Friday business round-up: Four key stories of the day

The vast majority of those polled at the IoD Scotland conference said the national living wage was not a risk to their business

Here are four of today’s key business stories in one handy package.

An exclusive poll conducted for The Scotsman at the IoD Scotland conference found that 80 per cent of attendees said the introduction of the national living wage would not pose a threat to their business. The survey of more than 150 business leaders at the event also found that 67 per cent did not believe the top rate of income tax should be cut from its current level of 45 per cent, levied on earnings about £150,000.

Retirement home firm McCarthy & Stone returned to the stock market with a flotation that valued the group at £967 million. The company had been listed on the London Stock Exchange for more than 20 years until 2006, when it was taken private in a £1.1 billion deal by a consortium led by Halifax Bank of Scotland (HBOS) and Sir Tom Hunter.

Telecoms firm TalkTalk told investors that fewer customers’ bank details were accessed in last month’s cyber attack than previously thought. It said the personal details of 156,959 customers were accessed in the breach of its website, including the bank account numbers and sort codes of 15,656 customers – that compares with an estimate of “less than 21,000” published by the company on 30 October.

Department store chain John Lewis said its Glasgow store was its only branch in Scotland to deliver higher sales last week. The retailer also unveiled its latest Christmas advertising campaign, with a reminder to consumers to consider those who will be alone this year.