Retail and construction insolvencies soar against backdrop of supply chain pressures and war in Ukraine March 15, 2022 Soaring material costs have led to a steep rise in insolvencies in the retail and construction industries of almost 50 per cent. The war in Ukraine and its impact on rising fuel prices, brought concerns over supply chains pressures into sharp focus this week, new research from tax and audit specialists Mazars has shown. During [...]
London is back: Office occupancy reaches pre-pandemic levels March 15, 2022 London office occupancy peaked at 42 per cent on Thursday 10 March, the highest single daily rate in the capital since before the pandemic in 2020. The weekly average prior to the pandemic was 63 per cent. Furthermore, last week was the highest weekly average for the UK and London, with both averaging 31 per [...]
EU demands billions from UK as ‘Made in China’ row widens: Britain accused of flouting Brexit rules March 14, 2022 The European Union is demanding £2.5bn in compensation from Britain for failing to apply customs rules to Chinese imports. The Court of Justice of the European Union has ruled that the UK was “negligent” in applying EU customs and import rules between 2011 and 2017, which has led to lost revenues for the EU. The [...]
Retail and hospitality face growing army of whistleblowers reporting national minimum wage breaches March 14, 2022 The number of whistleblower reports relating to alleged National Minimum Wage breaches in the retail sector saw a 37 per cent jump in the past year, according to new data shared with City A.M. this morning. Figures show that 235 complaints were made in 2020 to 2021, up from 171 in the previous year, 2019 [...]
London a £106bn key driver of surging global online sales in wake of pandemic March 10, 2022 London was at the forefront of soaring global online shopping, with record-breaking investment in the capital last year. As the world emerged from the pandemic, retailers took in more than $140bn (£106bn) from web-based sales in 2021 – more than double the previous year. Following numerous lockdowns which led to a spike in virtual shopping, [...]
Exclusive: Top UK, German and Belgian retail bosses planning to launch more embedded finance schemes March 9, 2022 More than 50 per cent of top European business leaders are looking to launch more embedded finance schemes, a survey has revealed. An independent poll of 753 bosses in retail and eCommerce companies spanning the UK, Germany and Belgium, indicated most would back such initiatives – which integrate financial services in non-financial companies. The survey, [...]
Amazon makes major U-turn by shutting all book stores and physical shops in UK March 6, 2022 E-commerce giant Amazon has said it is planning to shut all of its book stores as well as its other brick-and-mortar shops and pop-up stores in the UK and US. The shock announcement to close down all 68 book stores, as well as shops that offer toys and home goods in Britain and the US, [...]
Saturday sitdown: Whistle king Simon Topman on surviving two world wars and a global pandemic February 19, 2022 With businesses around the world managing the Covid pandemic and each facing their own set of challenges, City A.M. caught up with Simon Topman, managing director of 150-year-old ACME Whistles, to blow the whistle on how this pandemic has differed from two world wars and other global disasters. Since inventing and making the first ever [...]
Hormone-treated beef from Canada to flood UK food chain under CPTPP deal, British farmers warn February 14, 2022 Canada is pushing for hormone-treated beef to be made available across the UK once Britain joins the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP). According to the National Farmers Union, the deal would “severely undermine British farmers” and lower the quality of meet sold across the UK. CPTPP – a trade deal among a [...]
Four day working week reaches UK hospitality as iconic Landmark London hotel puts chefs on more pay for less time January 22, 2022 The Landmark London hotel has become the first major hospitality company in the UK to embrace the four day working week trend, telling City A.M. that its chefs will shave off one day a week from February without losing any of their pay. In fact, the five star Grand Dame hotel said its chefs will [...]