Starmer’s defence spending will mean ‘chunky’ tax rises, warns IFS June 2, 2025 Sir Keir Starmer’s plans to boost defence spending will require “chunky” tax rises, according to the chief of the Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS). Paul Johnson told Times Radio: “…if we’re really going to spend another £10-15 billion a year on defence, whilst inevitably we’re going to spend more and more on health and pensions [...]
Tech tycoon Mike Lynch’s ‘unsinkable’ yacht sank due to design flaw, report finds May 15, 2025 A British investigation has found that fatal design flaws left tech entrepreneur Mike Lynch’s £32m super yacht Bayesian dangerously vulnerable to capsizing – contradicting builder claims that the vessel was “unsinkable”. Lynch, often dubbed “Britain’s Bill Gates”, for his role in founding software giant Autonomy, was among seven people who died last August when the [...]
Lord Mayor to pay tribute to Winston Churchill and war heroes in VE Day speech May 8, 2025 The Lord Mayor of London will give a speech at St Paul’s Cathedral to mark the 80th anniversary VE Day, in the City of London’s contribution to commemorations taking place around the UK. Alastair King is set to pay tribute to heroes of the Second World War and to Sir Winston Churchilll on behalf of [...]
In memory of Richard Vines, a sage and a gentleman May 6, 2025 My friend Richard Vines, chief restaurant critic of Bloomberg for 25 years, passed away this week. A champion of both genius chefs and restaurateurs, he was a wonderful man who I admired hugely. Over the last few days, I have been reminded of some magnificent City lunches with Richard; at Kym’s by Andrew Wong, after [...]
Week in Business: The billionaires backing Britain May 1, 2025 BlackRock CEO Larry Fink, Virgin supremo Sir Richard Branson, businessman John Caudwell and JP Morgan top dog Jamie Dimon – quite the quartet – have all made some fascinating interventions this week. Let’s start with BlackRock, the world’s largest investor, running more than $11 trillion on behalf of pension funds, private clients and sovereign wealth [...]
Can a Young Driver training course reduce accidents by 80 per cent? April 29, 2025 On the 18th of June 1996, I passed my driving test. On the 19th of June 1996, I wrote off my Mini City E by parking it in the back of a BMW. For a 17-year-old who aspired to be a motoring journalist, it wasn’t the most auspicious start. To prevent my son from suffering [...]
Bank of England ‘killing’ UK stablecoin ambitions, body warns April 29, 2025 The Bank of England risks “killing” London’s potential to become a global hub for stablecoins with its “prescriptive” rules, an industry body has warned, as it called for the rapid creation of a regulatory regime to support use of the digital assets. London’s dominance of the foreign exchange market, in which it accounts for as [...]
Lidl eyes Mayfair and Chelsea stores amid £500m expansion April 28, 2025 You could soon shop at a Lidl store in the swanky London districts of Mayfair and Chelsea as the low-cost supermarket plans dozens more store openings as part of a £500m expansion plan. The German-owned business, which controls 7.8 per cent of the UK grocery market according to latest Kantar figures, has published a list [...]
Deliveroo to crack down on badly-behaved riders with policy hire April 24, 2025 Deliveroo is ramping up its efforts to crack down on badly-behaved drivers with a new senior hire. The London-based food delivery app has posted a job ad for a “rider policy manager” who will be tasked with creating policies “to address breaches of contract by riders which have a detrimental impact on the customer experience.” [...]
London juice bar chain Crussh enters liquidation April 23, 2025 One of London’s best-known juice bar chains has entered liquidation, City AM can reveal, after the healthy drinks business faltered under squeezed consumer spending and a surge in costs and tax hikes. Wimbledon-based Crussh, which operated stores in Kensington, Soho and the Square Mile, has this week appointed Mayfair-based business recovery firm Voscap to act [...]