EU leaders don’t believe UK will walk away from trade talks, according to the UK’s former ambassador to Europe February 1, 2017 Senior European leaders do not believe the UK will follow through on Theresa May's claims "no deal is better than a bad deal", according to the UK's former ambassador to the EU. May made the claim as part of her landmark Lancaster House address last month, warning EU leaders against seeking a punitive deal with the [...]
Heineken set to clinch Punch Taverns as rival suitor pulls out February 1, 2017 Heineken is set to win the hand of Punch Taverns after a rival suitor decided today not to pursue its bid. The deadline for offers is this Friday but it is understood that Emerald, backed by entrepreneur Alan McIntosh, has stood down giving Heineken a clear path to a takeover of Punch, subject to any [...]
Mayor’s concessions to the unions over Tube strikes will cost £17m a year, say GLA Conservatives February 1, 2017 Efforts to avoid a repeat of this month's hugely disruptive Tube strike will come at a hefty cost, GLA Conservatives have warned. London Underground (LU) bosses have been in fresh talks with the RMT union to try and avoid more walkouts starting at the end of this week. As part of its proposals made to both the RMT [...]
Legendary Morrisons chairman Sir Ken Morrison has died February 1, 2017 Sir Ken Morrison, who made his father's Morrisons grocery chain into a supermarket giant, has died, the Press Association reported this morning. He passed away aged 85 after a short illness, his family said. Morrison took over his father's Bradford egg and butter stall, turning it into one of the UK's big four supermarkets within [...]
Downing Street will publish its Brexit white paper tomorrow February 1, 2017 Prime Minister Theresa May has confirmed that Downing Street will publish a white paper on Brexit planning tomorrow. Speaking from the despatch box at Prime Minister's Questions, May confirmed the arrival of the paper in response to a question from Tory backbencher Maria Miller. It means that MPs will be able to scrutinise the government's Brexit plan [...]
How will the rail fare shake-up affect you? February 1, 2017 By now you’ve probably heard the Rail Delivery Group, which represents train operators, is switching up the fare system for passengers in a trial. RDG has acknowledged the current setup is “baffling” for passengers and has said it wants to make sure people are offered the cheapest possible fares. So you’re probably wondering how it’ll [...]
BT Openreach separation plans to “rebuild trust and credibility” aren’t enough for Ofcom February 1, 2017 BT plans to make Openreach more independent by bolstering its board were today rebuffed by regulators as falling short of their requirements. Openreach held its first board full meeting yesterday and today announced the appointment of Sir Brendan Barber, the former general secretary of the Trade Union Congress, Edward Astle, a former board member of the National Grid, as independent [...]
Wizz Air slashes profit forecast as low prices and bad weather take their toll February 1, 2017 Wizz Air has cut its profit forecast for the full year due to falling prices and the impact of particularly bad weather. The figures The largest budget airline in Central and Eastern Europe carried 20.1 per cent more passengers than last year – pushing the total for the three months to the end of December up [...]
UK’s producers are quick off the blocks as Eurozone sees five-year high in manufacturing activity February 1, 2017 UK manufacturers have shrugged off big input price increases to start 2017 in fine form, while activity in the Eurozone has reached its highest point since a debt crisis almost brought the continent’s economy to its knees, according to closely watched indicators. Growth in the sector’s output reached its highest point since May 2014 as [...]
Interest in commercial property from abroad has nosedived since the Brexit vote February 1, 2017 The number of foreign companies looking for commercial property in the UK has fallen 40 per cent since the EU referendum, new research has suggested. Commercial real estate portal Property.Works said while foreign firms accounted for 11.3 per cent of all its searches in the first five months of 2016, that dropped to 6.7 per cent [...]