Punching power: F45 is innovating gyms using technology September 16, 2019 Fitness is a cut-throat business. Competition is intense: there are over 7,000 gyms in the UK, and the market is worth about £5bn. Around one in seven people are paying some form of gym fee. Unsurprisingly, new fitness brands are popping up all the time to capitalise on the health and wellbeing trend. To stand [...]
Peering through the Brexit haze: What we know so far September 16, 2019 One of my favourite intellectual exercises that we use in my political risk firm is what we call “seeing through the fog”. When a long-standing geopolitical topic seems to resemble nothing so much as King Minos’ labyrinth, senior staff and I repair to a good wine bar and spend an afternoon not talking about all [...]
Ignore the doom-and-gloom headlines – people keep getting happier September 16, 2019 The news gives us plenty to worry about these days. From trade wars to political polarisation, the world seems full of risks. It is therefore perhaps surprising that – as far as we can tell – people are getting happier. The Office for National Statistics (ONS) surveys 150,000 people in the UK every year, and [...]
DEBATE: Are business transformation programmes a waste of time and effort? September 16, 2019 Are business transformation programmes a waste of time and effort? Scott McArthur, a performance and transformation coach, says YES. Alarm bells should go off in a leader’s mind whenever anyone claims to offer a silver bullet for improving employee behaviour and transforming a firm. The best any business can achieve is “promising practice”. Each organisation [...]
The City is looking to India for future partners September 16, 2019 As people back home enjoy what we hope is an Indian summer, I am heading to the subcontinent this week for a five-day visit to Delhi, Hyderabad and Mumbai – just as monsoon season draws to a close. The political weather in the UK may be stormy, but when the dust settles, one thing is [...]
UK house prices see first September fall for nine years September 16, 2019 UK house prices have witnessed their first September fall since 2010, according to a closely-watched gauge, as Brexit uncertainty continues to dampen sales. The average price of property coming to market fell by 0.2 per cent in September, the house price index from real estate website Rightmove showed. “As we approach yet another Brexit deadline, [...]
UK financial sector optimism falls as bosses brace for economic slowdown September 16, 2019 The majority of top executives at UK financial institutions are less optimistic about the country’s economic outlook than they were a year ago. Almost 60 per cent of organisations said they expected UK economic growth to slow in the next 12 months, roughly twice as many as held that view last year, according to a [...]
Restaurant insolvencies jump by a fifth as casual dining sector squeeze continues September 16, 2019 The number of restaurants collapsing into insolvency has risen by 20 per cent in the last year amid tough competition on the UK high street. Roughly 1,410 restaurants went insolvent in the year to the end of June, up by a fifth on the previous 12 months, according to figures compiled by accountancy firm UHY [...]
Outsourcing failures have ‘undermined public trust’ in policy September 15, 2019 The government’s repeated failure to outsource public services effectively has “caused harm and waste,” stoking calls from Labour to nationalise them, according to research. In a stinging rebuke of outsourcing failures over recent years, the Institute for Government (IfG) said this evening the policy has, at times, “let down” the people most in need in [...]
John McDonnell pledges crackdown on City ‘enablers’ of tax avoidance September 15, 2019 Shadow chancellor John McDonnell has vowed to clamp down on City advisers engaged in promoting tax avoidance schemes, calling for hefty fines and even jail terms under a future Labour government. McDonnell directed his fire at “big accountancy firms” which he called “enablers” of tax avoidance, the term used to describe legal efforts to minimise [...]