UK may be edging into a third wave, according to scientist advisor May 31, 2021 The UK may be in the early stages of a third wave of Covid-19 infections, according to a scientist advising the government. Professor Ravi Gupta has said that although new cases were “relatively low”, the Indian variant had caused “exponential growth” in infections. The University of Cambridge professor added that lifting Covid restrictions in England [...]
Business and professional services boosts UK economic output in May May 30, 2021 The City of London’s dominant business and professional services industry put rockets under the UK’s private sector business activity in the three months to May, according to the latest CBI monthly gorwth survey. Business and professional services activity grew at a survey record pace, gorwing at a rate of 50 per cent, up from a [...]
TfL funding package expires as talks continue on short-term rescue deal May 29, 2021 The emergency funding support programme agreed between Transport for London and the Department for Transport has come to an end, with discussions continuing on an extension. TfL were forced to go cap-in-hand to central government after passenger numbers collapsed at the start of Covid-19. A funding deal was struck in November 2020 to finish in [...]
Around 500 farmers with UK visas are trapped in Belarus after the flight ban May 28, 2021 Around 500 farmers from Belarus, who were recruited under a government visa scheme, have been left trapped in Belarus after the UK banned flights from the country this week. Trying to help the UK with its summer harvest, farmworkers have been trying to find indirect flights from neighbouring countries to get to the UK, after [...]
Franco Manco owner Fulham Shore sees post-restrictions revenues soar 103 per cent May 28, 2021 The company behind Franco Manca saw its group revenues soar 103 per cent in its first full week of dining with minimal restrictions, it said in a statement today. While loyalty scheme user numbers have doubled since the beginning of the first lockdown, to over 220,000 – the Fulham Shore group, which also owns The [...]
Small ‘dirty cash’ fortune of £5.1m found in Fulham flat – stashed under beds May 28, 2021 A small fortune of £5.1m in “dirty cash” was found in a Fulham flat – stashed under beds, in cupboards and strewn on the floor, police have said today. Three money launderers are facing prison following the Met police’s largest single cash seizure last summer. Police said it was left across the flat because the gang [...]
Exclusive: Meet the former UBS and JPMorgan heavyweights shaking up private banking May 28, 2021 As the economy is slowly switching into recovery gear, activity in the City and beyond is starting to pick up again. That is also the case for Vestrata, a relatively new fintech player that is taking the wealth management and private banking space by storm by bring machine learning and automated risk metrics into the [...]
UK business optimism hits five-year high, so why has London slipped? May 28, 2021 Economic optimsim across the UK has reached its highest level in five year, but for some London businesses the reopening enthusiasm has waned.
Post-Brexit listing: Czech payment giant Eurowag planning £1.4bn IPO in London May 27, 2021 Private equity firm TA Associates is planning to list Czech Republic-based W.A.G. Payment Solutions, better known as Eurowag, on the London Stock Exchange, two sources told Reuters this evening. If the listing goes ahead, it would be seen by many as a reaffirmation of London’s attractiveness to European companies in the aftermath of Brexit. The [...]
Exclusive: City of London Police’s asset forfeitures jump by 3,600 per cent as priority shifts to higher-value fraud May 27, 2021 The City of London Police issued Account Freezing Orders and Account Forfeiture Orders against assets worth £36m last year, compared to less than £1m in 2019, a jump of 3,600 per cent, according to research by law firm RPC, exclusively shared with City A.M. this evening. Account Forfeiture and Account Freezing Orders allow authorities to [...]