The Festival of Words: From Gyles Brandreth to Anthony Scaramucci – all you need to know about the Fleet Street Quarter festival
Sir Rocco Forte enjoys record pay day after hotels empire deal August 13, 2025 The hotels group founded by Sir Rocco Forte has issued a record dividend for the first full year after Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF) became a major shareholder. Rocco Forte Hotels has paid out dividends totalling £8.9m for the year to 30 April, 2025, to its shareholders. The international hotels group, which is headquartered in [...]
Surj leads £30m investment in T100 to bolster Saudi Olympic ambitions July 28, 2025 Saudi Arabia’s Surj Sports Investment has backed T100 to be the “growth engine” for triathlon after leading a £30m funding round in its parent organisation, the PTO. Surj, an arm of the Public Investment Fund (PIF) with stakes in Dazn, the Professional Fighters League and Kings League, was the biggest backer of the PTO in [...]
Doha 2036 Olympics? Qatar confirms it’s rivalling Saudi Arabia and India July 22, 2025 Qatar is set to rival Saudi Arabia to be the first Middle Eastern country to host the Olympics after confirming it is in “dialogue” with organisers the IOC. The tiny Gulf state, which hosted the men’s football World Cup in 2022, has discussed its proposals for hosting the Olympic and Paralympic Games in 2036. Ahmedabad [...]
Powering the Future July 16, 2025 As the global energy paradigm shifts towards sustainability, Saudi Arabia is redefining its position from an oil powerhouse to a pioneering force in renewable energy. At the heart of this transformation is the Ministry of Energy, whose leadership is shaping policy, fostering innovation and thriving ecosystem, and catalysing foreign direct investment (FDI) across clean energy [...]
Draper to earn £1.1m just for turning up to Saudi Six Kings Slam July 7, 2025 Jack Draper is set to bag himself at least £1.1m after agreeing to take part in this year’s Riyadh Season Six Kings Slam. The tennis competition, a brainchild of boxing tycoon Turki Alalshikh, sees the top six players compete in a knockout tournament in Saudi Arabia for prize money unmatched elsewhere in the sport. Last year’s [...]
Fury set for 2026 return, says Saudi boxing bigwig July 3, 2025 Tyson Fury has given his word over a return to the ring in 2026, boxing dealmaker Turki Alalshikh has claimed. The man behind Riyadh Season, seen as key to a resurgence in boxing, spoke on X, formerly Twitter, on Wednesday saying the Gypsy King will return next year. It comes after Fury retired for the [...]
Surj Sports chief: Saudi parent PIF, investing and league focus July 1, 2025 Chief executive of Dazn investors Surj Sports Investments Danny Townsend discusses the state of the changing landscape. When Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund purchased Premier League club Newcastle United in 2021, Middle Eastern sports spending was thrust into the voyeuristic forefront of executive and fan consciousness. Since then Saudi Arabia has invested in a multitude [...]
Enjoying Saudi’s Growth July 1, 2025 How $1 trillion investment from PIF, and a fast-growing economy, make a strong investment case for global institutional investors. London, UK – Saudi Arabia’s sweeping urban transformation and ambitious real estate agenda were spotlighted in London at “Capitals London,” a two-day investor briefing held at Grosvenor House, Mayfair. Hosted by Tahaluf, the organizer of Cityscape Global, [...]
How sport could shape Xi Jinping’s next five-year China plan June 25, 2025 It doesn’t feel like that long ago when the world was captivated by 2,008 drummers from China opening the Beijing Olympic Games in perfect harmony. But that was a different China in a different era, and the Sleeping Dragon has been in something of a comatose state since due to a number of factors including [...]
Global growth to brake to ‘slowest pace’ since financial crash, World Bank says June 10, 2025 The world economy is heading for its worst year since the 2008 financial crash, the World Bank has predicted, as most major economies suffered a growth downgrade due to trade tensions sparked by President Trump’s tariffs. The UN-backed financial institution has predicted that global growth will come down to 2.3 per cent this year as [...]