Northern Ireland: Ministers condemn ‘deplorable’ violence in Belfast April 8, 2021 Northern Ireland’s devolved government has condemned the “deplorable” acts of violence and rioting from militant unionists over the past six nights in Belfast and beyond. Ministers said in a statement that they are “gravely concerned by the scenes we have all witnessed on our streets, including those at the Lanark Way interface [in Belfast] last [...]
In-person conferences to return to the capital with fintech event April 8, 2021 In-person conferences are set to return in July with Fintech Week London, as lockdown restrictions ease after a socially starved year. “Virtual conferences have served us well during the pandemic, but there’s nothing like being around fellow professionals and immersing yourself in face-to-face conversations,” CEO of Fintech Week London, Raf De Kimpe, said. “The Covid-19 [...]
Venture capital trusts fundraised £685m last year in bid to support small businesses April 8, 2021 Venture capital trusts (VCTs) managed to bolster fundraising by 11 per cent last year, raising £685m in funds for small businesses. The fundraising, only six per cent below pre-pandemic levels, is set to give some companies some breathing room after a fiscally tough year. “It’s really positive that during the pandemic 11 per cent more [...]
Debenhams to reopen stores for final sale ahead of move to online April 8, 2021 Debenhams is set to reopen its stores next week to complete its final closing down sale, as the store moves online. The sale, on 12 April, forms part of the high street retailer’s final stock liquidation process and will continue until the stock is fully cleared. “This is the last chance for customers in England [...]
Brexit: EU online deliveries to UK have halved April 8, 2021 Online deliveries to the UK from Europe have plunged 50.7 per cent in the first quarter of 2021, according to e-commerce shipping platform Sendcloud. New shipping requirements and extra VAT costs have drastically cut EU to UK shipments compared to the final quarter of last year. The new data has stressed the delivery issues online [...]
Boris Johnson and Sadiq Khan – the best of enemies April 7, 2021 Boris Johnson and Sadiq Khan are never happier than when they are publicly flogging each other. The mayor of London and his Tory predecessor have gotten into countless scraps over the past year, this week’s row over Transport for London’s (TfL) funding situation is just the latest. Johnson’s claims that he left TfL’s finances in [...]
Singled out: This year’s billionaire Brits April 7, 2021 Forbes released its highly anticipated billionaire list yesterday morning which has left regular folks pinching purse strings in hopes to add another zero to their bank accounts. The UK’s home-grown billionaires did not make it into the lucrative top 10, which was dominated by tech big dogs: Amazon’s founder Jeff Bezos, Tesla and SpaceX’s Elon [...]
City Moves: Who’s switching jobs in the Square Mile this week? April 7, 2021 Snakes and Ladders provides a roundup of the most important hires and job moves across the City, every Wednesday afternoon. Email citymoves@cityam.com to be featured. Tharsus adds former CEO of Dyson to its board Robotics company Tharsus has appointed former Dyson CEO to its board as a non-executive director this week. Martin McCourt, whose career spans four decades, [...]
Mayor of London election: Shaun Bailey pledges to reverse Khan’s 9.5 per cent council tax rise April 7, 2021 Tory mayoral candidate Shaun Bailey has today pledged to reverse Sadiq Khan’s recent 9.5 council tax hike if victorious in the 6 May mayoral election. Bailey today said he would also reverse plans to extend London’s Ultra Low Emissions Zone (Ulez) and cut the capital’s congestion charge for motorists from £15 to £11.50. It comes [...]
Barclays condemns climate activists’ protest following smashed windows in Canary Wharf April 7, 2021 Barclays has responded to the protests outside their London headquarters this morning, urging Extinction Rebellion to halt any “criminal damage to our facilities and [putting] people’s safety at risk.” Climate change protestors broke windows at the London headquarters of Barclays in Canary Wharf earlier earlier this morning. The activists from the Extinction Rebellion group reportedly [...]