Taking the Harlequins to new heights with launch at Shard July 30, 2014 The mighty Harlequins may be based out in Twickenham but its stars schlepped across to the Shard for an 8am launch to their season yesterday, with sponsors DHL Express and Adidas joining along for the ride. With the ‘Quins often referred to as the City Slickers, chief exec David Ellis thought the view was fitting. [...]
Vodafone AGM not so tweet for Gerard Kleisterlee as UK Uncut hijacks hashtag July 29, 2014 Anticipation of vast protests over tax arrangements outside Vodafone’s AGM in Paddington yesterday proved wrong, as no placards were brandished outside the Hilton, allowing shareholders and chairman Gerard Kleisterlee to enter un-heckled. But that was possibly because the heckling took place elsewhere – on Twitter. UK Uncut, the anti-austerity group, took over #VodfoneAGM and [...]
Banker’s oath? Pah! How about threaten them with ye old bag of adders? July 29, 2014 The launch of ResPublica’s Virtuous Banking Report, from which the now famous suggestion of a banker’s oath sprung, caused quite a commotion yesterday. When Lord Phillips asked former CBI director general Sir Richard Lambert why more bankers were not in jail for their misdeeds, Lambert responded with a pertinent history lesson. “You should read the [...]
Subliminal messages from the Prudential? July 29, 2014 When we spotted this poster from the Prudential relating to the Ride London event this weekend, we couldn’t help but wonder whether the financial services firm was having a dig at Westminster, with red tape winding its way around the City in the poster. Subliminal message received Pru. (Shame it was probably just a flourish [...]
Ryanair’s charm offensive pays off with 152 per cent profit rise July 28, 2014 A strong Easter performance and its new focus on customer service have been highlighted by Ryanair as some of the reasons it enjoyed an 11 per cent rise in revenue and a four per cent rise in passenger numbers in the first quarter. The buoyant results come after a string of less successful announcements, with [...]
Ryanair holidays on the rise but bikinis are out as “cabin crew stunners” calendar paused July 28, 2014 Michael “What part of ‘no refund’ don’t you understand” O’Leary took himself away from the job of airline spokesperson last year, after he announced the company would be replacing its notoriously unhelpful customer service strategy with something of a charm offensive. The secret weapon of said charm offensive was revealed as new chief marketing officer [...]
Shoreditch Tech City stars fight to keep area “weird” July 28, 2014 London’s hipsterite tech community in Shoreditch has got a beef with developers. Led by former deputy CEO of Tech City, Ben Southworth, a campaign group has started under the strapline “Keep Tech City Weird” has put a petition together to try and maintain Shoreditch’s charm and stop developers from building flashy luxury apartments instead of [...]
Inflation off the charts over in Battersea Park for charity sumo run July 27, 2014 Anyone living near Battersea who thought they heard the familiar rumble of thunder yesterday morning might have been surprised to hear it wasn’t another storm – but, rather, a troop of 90 Sumo wrestlers running a 5k race. Well, people in inflatable sumo suits. The run, in aid of Link Community Development International, was [...]
When the cat’s away… the staff will go off to lots of interviews July 27, 2014 It sometimes feels like the whole City shuts down in August as sunny silly season takes most people to warmer climes – ergo thinking of summer as a time to hire doesn’t seem plausible. But according to new research from Randstad, the reverse is true. Why? Because it’s not hard for people to slip off [...]
Iain Anderson: Three things you didn’t know about the Cicero director July 27, 2014 Co-founder and director of PR Group Cicero Iain Anderson 1 He once modelled for Vivienne Westwood in Vogue Homme. Back in September 1995 the designer wanted to use a group of Scottish people living in London and Iain fitted the bill. “I had to jump off a box in a kilt,” he said. 2 He [...]
