Windfall tax the backdrop for energy giants’ results May 1, 2022 London’s biggest oil companies will face an odd dilemma this week as they present what is likely to be their best set of results for years while facing calls to cough up more in tax. The businesses are predicted to report a combined 13 billion dollars (£10.5 billion) in profit from the first three months [...]
Issa brothers in talks to sell petrol station empire May 1, 2022 The owners of Asda are in talks to offload their petrol forecourt business, according to a report in the Sunday Telegraph. The Blackburn-based Issa brothers have been in discussions with a Canadian shopping giant, Couche-Tard. The forecourt business has been remarkably successful for the Issa brothers and their firm, EG Group. It is said to [...]
HSBC under pressure to split operations: reports May 1, 2022 An Asian shareholder is lobbying HSBC to split ifs operations into two, according to multiple reports this weekend. Chinese insurance giant Ping An, which owns just shy of ten per cent of the bank, is believed to want HSBC’s Asian business listed in Hong Kong and the rest to stay in London. Ping An is [...]
Exclusive pictures: The City’s newest rooftop destination – with an iconic view May 1, 2022 A new bar is set to get the Square Mile talking when Wagtail opens in a fortnight atop the former House of Fraser store on King William Street. The bar – from the same people as The Botanist and The Aviary – will feature a restaurant and cocktail bar with all-around views of the City [...]
Letters: Trusting me, trusting VC April 29, 2022 [Re: UK venture capital surges ahead of Europe as investors shake off market jitters, April 22] Pitchbook’s analysis reveals one thing very clearly: VCs in the UK are full steam ahead in 2022. VCs in Britain and Ireland have committed nearly £7bn in the last few months, nearly a third of total European investment. The [...]
The City A.M. awards: A spectacular night in the Square Mile April 29, 2022 Almost two and a half years since the last City A.M. gala dinner, the brightest lights in the London business community gathered in person once again to toast the Square Mile’s success in what was an extraordinary year. Held for the first time in the Guildhall, the awards recognise those who made the City great [...]
Letters: Small businesses still losing out April 27, 2022 [Re: CBI president: UK needs to tap into fintech’s ‘flotilla of benefits’, April 25] Lord Bilimoria and the CBI aren’t wrong. Businesses need all the support they can get against a backdrop of slow post-pandemic economic growth. The UK has one of the most advanced fintech ecosystems in the world and we’re proud to run [...]
Letters: Time to go back to school April 26, 2022 [Re: Most women don’t ‘feel financially independent’ as cost of living crisis bite, yesterday] The results from the Fidelity International survey show that less than half (45 per cent) of women feel financially independent. During a time where people are likely to be facing rising costs, it seems challenging to control and improve finances, and [...]
Letters: Chatbots to the rescue? April 25, 2022 [Re: Chatbot matrixes are an outdated betrayal of our tech capabilities, April 22] Russ Shaw is right to point out that chatbots, once held up as the next big thing for communication, must be under-pinned by excellent technology and good quality data. Only a well-engineered chatbot will provide a delightful customer experience, but when it [...]
Business body calls for closer UK-US trade ties April 25, 2022 ONE OF Britain’s largest business groups will join growing calls for an ambitious trade deal between the US and the UK. The British Chambers of Commerce chief Shevaun Haviland will say that trade is vital to the UK’s economic recovery after Covid-19 when she speaks at an event later today. A cross-Atlantic trade deal has [...]