British bailouts for British companies

We should bail out
@richardbranson
's Virgin Atlantic but under two conditions:
- Only once his assets are below £16k, in line with Universal Credit,
- He renames his island "Brass Necker" island

THEN you can have my cash.

Agreed. There many other companies which are foreign owned; they should apply to these countries for aid unless they are registered here and paying full tax to the UK.

Not even for those who are British registered companies (over a certain size) Tescos have had a business rates holiday and used that saving to increase their recent dividend. Philip Green is also asking for financial help. Trouble is you can't say after you've sold your yachts because they won't be worth as much as he paid.

This rhetoric sounds fine, but many of these companies are public limited companies where the founders only own some of the shares, most are in the hands of many small shareholders and pension providers. Stopping dividends affects the income of the majority of older people with occupational pensions or savings, who rely on their dividends or payments from pension funds and insurance companies to provide there income. Sometimes the amount is quite small but is the extra that just about pays for adequate heating or to run an essential car when there is not public transport.

The other businesses will all be private companies, so you can only look to the assets of the company itself, and no further and if extravagently you start demanding changes in the law, just remember that there are millions of sole traders and small local businesses who would suffer grieveously from such changes.

Tesco seems to have been the one supermarket to be helpful towards more vulnerable people during this crisis.

Philip Green can take a running jump, preferably off his yacht.

M0nica

I did not suggest that dividends should be stopped. i merely said that Tesco's were using their increased profits, resulting from the business rates holiday to increase their dividend.

Also, as a small business person myself and also an adviser to small businesses, I have written many times on here about the lack of support for small businesses. I'm not even sure why you're mentioning them because no one else has.

No one has suggested that companies dispose of their assets, apart from me suggesting that PG sells his boats and I'm sure that if they are a company asset, it will be one registered off shore somewhere.

I thought that being a shareholder you had to take the rough with the smooth. When times are good then you get a whacking payout and when times are bad you don't. Why are any shareholders getting payouts at this time?

If anyone has a small private pension which they are looking forward to receiving, they may have a shock if these firms are not supported during this unusual time.

Most pension funds hold shares in British companies; if they fail the pension fund may well fold.

If you do not believe that shareholders should get a payout at this time, then don't grumble if such private pension funds collapse.

I have a private pension . It won't collapse if there is no pay out for one financial year but I won't get my annual increase. That's the risk that comes with investing in the stock market.

If you are already drawing it you should be fine as existing pensioners would be the priority.
I am talking about those in company schemes, or with financial companies invested in stocks and shares who have not yet started drawing their pensions.

A pension scheme won't go bust for want of one year's dividends.