Covid cash lost to fraud down by third because we’re ‘going after everybody’, Sunak claims May 3, 2023 Government cash lost to fraud and error via Covid-19 business and jobs support schemes has been reduced by a third thanks to “hundreds of criminal investigations”, Rishi Sunak has claimed. The prime minister defended the pandemic business loans and job support and vowed his government was “going after everybody” in a bid to reclaim the [...]
TRG: Analysts bump up share price target after strong growth May 2, 2023 Shares in Wagamama owner, The Restaurant Group (TRG), soared over 13 per cent this morning as it reported strong growth for the year so far, defying previous concerns from investors. TRG told the market that Wagamama sales were up nine per cent in the first leg of the year and performance in its pubs and [...]
FA Cup Final hit with fresh rail strike as Manchester fans face disruption getting to London April 27, 2023 The FA Cup Final and Eurovision Song Contest will be disrupted as ASLEF train drivers’ union today announced a series of 24-hour strikes. The 24-hour strikes will take place on Friday 12 May, Wednesday 31 May, and Saturday 3 June, which coincide with FA cup final between Manchester United and City, the last of the [...]
Covid loan fraud: More than 450 company directors disqualified in crackdown April 18, 2023 More than 450 company directors have been disqualified in a crackdown on covid fraud claims. The Insolvency Service announced that 459 of the 932 disqualifications overall for fraud were related to the coronavirus financial support scheme, introduced during the pandemic to help businesses in lockdown. This comes after the organisation published its monthly figures for [...]
Who has been hit hardest by £21bn of pandemic fraud, and will the taxpayer EVER get it back? March 30, 2023 The UK Government has lost £21bn worth of taxpayers money due to fraud since the start of the pandemic, that is “very unlikely” to be unrecovered, according to the National Audit Office (NAO). The NAO said that many public bodies are unaware of the amount of fraud they face, as it revealed that levels of [...]
Tui: Share price crashes 9.4 per cent over travel giant’s plan to raise £1.6bn for Covid loan repayment March 24, 2023 Shares in Tui today plummeted by more than 9.4 per cent after the travel company announced plans to raise €1.8bn (£1.6bn) to repay loans given to it by the German government during Covid-19. Tui, the world’s largest travel company, today set out plans to sell 328,910,448 new shares, at a 29.85 per cent discount of [...]
Defiant Boris Johnson insists ‘I did not lie’ and claimed boozy leaving do was ‘essential’ March 22, 2023 A defiant Boris Johnson insisted he “did not lie to the House” and claimed a boozy leaving do was “essential for work” in a fiery evidence session set to determine his political future. Johnson underwent a fierce grilling by the cross-party privileges committee, as MPs aimed to decide if he misled – intentionally or recklessly [...]
Allies fear Boris Johnson walking into a partygate ‘witch hunt’ – with a comeback at risk March 19, 2023 Former prime minister Boris Johnson could face a “witch hunt” before MPs at a grilling over his involvement in the lockdown-busting partygate scandal, a key ally has warned. Lord Greenhalgh, who was a deputy mayor during Johnson’s tenure at City Hall, said he was “concerned it will be a witch hunt” and hoped he would [...]
American candy stores or retail hub? What might be next for Oxford Street March 19, 2023 It has been three years since the UK was plunged into its first-ever full scale lockdown – forcing the majority of stores in London’s West End to temporarily cease trading and arguably altering the state of physical retail forever. The pandemic forced once seemingly indestructible retailers such as Debenhams, Topshop, and Gap off Oxford Street, [...]
Why AI tools, like GPT, are now at the frontline of the City’s talent war? March 19, 2023 Major advancements in artificial intelligence (AI) technology are rapidly transforming the ways that law firms and accounting firms work. The world’s top professional services firms are now increasingly starting to use increasingly sophisticated AI tech in their everyday work. However, increased use of AI technology is not just the inevitable result of technological innovation, but [...]