Heatwave: London fire chief calls for urgent barbecue ban as blazes rage in record heat July 19, 2022 An urgent and immediate ban on disposable barbecues has been called for by the London Fire Brigade as multiple blazes rage across the country. The emergency service said it had attended more than 1,000 grass and open land fires since the start of June, as the UK recorded its hottest ever temperature today. The Brigade’s [...]
Heatwave: Firefighters tackling two blazes in south London July 19, 2022 Parts of south London were engulfed with flames on the hottest day ever recorded, with firefighters tackling two blazes simultaneously. Emergency services attended to two grass fires in Croydon as the heatwave continues. Four fire engines and 25 staff responded to the emergency in the woodlands on Oaks Road in Croydon just after midday. Another [...]
Photo-Me posts ‘extremely strong’ results as Covid restrictions ease July 19, 2022 Photobooth operators Photo-Me today vowed to pay its shareholders almost £25m in the form of a special dividend after posting “extremely strong” results for the first half of 2022. The Epsom headquartered firm, that sells a range of photobooths and vending machines, said its balance sheet was bolstered by the reopening of the global economy, [...]
Heatwave: Brits shun high street as businesses close to protect staff from scorching temperatures July 18, 2022 Brits have shunned the high street today as temperatures are expected to hit 40 degrees on Monday, while some businesses in London have closed. Office workers have shunned their workplace air-con and opted to avoid sweltering public transport, Springboard’s footfall figures reveal. Springboard’s ‘back to the office’ benchmark for central London office hubs shows that [...]
London’s Royal Albert Docks: PwC liquidators brought in after Chinese firm severed from development deal July 14, 2022 Administrators have been called in to liquidate firms involved in a major regeneration project at the Royal Albert Docks. PwC appointed three joint liquidators for 23 firms within the east London site, after the China-based ABP Group failed to pay creditors over the last two years. Mayor Sadiq Khan tore up an agreement with ABP, [...]
Thick black smoke seen over central London as 125 firefighters tackle blazing fire at Trafalgar Square pub July 12, 2022 Firefighters have been tackling a blaze in the basement of a pub near Trafalgar Square in London on Tuesday evening, with thick black smoke seen stretching over the centre of the capital. The London Fire Brigade confirmed on social media that 20 fire engines and around 125 firefighters are still dealing with the blaze. Around [...]
City watchdog tells banks to treat small businesses ‘fairly’ during cost-of-living crunch July 12, 2022 The UK’s financial watchdog has told Britain’s top banks to improve their treatment of struggling small business owners when collecting and recovering debts. The UK’s Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) said Britain’s banks should take action to ensure fair treatment of small and medium enterprise (SME) customers, after the watchdog uncovered repeated instances of failures during [...]
Big banks axe dealmaker jobs as revenues tumble July 12, 2022 Major investment banks have started cutting dealmaker jobs after last year’s hiring binge as revenues fall. 12 big banks have slashed their investment banker roles in the second quarter of 2022, according to research from data provider Coalition Greenwich, as reported by Financial News London. These include Bank of America, Barclays, BNP Paribas, Citigroup, Credit [...]
London businesses crimped by cost of living spending slowdown July 12, 2022 London’s businesses are being crimped by Brits cutting spending in response to the cost of living squeeze, reveals a survey released today. Some one in four of the capital’s firms have suffered income hits over the last three months, up from a fifth in the first quarter of this year, according to the London Chamber [...]
Sanctions bite: London-listed Russian mining firm Petropavlovsk to suspend trading and file for administration July 12, 2022 London-listed Russian gold mining firm Petropavlovsk will cease trading and file for administration after revealing it was unable to repay a $201m (£169.3m) loan to a sanctioned bank. Sanctions against Kremlin-linked firms continued to bite this week, with the Petropavlovsk in debt to Gazprombank, that has been targeted over the war in Ukraine. The bank [...]