UK will become ‘innovation wasteland’ if Hunt pushes through R&D tax relief cuts, FSB warns February 22, 2023 The UK will become an “innovation wasteland” if the government pushes ahead with plans to slash research and development (R&D) tax relief, the Federation of Small Businesses (FSB) has warned. The UK’s largest business group urged ministers today to reverse plans to gut the R&D tax relief scheme, announced by Chancellor Jeremy Hunt in November, [...]
Future’s bright: Digital media giant behind Marie Claire and GoCompare names new CEO February 22, 2023 Future, the media company which owns brands including Marie Claire and GoCompare, has unveiled its new chief executive. Jon Steinberg will join Future on 3 April, following the resignation Zillah Byng-Thorne last September, following a decade at the helm. The company was founded in 1985 and has more than 220 companies, ranging from magazines and [...]
Partygate: High Court to hear challenge against Met over probe into Johnson’s lockdown party attendance February 22, 2023 The High Court will hear the first stage of a challenge against the Metropolitan Police over the force’s investigation into former prime minister Boris Johnson’s attendance at Number 10 parties during lockdown. Johnson received a fixed penalty notice (FPN) over a birthday party in the Cabinet Room in June 2020, but faced no further action [...]
Hundreds of jobs at risk as Chinese-owned British Steel set to announce closure of Scunthorpe plant February 22, 2023 Unions fear British Steel is set to announce the closure of coking ovens at one of its plants, with the loss of hundreds of jobs as the company warns it faces “significant challenges”. Union officials were told earlier this month the Chinese-owned company was considering closing coke ovens at its site in Scunthorpe. An announcement [...]
Bentley to end production of 12-cylinder petrol engine as luxury car maker is latest in shift to EV February 22, 2023 Bentley will end production of its famed 12-cylinder petrol engine in April next year, the luxury car maker has announced. More than 100,000 examples of the W12 engine have been built at the company’s factory in Crewe, Cheshire over the past 20 years. The decision to halt production is part of the business’s move to [...]
Growing ‘valley of death’ funding gap could scupper UK tech ambitions, industry bosses warn February 22, 2023 A growing ‘valley of death’ funding gap facing the UK’s tech sector could scupper the government’s Silicon Valley ambitions as firms struggle to raise cash and fuel growth, tech investors have warned. Venture capital funding into the UK faltered last year amid a global slowdown as soaring inflation and market volatility caused investors to pull [...]
Record 150,000 new firms founded by women last year, Natwest report reveals February 22, 2023 A record 150,000 new firms were founded by women last year, according to a major review by Natwest chief executive Dame Alison Rose. New figures outlined in the Rose Review Progress Report for 2022 show female entrepreneurs started twice as many companies last year as they did in 2018, despite the challenging economic environment. There [...]
Zalando forced to axe jobs as retailer admits it expanded ‘too much’ February 21, 2023 The German-based group, which sells a range of brands such as adidas and Nike, said it had expanded some parts of its company “too much”.
Migration Museum gets new home in Square Mile as refugee developer stumps up 60-years rent-free space February 21, 2023 A multi-million pound development in the Square Mile will give a new home to the Migration Museum and provide hundreds of affordable apartments. 65 Crutched Friars near Tower Hill will be transformed into a 21-storey state-of-the-art site and has been granted 60-years rent-free space by the developer. Dubbed “Britain’s gateway to the world for thousands [...]
Shareholder spat at The Restaurant Group hots up as investors demand improvement February 21, 2023 The Restaurant Group (TRG) came under increasing pressure today after its second largest shareholder, Oasis, doubled down on its demands to immediately improve the firm’s struggling share price. Oasis, which has a 6.5 per cent stake in TRG, has argued that the chain needed an “immediate” change of governance because it had “one of the [...]