John Lewis poaches Experian director to run financial services arm April 13, 2021 John Lewis has today hired a senior Experian director to take over as its director of financial services as the department store pushes into the digital retail space. Amir Goshtai, a 20 year veteran of the credit agency, will spearhead the firm’s focus on its digital portfolio. This involves pouring £100m into its financial services [...]
Former BP boss Lord Browne joins private equity firm General Atlantic April 13, 2021 Former BP boss Lord Browne has today joined private equity firm General Atlantic to advise it on environmental and social issues, including the road to net zero. The New York firm said that Browne would work with the firm to “find new ways to invest in climate solutions, and help develop corporate strategies for addressing [...]
Landsec collects two-thirds of rents in last quarter April 13, 2021 Property giant Landsec collected just two-thirds of the rent it was due as of the end of March due to continued disruption as a result of the pandemic. The FTSE 100 developer said that of the £110m it was owed by tenants as of 25 March, £33m was still outstanding five days after rent was [...]
Exclusive: Former TfL safety panel chief hammers rail watchdog over Croydon crash investigation April 13, 2021 A former Transport for London (TfL) board member has written to the boss of the UK’s rail accident investigation agency demanding that the body revise the conclusions of its report on 2016’s fatal Croydon tram crash. Michael Liebriech, who was the chair of TfL’s safety panel at the time of the crash, wrote that the [...]
Ministers must wait to see whether Gupta can refinance Liberty Steel before stepping in, says Kwarteng April 13, 2021 Business secretary Kwasi Kwarteng has today told MPs that there is “always a danger” that some of Liberty Steel’s assets could go bust as a result of the collapse of Greensill Capital. He added that ministers would wait to see if GFG Alliance boss Sanjeev Gupta could deliver his plans to refinance the firm before [...]
European business leaders call on Biden to hike emissions cuts by 2030 April 13, 2021 A group of European business leaders and politicians have today called on US President Joe Biden to dramatically increase its commitment to cutting greenhouse gases by the end of the decade. In a joint statement, 107 chief execs and lawmakers wrote: “We, European political decision makers, CEOs, business organizations, trade unions and think tanks, call [...]
Defence giant Babcock to cut 1,000 jobs amid £1.7bn writedown April 13, 2021 Around 1,000 jobs are being axed at Babcock International as the defence giant revealed mammoth writedowns of £1.7bn and plans to sell off a raft of its businesses. The group – which is the Ministry of Defence’s second largest contractor – said about 850 of the job cuts would be made across its UK operations, [...]
TfL passenger numbers jump as retail and hospitality reopen April 12, 2021 Passenger numbers on Transport for London (TfL) services jumped this morning as people rushed to back to the capital’s shopping hotspots following the lifting of some lockdown restrictions. As of 10am this morning, there were around 670,000 taps in and out of Tube stations, about a third of pre-pandemic levels. TfL said that this was [...]
Lockheed Martin to axe jobs after tank upgrade cancelled April 12, 2021 Defence giant Lockheed Martin will axe a sixth of its workforce at its base in Bedfordshire after the government decided to scrap a long-awaited upgrade to the Warrior tank model. The Warrior is a major programme at the base at Ampthill, where the US firm employs around 900 people. Up to 158 could lose their [...]
Norwegian Air restructuring plan wins state approval April 12, 2021 Norwegian Air’s restructuring proposals have today been approved in the carrier’s home country courts, clearing the way for it to begin raising fresh capital. The airline said that Oslo’s County Court had this morning joined the Irish High Court’s decision to give its plans the go-ahead. After its government refused to extend further support to [...]
