Mayoral Election: Tory hopeful vows to extend Khan’s free school meals pledge June 18, 2023 Conservative mayoral candidate hopeful Susan Hall has pledged to extend the free school meals programme beyond 2024. The assembly member and former City Hall Tory leader said she would continue the scheme past the date it is set to expire under Sadiq Khan. She said: “While the cost of living situation remains difficult for so [...]
CBI: New boss Rain Newton-Smith refuses to budge on membership figures before exodus June 13, 2023 The Confederation of British Industry (CBI) is still insisting on keeping its prior membership figures under wraps in the wake of a scandal which saw it face a fight for its very future. CBI director-general Rain Newton-Smith refused to disclose the number of members her organisation had boasted prior to a sexual harassment crisis which [...]
AI can help capital tackle climate threat, Sadiq Khan says June 12, 2023 Artificial intelligence (AI) can be deployed to help London tackle the threat from climate change, Sadiq Khan has said. The mayor of London has launched a review exploring how data and technology can help the capital thrive in a changing environment. At the opening of London Tech Week on Monday, Khan outlined how blistering heatwaves [...]
London bias ‘baked into’ system as MPs warn UK can no longer ‘fly blind’ on attracting foreign investment June 9, 2023 The Government is not doing enough to encourage foreign investment into areas of the UK outside London and the South East, MPs have warned. An economic bias remains “baked into” the system, leaving barriers to the levelling up agenda, the Commons Public Accounts Committee said. The group has told the newly formed Department for Business [...]
CBI: Rishi Sunak refuses to say business body will be back in the room June 7, 2023 The Confederation of British Industry survived a confidence vote on its future yesterday, after members voted in favour of the scandal-hit lobbying organisation’s transformation plan. However, overnight the Prime Minister Rishi Sunak suggested that may not be enough for the body to be invited back into key meetings on business policy with the government. Matters [...]
Exclusive: Tao Group to open its first UK venture at new Marylebone hotel June 6, 2023 Hakkasan owner Tao Group Hospitality will launch its first new UK restaurant at the new The BoTree hotel in Marylebone, which is set to open its doors this summer. The hospitality offering will include flagship restaurant Lavo, which will serve “coastal Italian fare” as well as a more casual dining option and bars. New York-based [...]
BP and Heathrow join new BCC business council pitched as CBI rival June 5, 2023 Top global firms have led the charge to support a new rival to the under-fire CBI lobbying organisation. Energy giant BP, power firm Drax, Heathrow Airport and international hoteliers IHG have become founding members of the British Chambers of Commerce (BCC) business council. The organisation is set to take on the Confederation of British Industry [...]
London seals European finance investment crown every year since Brexit June 5, 2023 London is beating away the dire warnings that Brexit would knock it off its perch as Europe’s top finance hive and is even drawing in more investors amid high inflation and interest rates, a new report out today unveils. Foreign investors pumped cash into 46 financial services projects in the capital last year, up from [...]
Blacklock founder Gordon Ker on the rise of Canary Wharf May 31, 2023 I’ve wanted to open a restaurant in Canary Wharf for a while. I love the rich history of the nearby Docklands and Billingsgate Market, the diverse demographic of office goers and local residents that live and work there. But going from an old basement brothel in Soho or a furniture factory in Shoreditch to a [...]
Non-alcoholic beer maker Big Drop signs licensing deal with In Good Company May 25, 2023 Leading non-alcoholic beer maker Big Drop has secured a licensing agreement with Bermondsey-based brewer In Good Company in a bid to expand its business across the UK, US, and Australia.