Gove planning shake-up: ‘We need housing today, not tomorrow’ July 24, 2023 Michael Gove will loosen planning laws to allow vacant shops to be converted into homes as part of his latest efforts to tackle the UK’s housing crisis. On Monday the minister for housing and levelling up revealed a slew of planning reforms as well as a further commitment to building over 1m new homes across [...]
London office investment slumps to 14-year low July 24, 2023 London office investment slumped to a 14-year low in the second quarter of the year, new data shows, as high interest rates stifled momentum built up in the early months of the year. Some £1.2bn was spent on London offices last quarter, a 59 per cent drop on the £2.9bn spent in the previous quarter [...]
Barbenheimer lights up cinemas but strikes cast shadow on industry’s future July 24, 2023 Barbie and Oppenheimer, the pop culture power movie duo nicknamed Barbenheimer, had a triumphant opening weekend, reviving cinemas to their pre-pandemic glory – if only for a fleeting weekend. Vue cinemas witnessed their biggest weekend since 2019, raking in nearly £30m at the UK box office according to the UK Cinema Association, as over 500,000 [...]
Ryanair chief O’Leary slams EU inaction over French air traffic control strikes July 24, 2023 Ryanair boss Michael O’Leary has hit out at the European Commission this morning over its handling of strike action by staff at French air traffic control, describing it as a “shambles.” Following Ryanair’s first quarter results, O’Leary told analysts on a conference call that the continuing failure of the commission to take action to address [...]
Bitcoin picks up where it left off with eyes on $30,000 July 24, 2023 Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies continue to idle as investors wait for significant signals for their next move
Elon Musk bids adieu to the Twitter bird as social media giant rebrands to ‘X’ July 24, 2023 Twitter owner Elon Musk revealed the social media giant will bid farewell to its famous blue bird, as a new “X” logo was unveiled this week, in a bid to transform it into an “everything app”. The billionaire Tesla boss announced the revamp, tweeting his desire to “bid adieu” to the Twitter brand and, gradually, [...]
Matalan: Rainy weather and shift back to stores leads to revenue slump July 24, 2023 Matalan reported a challenging first quarter as poor summer weather impacted sales against the backdrop of cost of living pressures and a shift away from digital. The bargain homeware and clothing retailer said revenues in the thirteen weeks to 27th of May declined eight per cent to £263m. However, in the five weeks to the [...]
Boeing delays don’t take shine off Ryanair’s post-pandemic takeoff July 24, 2023 Ryanair saw its first quarter profits fly past pre-pandemic levels to €663m (£572m) in the three months up to the end of June as it cashed in on soaring demand and rising ticket fares. The budget carrier is currently operating its largest ever summer schedule and said passenger traffic rose 11 per cent to 50.4 [...]
Inland Homes welcomes second CEO in under 12 months July 24, 2023 Inland Homes has revealed its new chief executive alongside plans for a £4m acquisition of rival North Country Homes. The London-listed real estate development firm has appointed Jolyon Harrison as head of the company. This is the company’s third CEO in a short period of time, as former chief Stephen Wicks stepped down last September [...]
The Notebook: Neil Clifford on dyslexia, profit with purpose and the greatest American asset July 24, 2023 Where interesting people say interesting things. Today, it’s Neil Clifford, chief executive of London luxury brand Kurt Geiger Profit with purpose is keeping us on the right track I left school in 1983 with a single qualification to my name: an O-level in art. I was dyslexic, but I didn’t find that out until years [...]