StanChart chairman ‘sounds out’ banking executives to replace boss Bill Winters March 3, 2020 Standard Chartered chairman Jose Vinals has reportedly approached banking executives this year in a bif to gauge their interest in replacing current chief executive Bill Winters. Vinals has been sounding out possible candidates from companies in Britain, southeast Asia, and Europe, according to Bloomberg, in a search that is not currently part of any formal [...]
RMT suspends next week’s South Western Railway strike action March 3, 2020 Rail workers union RMT has suspended strike action on South Western Railway that was due for next week to allow talks to take place this Friday. The action was due to take place between for 24 hours on 9 March from 10am and the same period on 12 March. Guards and drivers on the service [...]
Lidl crowned UK’s fastest growing supermarket March 3, 2020 Lidl was the fastest growing supermarket in the UK over the last 12 weeks, taking the crown from online grocer Ocado. The German discounter increased sales by 11.4 per cent in the 12 weeks to 24 February, becoming Britain’s fastest growing grocer for the first time since November 2017, as it opened its 800th store [...]
Competition watchdog risks ‘killing’ British tech firms, startups warn March 3, 2020 The UK competition watchdog risks “killing” rising British tech companies by launching lengthy investigations while global rivals are free to pull ahead, startups have warned. In a letter to chancellor Rishi Sunak, seen by City A.M., industry body the Coalition for a Digital Economy (Coadec) said the Competition and Markets Authority’s (CMA) “eleventh-hour interventions” risked [...]
Chris Packham to challenge HS2 decision on climate change grounds March 3, 2020 Renowned broadcaster and naturalist Chris Packham has launched a legal challenge against Boris Johnson’s decision to green light the controversial HS2 rail project on climate grounds. According to Packham, the climate impact of HS2 is “incompatible” with the UK’s net zero target, and will damage or destroy almost 700 wildlife sites, including over 100 ancient [...]
TfL rolls out new trains on the London Overground March 3, 2020 A raft of new trains will be rolled out on the London Overground from today. Transport for London (TfL) announced today that the new electric trains will increase capacity by 10 per cent and replace the oldest rolling stock on the network. The new trains are on overground routes from Cheshunt, Chingford and Enfield Town [...]
By 2025, Greggs will look beyond vegan sausage rolls for growth March 3, 2020 Greggs will consider international expansion in the next five years to continue the strong growth it has achieved in the UK, the bakery chain said today as it reported record results for last year. Chief executive Roger Whiteside said the company had not started looking at options but it has acknowledged that global expansion may [...]
Murdoch’s News UK and Bauer launch digital ad platform Octave Audio March 3, 2020 Commercial radio groups Bauer and Wireless have teamed up to launch a new digital audio advertising platform in a bid to take on rival Global. Octave Audio will allow advertisers to target digital listeners across the two companies’ stations, as well as on-demand catch-up shows. Bauer owns brands including Kiss, Absolute and Magic, while Wireless, [...]
Airline bosses say worst is yet to come as more flights cancelled on coronavirus fears March 3, 2020 Airline bosses have warned that the worst is yet to come for the industry after coronavirus fears saw passenger demand slump, with carriers cutting flights to locations round the world. Speaking at an industry conference in Brussels, outgoing IAG boss Willie Walsh said that there had been “a very significant fall-off in demand” in Italian [...]
MPs to grill BBC executives amid questions over broadcaster’s future March 3, 2020 Top BBC executives are set to be hauled in front of MPs to face a grilling over their plans for the future as the broadcaster attempts to stave off a string of crises. Outgoing director general Lord Tony Hall and chairman Sir David Clementi will both give evidence to the Digital, Culture, Media and Sport [...]