EY staff to work two days a week from home post pandemic May 24, 2021 EY has today confirmed that the majority of its staff will work from home for two days a week for good, the latest big business to eschew a return to the traditional office life. The Big Four firm’s 17,500 staff will spend three days a week in the office or at client sites, with the [...]
Coast Capital renews campaign against First Group EQT sale May 24, 2021 Private equity firm Coast Capital has today doubled down on its campaign against the sale of First Group’s two American businesses. The firm says that the $4.6bn (£3.3bn) deal for First Student and First Transit significantly undervalues the businesses. The renewed rebellion comes ahead of Thursday’s crunch general meeting, when investors will vote on the [...]
Wholesaler Kitwave raises £64m on London debut May 24, 2021 Food wholesaler Kitwave has today raised £64m after listing on the AIM market of the London Stock Exchange (LSE). Each of the firm’s selling shareholders earned £17.6m from the IPO, the firm said in a statement. Based on a placing price of 150p per share, the firm has a valuation of £105m, it added. Chief executive [...]
Liberty Steel to sell Stocksbridge site as Gupta seeks to pay off creditors May 24, 2021 Liberty Steel said today that it would sell of its Stocksbridge aerospace and special alloys steel business as part of restructuring plans. The sale will help Liberty to pay off its debts to Credit Suisse, one of its main creditors. The metals group, part of billionaire Sanjeev Gupta’s GFG Alliance, has been scrambling to find [...]
City police opened 50 per cent more Covid loan fraud probes in February May 24, 2021 City of London police commenced 50 per cent more investigation into fraud connected to the government’s Bounce Back Loan scheme (BBLs) in February than the prior month. Police opened 26 such probes in February, up from 17 in January, international law firm RPC said. It opened a further 28 in March. Back in October the [...]
Lord Hall resigns as chair of National Gallery after Martin Bashir scandal May 22, 2021 The former director-general of the BBC has today resigned as chairman of the National Gallery after being excoriated in the recent report into Panorama’s Princess Diana interview. Lord Hall, who was head of news at the time of the interview in 1995, was found in the report to have conducted a “woefully ineffective” investigation into [...]
Health officials investigate Yorkshire triple Covid-19 variant May 22, 2021 Health officials are investigating a new ‘triple’ variant of Covid-19 that has been identified in Yorkshire. However, they told the public not to be alarmed, as there is no evidence that existing vaccines will not be effective against the variant. So far 49 cases of the variant have been identified, Public Health England said, mainly [...]
Animal rights activists blockade McDonald’s distribution centres May 22, 2021 Protestors from activist group Animal Rebellion have blockaded McDonald’s four UK distribution centres to demand the restaurant chain switches to plant-based foods. Around 50 protesters were using trucks and bamboo structures to stop lorries from leaving McDonald’s four distribution centres in the United Kingdom, the group said in a statement. The four distribution centres supply [...]
More countries could be added to travel ‘green list’ soon, says Shapps May 22, 2021 Grant Shapps has hinted that other countries will be added to the UK’s travel “green list” soon, urging people to “be a little patient” in the meantime. “I don’t think people have a very long time to wait before other countries are able to join the green list”, he said in an interview with the [...]
Indian steel giant JSW mulls Liberty Steel bid – report May 22, 2021 Indian steel giant JSW Steel is reportedly mulling making a bid for embattled Liberty Steel in Britain as well as mills elsewhere as potential suitors circle Sanjeev Gupta’s global commodities empire. Two sources told Reuters that the Mumbai-headquartered firm was considering an offer, but stressed that no final decision had yet been taken on whether [...]