THE DAILY BRIEFING

SLOW GROWTH

House prices in London will grow more slowly than the rest of the UK, says KPmG. Prices in the capital will grow on average 1.5pc a year over the next five years, compared to 1.9pc in the Northeast, 4.3pc in the Southwest and 3.8pc in the West midlands. Yael Selfin, chief economist, said prices relative to earnings were most stretched in London.

RESEARCH BOOST

Listed healthcare services firm WideCells has won £156,000 funding from government-backed Innovate UK for work with manchester metropolitan University on new stem cell technology. A scientist will carry out the research at WideCells facilities in manchester.

STAFF CUTS

Businesses paid out £3.8bn in 250,000 redundancy

payments last year as they tried to cut costs. The figure was down from £4bn the previous year. It works out at an average £15,000 per worker. The research was conducted by law firm Hugh James.

TRENDY DEAL

South Korean conglomerate Samsung has signed a deal with trendy clothing firm Hype to provide logistics and admin help for the firm from this march. Hype’s founder, student entrepreneur Liam Green, said the tie-up was a game-changer.

PAY SLASHED

Advertising firm WPP’s boss martin Sorrell, 73, is believed to be in line for a pay cut, from around £48m in 2016 to around £15m for 2017. WPP has had a tough year while it has also cut its lucrative bonus scheme.

SALES SLUMP

Sales of houses worth more than £5m fell 15pc last year, from 433 during 2016 to 369 during 2017. Lendy, which published the figures, said banks were more cautious in lending and fewer rich people were buying.