Don’t let London become a Donut: Crowded on the outside, empty in the middle October 2, 2020 As a Londoner born and bred, I am acutely sensitive to the ebb and flow of people travelling in and out of London on a daily basis — the human tide of our capital. Despite various pleas and edicts, right now the centre of London is pretty much empty. The tide went out abruptly at [...]
Why Klarna — not Revolut or Monzo — represents the winning fintech strategy in a pandemic October 2, 2020 Last month, a new funding round gave buy-now-pay-later (BNPL) fintech Klarna a headline valuation of $10.65bn. At a stroke, Klarna became the most valuable fintech in Europe – more than double the value of Revolut and almost 10 times more than Monzo. Why, in the middle of a pandemic, has Klarna inspired such investor confidence? [...]
The hotel industry needs to reinvent itself – and fast October 2, 2020 In the 1800s, several new hotels emerged that reimagined the standards for luxury accommodation. Over the course of the next two centuries, grand hotels withstood the Great Depression, two world wars, and countless market disruptors — always finding a way to reset their role in society. The global hotel industry has been through hard times [...]
Quarantine: Turkey and Poland added to self-isolation list October 1, 2020 More countries have been added to the UK's quarantine list. Passengers aarriving from Turkey and Poland will have to self-isolate from Saturday
London prepares for further lockdown restrictions as coronavirus cases escalate October 1, 2020 London is bracing for further restrictions on socialising as more borough see a rise in coronavirus cases
MPs in London’s worst-affected boroughs urge government to implement further lockdown measures October 1, 2020 MPs in London boroughs worst-affected from coronavirus have accused the government of “keeping MPs in the dark”, and called on ministers to introduce further lockdown measures as the rate of infections continues to rise across the capital. Just six of London’s 32 boroughs currently have infection rates below the threshold of 20 cases per 100,000 [...]
H&M to close 250 stores as pandemic accelerates shift online October 1, 2020 H&M has announced plans to close around 250 stores globally next year, as the Swedish retailer looks to bolster its online presence following a slump in bricks-and-mortar sales during the pandemic. The announcement comes on top of the 50 H&M stores already permanently shuttered this year, and will likely add to the “tens of thousands” [...]
Coronavirus: Rate of infections falling, largest study in England suggests October 1, 2020 The rate of Covid-19 infections may be falling, preliminary results from the largest coronavirus study in England have suggested, despite the UK’s top scientists yesterday warning that “we don’t have this under control at the moment“. A new study by Imperial College London and Ipsos Mori showed the R rate across the country has fallen from [...]
Why the government must give more support to London’s hospitality sector October 1, 2020 Hospitality and tourism have felt the force of Covid-19 like no other sector. Green shoots started to emerge during the summer months, as Eat Out to Help Out, a staycation boom and the warm weather put much-needed cash in the registers of hotels and restaurants across the UK. While London remained quiet, there was some [...]
Covid-19 has exposed the faults within the broken NHS system October 1, 2020 The NHS Confederation this week raised concerns about the health service’s ability to cope with a second wave and a vast backlog of treatments over the course of the winter, strengthening an already-watertight case for system-level reform of the UK’s healthcare system. Over the course of this crisis, the NHS’s status has reached a new [...]