Sadiq Khan announces business representatives for 40,000 job Royal Docks development December 22, 2016 Mayor of London Sadiq Khan has unveiled the strategy leaders for a major business enterprise zone in east London’s Royal Docks. Business representatives will include executives from Deloitte and Land Securities in the Royal Docks Enterprise Zone as part of the London Economic Action Partnership (LEAP). The development is planned to create 40,000 jobs and [...]
FTSE 100 private equity firm lands Belfast City Airport in Eiser deal December 22, 2016 FTSE 100 private equity group 3i has announced a deal to acquire Belfast City Airport. The company has agreed to buy a portfolio of assets, also including East Surrey Pipelines, from the Eiser Global Infrastructure Fund. Read more: 3i sells debt management business to InvestCorp The acquisition also includes a stake in Italian waste treatment and [...]
Standard Chartered Bank’s Thai unit offloads retail banking arm to Tisco Bank and All-Ways December 22, 2016 Standard Chartered's Thai unit has agreed to offload its retail banking business to Tisco Bank and All-Ways Company, both units of Thai group Tisco Financial. The move continues chief executive Bill Winters' plan to boost earnings through restructuring. Standard Chartered announced in November last year that it would divest businesses that lacked a competitive advantage in a [...]
Storm Barbara to batter the UK threatening Christmas travel plans December 22, 2016 The great Christmas getaway is under threat as 90mph winds are forecast to hit the UK just as the festive season commences. The Met Office has warned Storm Barbara will bring "severe or hazardous weather" to the Grampian and Highland regions of Scotland. Many parts of southern England were blanketed in fog earlier this morning. Together [...]
Virgin Media boss is baffled by broadband windfall, saying it conflicts with Ofcom plans December 22, 2016 Virgin Media has hit back at news of a £440m broadband boost to the remote parts of Britain. The government announced today more money would be ploughed back into the country's telecoms infrastructure as a result of better than expected demand for superfast broadband in the hard to reach areas. The money is a rebate from [...]
“Generational home ownership gap” exposed: Proportion of 25-year-olds on housing ladder halves in 20 years December 22, 2016 Home ownership among 25-year-olds has fallen by more than half in the last two decades, new research shows. Twenty years ago, some 46 per cent of all 25-year-olds owned their home, according to the Local Government Association (LGA). Today, this proportion has fallen to 20 per cent. Read more: Sadiq Khan launches inquiry into foreign [...]
Uber halts San Francisco self-driving cars test after state regulator crackdown December 22, 2016 Ride-sharing group Uber has removed its self-driving cars from the streets of San Francisco, after California regulators revoked the registration of its vehicles. The state's department of motor vehicles said yesterday the 16 autonomous cars had not been properly permitted. Uber's programme had only been running for a week, during which time the department demanded it shut down [...]
Tower Bridge will reopen today – ahead of schedule December 22, 2016 Tower Bridge is to reopen at noon today, after a three-month closure to traffic for maintenance work. The City of London Corporation originally planned to reopen the iconic bridge on New Year's Eve, but said that "due to favourable weather conditions and well organised planning, management, and project execution, the extensive refurbishment works were able [...]
Legal & General appoints EY senior partner Jeff Davies as new chief financial officer December 22, 2016 Insurance giant Legal & General (L&G) has appointed EY senior partner Jeff Davies as group chief financial officer. Davies will take up the role after the firm's 2016 preliminary results announcement next spring and current finance boss Mark Gregory will step down at the same time. Gregory will remain an employee of the company until [...]
British car manufacturing speeds ahead to highest level since 1999 December 22, 2016 The number of cars manufactured in Britain accelerated to its highest level this century in November, according to data from official body the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT). Car production zoomed ahead by 12.8 per cent to 169,247 last month, in the highest output since 1999. In the first 11 months of this year 1.6m [...]