Over 8000 Carillion workers are being faced with the prospect of their wages being stopped, as tougher demands from the company’s banks pushed the bank into insolvency. Minister David Lidington has confirmed that the Government will continue to pay Carillion’s 11,000 staff who who work in public services jobs, but the clock is ticking for those who work for Carillion’s private sector companies. Around 8,000 of them face having their wages stopped on Wednesday unless other firms take over the work. According to insolvency documents, the firm is set to run out of cash by the end of the day. The company entered insolvency on Monday, after insolvency experts skipped the administration process because there was simply not enough cash in the business to keep it running. The depth of the group’s problems, revealed in the insolvency documents, show there is no hope for Carillon’s 30,000 trade creditors to regain the cash they are owed.

Average UK property prices were up £2,000 in January, according to data from Rightmove. Britain’s biggest property website said average asking prices rose 0.7 per cent month on month in January to £297,587. Conversely, asking prices fell 2.3 per cent in December. However, property prices in the capital were dragged down by falls in Zones 2 and 3. Sellers in Zone 3 witnessed the largest drop, with prices dipping 7.7 percent, and Zone 2 prices falling 6.4 percent. Remaining cautious over future outlook, Miles Shipside, Rightmove director and housing market analyst, warned: “Considering some of the gales that buffeted the market in the latter part of 2017, these early readings for 2018 show that there is currently a good following wind of search activity. To keep this year’s initial buyer momentum with you rather than against, serious sellers should note that all regions are currently selling at a slower rate than a year ago, indicating choosier buyers”. Rightmove revealed that the average asking price for a home in London in January was £600,926, 3.5 percent lower than a year previously, and marking the biggest drop since June 2009. In the November Autumn Statement, The Chancellor Philip Hammond announced a cut in stamp-duty for first time buyers for properties of up to £300,000. This reduction in stamp duty and low supply has in turn offset “stretched buyer affordability” and and continued political uncertainy, Rightmove said. In addition, the website data revealed that visits this month thus far are over nine per cent higher than the same period a year previously, averaging over four million visits each day.

Jewellery company Pandora (CPH:PNDORA) saw shares fall over 15 percent on Thursday, after warning that results for the full year may lag behind previous guidance. The company said its EBITDA margin for the four year period between 2018-2022 would be around 35 percent, a little below the 37.3 percent reported last year. Whilst the Danish group, whose jewellery is popular across Europe and the US, reported a 15 percent rise in annual sales for 2017 in local currencies to 22.8 billion Danish crowns, this figure remained just below analysts expectations of 22.9 billion and well below the company’s own guidance of between 23 billion and 24 billion crowns. Chief Executive Anders Colding Friis said the company is likely to be affected by economic uncertainty going forward, adding that “The 2017 results are close to the targets we set ourselves at the beginning of the year, but we are of course disappointed to not fully reach the targets.” Pandora shares are currently trading down 15.27 percent at 563.00DKK (1135GMT).

Marks and Spencer released a disappointing set of Christmas results on Thursday, as consumers’ tighter budgets and ongoing trading pressures took a hit. Like-for-like revenues fell 1.4 percent in the 13 weeks to 30 December, with its most successful division, food, falling by 0.4 percent. Clothing and homeware fell 2.8 percent, despite the group’s continued strategy of “restoring price integrity and improving everyday value.” Steve Rowe, M&S chief executive, said of the results: “M&S had a mixed quarter with better Christmas trading in both businesses going some way to offset a weak clothing market in October and ongoing underperformance in our Food like-for-like sales. Rowe added: “We continue with the accelerated transformation programme we outlined in November and have recently taken several important steps to reshape the business for the future. These include a new technology partnership and organisation, and the sale of our Hong Kong based business in line with the streamlined franchise-led model we are adopting for International.” The group confirmed that full-year guidance remained the same, however, with full-year results being reported on the 23rd May. M&S’s weak Christmas results were in contrast to that of several other big British supermarkets, including Tesco and Morrisons, who both saw sales rise over the period.