DEBATE: Even Goldman Sachs is relaxing its dress code – will City culture benefit from this trend? March 11, 2019 Even Goldman Sachs is relaxing its dress code – will City culture benefit from this trend? Beatrice Timpson, a political communications consultant, says YES. The days of the lounge suit are numbered. Its demise is not so much desirable as inevitable. Just as the French Revolution killed off foot-high wigs and knee breeches and the First [...]
The UK’s competition policy must be fit for a world of tech giants and hidden cartels March 11, 2019 Competition is the oxygen of the capitalist system. From Adam Smith on, there have been warnings of the threats to economic health if competition is restricted by would-be monopolists or cartels. In the UK, the system is policed by the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA). It rarely hits the headlines except for occasional controversial cases like [...]
If London is to continue to thrive, MPs must take a no-deal Brexit off the table March 11, 2019 There is no denying that trying to sell London to international investors this week of all weeks presents a challenge. Inevitably, uncertainty caused by Brexit has made some businesses more hesitant to commit further to operations in London than they would have been otherwise. Looking beyond the imminent drama in Westminster, however, I have reason [...]
Sadiq Khan and local councils gear up for Heathrow third runway legal challenge March 11, 2019 A legal challenge against Heathrow's bid to build the third runway launches today in the High Court. The mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, five local councils and Greenpeace are taking the government to court over objections to the Department for Transport's (DfT) airport national policy statement, (NPS) the legislation that makes the case for Heathrow [...]
UK hiring intentions decline for second month in a row as Brexit looms March 11, 2019 UK firms intend to hire fewer people for the second month in a row in a sign of Brexit uncertainty weighing on the jobs market, a new study has said. British companies said they were looking to take on fewer new employees in the six months from February than they were from January, according to the [...]
London’s Here East partners with Texan co-working space March 11, 2019 Here East, home to start-ups and businesses in London’s Olympic Park, and its tenant Plexal, a co-working space, have announced a new partnership with a Texan company to promote transatlantic links. The two London companies today unveiled an agreement with co-working space Capital Factory in Austin, Texas. It will enable startups at Here East and Plexal to use Capital Factory [...]
Unlimited Group snaps up consultancy Model Citizens March 11, 2019 Digital marketing giant Unlimited Group has snapped up consultancy Model Citizens as it looks to boost its data analytics offering. The acquisition, believed to be worth several million pounds over the next four years, is Unlimited’s second takeover in the last year and marks its focus on data-driven marketing communications. Model Citizens, which was launched [...]
Dublin already the big Brexit winner as financial services firms move business out of London March 11, 2019 DUBLIN looks set to be the big winner from Brexit as financial services firms move business away from London and “chip away” at the City’s influence. A study by think tank New Financial found that 269 banking and finance companies have already moved at least part of their business away from London ahead of Britain’s [...]
Business software M&A hits five-year high March 11, 2019 Business software merger and acquisition value hit a five-year high in 2018 driven by the rapid growth of technology firms. New research shows that enterprise software M&A was $182.2bn last year, and that a total of 629 deals were completed in the second half, up 35 per cent from a low of 465 deals in the [...]
Most UK exporters unprepared for EU’s no-deal trade requirements March 11, 2019 Over half of British exporters have said they would not be able to comply with four key EU customs requirements in the event of a no-deal Brexit, according to a new survey. Should the UK crash out of the EU without a deal, firms would struggle with the technology and bureaucracy required to continue trading [...]