The City View: Hong Kong activist Nathan Law January 17, 2021 In this latest edition of The City View podcast, Andy Silvester speaks to exiled Hong Kong activist Nathan Law. The youngest legislator ever elected in Asia and one of TIME Magazine’s 100 most influential people on the planet, Law has been a thorn in the side of Beijing ever since he emerged as a leader [...]
Interactive Investor to buy EQi in latest acquisition January 17, 2021 Interactive Investor (II) is close to announcing the purchase of EQi, a division of Equiniti, a FTSE-250 support services group. The direct-to-consumer share platform has agreed to pay in the region of £50m for EQi, Sky News reported this weekend. II is the second largest direct to consumer platform in the UK, behind Hargreaves Lansdown. [...]
BT faces £600m claim for historic overcharging on landlines January 17, 2021 A £600m claim has been filed against BT at the Competition Appeal Tribunal that relates to historic overcharging for landlines. The claim could result in payments of up to £500 each for 2.3 million BT customers. The case is being brought by Justin Le Patourel, a telecoms consultant who worked for Ofcom for 13 years. [...]
Businesses flouting Covid rules get free pass January 17, 2021 No enforcement notices have been served on companies by Health and Safety Executive (HSE) inspectors for Covid safety breaches since the country entered its latest lockdown. Inspectors were contacted 2,945 times about workplace safety issues between 6 and 14 January, the Guardian reported, but no notices were served. Enforcement notices initially ask businesses to remedy [...]
UK arrivals face hotel quarantine to stop mutant variant spread January 17, 2021 Ministers have been asked to draw up plans to strengthen Britain’s borders, to stop new variants of coronavirus undermining the vaccination effort. Officials have been told to prepare for the creation of quarantine hotels for those arrived in Britain, and to use GPS and facial-recognition technology to check that people are staying in isolation, the [...]
Next is frontrunner to rescue Topshop ahead of bid deadline tomorrow January 17, 2021 Next is seen as the frontrunner to buy Sir Philip Green’s Topshop empire out of administration. Earlier this month Next confirmed it is part of a consortium bidding for Arcadia brands, but said it was not seeking majority ownership of Sir Philip Green’s collapsed business empire. According to the Sunday Times Next faces competition from [...]
FTSE 100 drops to October lows on recession fears January 15, 2021 The FTSE 100 sunk into the red today, capping off its worst weekly performance since the end of October amid fresh Covid woes. The blue-chip index closed down 0.97 per cent at 6,735 points after new data showed UK GDP fell 2.6 per cent in November, sparking fears of a double-dip recession. London’s main market [...]
Norton Rose Fulbright cuts over 100 London jobs January 15, 2021 Norton Rose Fulbright has cut 132 roles in its Europe, Middle East and Asia division, with London the worst affected city. The international law firm has made 114 redundancies in London, largely of secretarial and business service functions, including some contractors and 19 individuals of counsel and associate level. Norton Rose Fulbright has contacted those [...]
Easyjet cancels all holidays until late March January 15, 2021 Easyjet has cancelled all holidays until the end of March as a result of international travel restrictions brought about by the latest lockdown. The airline is in the process of cancelling holidays booked up to and including March 24 and is contacting affected passengers to offer them a range of options, including future holiday credit [...]
SFO closes investigation into British American Tobacco January 15, 2021 The Serious Fraud Office (SFO) has closed its investigation into British American Tobacco (BAT), its subsidiaries and associated persons. The SFO said the evidence in the case did not meet the evidential test for prosecution. According to the BBC, BAT, which owns brands Lucky Strike and Pall Mall, was under investigation over allegations it paid [...]
