Business secretary Greg Clark to hone in on industrial strategy in raft of meetings with companies next week January 5, 2017 Business secretary Greg Clark is expected to hold meetings with a raft of companies next week to discuss industrial strategy ahead of a green paper due out later this month. City A.M. understands Clark will be in meetings throughout the week with business figures from a range of industries to discuss the UK's nascent industrial [...]
Silverstone owners threaten to drop British Grand Prix January 5, 2017 Silverstone's management is threatening to drop the British Grand Prix because of spiralling costs of running it. John Grant, chairman of the British Racing Drivers' Club (BRDC), owners of the racing track, has written to members warning of the "potentially ruinous risk" of hosting the loss-making event. In a letter, seen by ITV, Grant said he wanted to "preserve [...]
Prime Minister Theresa May to visit President-elect Donald Trump in the US next month January 5, 2017 Prime Minister Theresa May will visit President-elect Donald Trump in the US next month. The PM will visit Washington DC after Trump's inauguration, which is on 20 January, a senior Number 10 source told Sky News. Trump invited May to visit him "as soon as possible" in a phone call the day after the US [...]
Challenger bank Oaknorth expands its team with three key hires January 5, 2017 It's only a few days into 2017, but Oaknorth has already further expanded its team, making three key hires. City A.M. has learnt that the challenger bank has appointed Georgy Naydenov and Stuart Blair as debt finance directors, and David Webley joins as a credit director. Industry veteran Webley has previously spent 25 years at Barclays and was most recently [...]
Royal Mail pensions closure: Unions warn on strikes if they disagree with plans January 5, 2017 Royal Mail today revealed plans to scrap its mammoth pension scheme that serves 90,000 postal workers. The former state-owned firm said the current final salary surplus would run out in 2018 and unless changes were implemented, the bill for servicing the scheme could run to over £1bn a year – a level it said “would [...]
Insolvencies are on the rise for the travel industry as the weak pound and terrorism fears hit businesses January 5, 2017 The travel industry is braced for thousands of insolvencies as the sector comes under increasing pressure from terrorism fears and rising costs. According to data from insolvency firm Begbies Traynor, 2,679 businesses in the travel industry currently have "red flags" over them which indicates that they are experiencing significant levels of distress. This is a [...]
Calls for better governance at Sports Direct heighten, after Mike Ashley defies the will of the company’s other shareholders January 5, 2017 Sports Direct has today sparked more ire over the state of its corporate governance, including calls for a rethink on how listed firms are overseen The comments come after a second vote in less than half a year on whether to keep Keith Hellawell as chairman was waved through at the company's general meeting, as chief [...]
Whitehall’s top mandarins are demanding a pay-rise because of Brexit January 5, 2017 A union representing top civil servants has written to the government to demand pay rises because of the pressures of Brexit. In evidence submitted to the Senior Salaries Review Body, which advises the government on pay for public sector workers, the FDA has warned 94 per cent of senior civil servants believe the current pay regime “is not [...]
Central London bulked up on budget gyms last year with 46 per cent of new openings in the low-cost sector January 5, 2017 Londoners may want to get healthy (especially after the Christmas and New Year excess fest), but they also don't want to break the bank while they do it. Almost half (46 per cent) of the new gyms that opened in Central London last year were budget gyms, classed as having membership plans costing less than [...]
Sadiq Khan launches a fresh plea for more control over London’s trains January 5, 2017 London mayor Sadiq Khan has launched a fresh appeal for control over the capital’s suburban trains. Khan has published a list of promises to Londoners if rail devolution goes ahead. In December, transport secretary Chris Grayling ruled out City Hall control of services, branding any handover “deckchair shifting”. However, Khan has reiterated his demands for [...]