now been adapted to adhere to the UK’s social distancing rules. The service will now be delivery-only and will provide food parcels made up of donated surplus food.

The John Lewis Partnership said on Tuesday that its short term trading has been “significantly affected” by the COVID-19 crisis. As the outbreak of the illness continues to spread in the UK, the government has introduced stricter lockdown measures, closing all non-essential shops. Sales at John Lewis have declined by 17% year-on-year since the middle of March, and have dropped by 7% year-on-year since 26 January. As all of its stores are shut, online sales at John Lewis have risen by 84% since the middle of March, with high demand for products related to working and living at home. However, the John Lewis Partnership said that this has not been enough to offset the loss made by the closure of its stores. Meanwhile, Waitrose has seen sales grow by 8% since 26 January and cupboard essentials have been particularly popular. “Our short term trading has though been significantly affected, principally because of the closure of all 50 John Lewis branches,” Chairman Sharon White told partners in a statement. “John Lewis online remains open – providing essential goods and services to enable customers to live well at home – and online sales are substantially up on last year. But it has not been enough to offset the loss of shop trade. Demand at Waitrose has risen sharply but operating costs have increased too, especially as we have expanded online delivery,” the Chairman continued. The retailer added that, given the uncertainty surrounding the duration of the COVID-19 crisis, its full year performance is difficult to predict. Looking ahead, the John Lewis Partnership warned that the worst case scenario for the full year involves sales at John Lewis declining by 35%, with Waitrose seeing a decline of less than 5%. The British government introduced stricter lockdown measures at the end of last month in order to help contain the spread of the illness. Many fear the economic implications of these measures, as non-essential stores have been closed.

Premier Foods (LON:PFD) shares soared on Monday as the company saw sales rise in March amid the outbreak of COVID-19. Shares in the owner of the Mr Kipling brand were up by more than 20% during trading on Monday. The company said that UK sales are expected to have grown by roughly 7.3% in the fourth quarter and 15.1% in March. “The trading performance in the fourth quarter continued the positive momentum seen in previous quarters and volumes in March rose sharply to fulfil increased consumer demand during the outbreak of COVID-19,” Premier Foods said in a statement. As the outbreak of the illness continues to spread, many consumers have stockpiled products to ensure that they have what they need. Premier Foods said that it has seen “a dramatic short-term peak in volumes across many of its categories during March”. The company added that volumes have begun to reduce from the “exceptional levels” experienced last month, though they are still expected to be higher than usual. “This reflects more meals being eaten at home than usual due to recent measures set out by HM Government and hence increased demand for the group’s product ranges,” the company continued. Indeed, the government introduced stricter social distancing measures last month, encouraging people to stay indoors unless absolutely necessary. “The group also takes its responsibility as a major UK food manufacturer very seriously and is working closely with its customers to ensure maximum availability of its product ranges for consumers,” Premier Foods continued. “During this challenging time, the company’s manufacturing and distribution operations are working at maximum capacity and coping well with this recent elevated level of demand, and customer service levels continue to be high.”

Shares in Premier Foods plc (LON:PFD) were up on Monday, trading at +22.32% as of 14:25 BST.

The FTSE 100 and other major European indices took a break from recent gains on Monday as the market digested a slowdown in the number of new coronavirus deaths. The FTSE 100 was broadly flat in early trade on Monday with London’s leading index trading in a tight range around 5,800 for most of the morning. The number of people who sadly died with coronavirus fell in the world’s largest economies over the weekend as the United States recorded 1,629 deaths on Sunday, considerably lower than the 2,000+ deaths that were reported last week. Many European countries have also reported a fall in the number of new cases and deaths. The slowdown in new cases has given countries such as Germany and Spain the confidence to outline plans to start reopening their economies. However, some analysts are still cautioning over the impact of coronavirus on the global economy and adjusting their investment exposure accordingly. “We have increased our preference to be overweight government bonds, reflecting our view central banks will continue to act to maintain easy monetary conditions, and at the same time allow fiscal space to be created without higher yields,” said Michael Grady, head of investment strategy and chief economist at Aviva Investors. “Our modest underweight equity allocation reflects our concern that economic weakness will translate into historically weak corporate earnings in 2020, which we do not think markets are fully discounting at this time.” Other investors, such as Bridgewater Associates’ Ray Dalio, have said they are avoiding bonds in favour of buying opportunities they see in equities. Ray Dalio has also said ‘cash is trash’ – a view that would suggest now is the time to making investments. US earnings season started last week with major US banks reporting lower profits and warning on the outlook. However, many of the banks’ shares rose, providing support for the argument the negative impact on the coronavirus on corporate earnings is largely priced in.

The UK government has announced a much needed £1.25bn support package for the UK’s start-ups. The package is broken down into two elements; a £500m fund designed for small businesses and the provision of £750m in grants and loans from Innovate UK. To qualify for support, companies must have already raised £250,000 in equity investment through private investment channels within the last 5 years. Rishi Sunak’s announcement to assist start-up businesses comes after it became apparent the treasury’s initial stimulus package wouldn’t filter down to the UK’s fastest growing and most innovative companies. The banks are ultimately in control of distributing the government’s £350 billion aid package for businesses. With only 80% of the value of loans being guaranteed by the government, banks still have to accept some risk so haven’t approved loans on the scale needed to support smaller businesses. Many other countries have guaranteed 100% of loans to businesses. The latest package is aimed at those companies engaged in high levels of R&D and may not yet be producing enough revenue to cover costs. These innovative companies typically operate in the technology and knowledge intensive sectors and face closure if they are unable to secure capital. Gerard Grech, Chief Executive, Tech Nation, highlighted the importance of startup sfor the UK as he said “Tech startups and scaleups are crucial to the UK’s future growth, jobs and innovation. The £500M Future Fund and £750M for loans and grants for R&D for startups is a bold intervention, and although the full implementation details are to still be released, it is likely to give the sector a welcome boost in these unprecedented times. How to target the money effectively should be the next priority.” “Start-ups and scale-ups vary in their financial structuring and their regional location. It will be important to get the balance just right, across the UK and also across the different models of investments, from angel invested companies to VC-funded firms.” “The UK’s tech sector has achieved a huge amount in the past 10 years. In 2019, a staggering 33% of all European tech investment was in the UK – the third highest in the world. We must keep building on this success story”