Angling Direct reels in bumper results as pandemic fuels fishing frenzy May 11, 2021 Angling Direct today reported a sharp increase in revenue for the full year after Brits flocked to fishing during coronavirus lockdowns. The specialist fishing tackle and equipment retailer posted revenue of £67.6m in the year to the end of January, up more than 27 per cent on the previous 12 months. The Aim-listed firm also [...]
Ministers demand compensation from Hitachi over rail chaos May 11, 2021 The government is demanding that Hitachi coughs up a multi-million-pound passenger compensation bill after safety concerns over its trains sparked travel chaos across the UK. More than 180 high-speed Hitachi trains were taken out of service on Saturday after cracks were discovered during routine safety checks. Passengers faced a third day of disruption yesterday after [...]
Queen’s Speech: Boris Johnson promises post-Covid skills boost May 11, 2021 Prime Minister Boris Johnson is promising a skills “revolution” for England, making it easier for adults to retrain following the economic slump sparked by Covid-19. The Queen’s Speech today, which sets out the government’s plan for the next year, will outline loans for adults to retrain as well as more powers to deal with failing [...]
Apple hit with £1.5bn UK lawsuit over ‘excessive’ app store charges May 11, 2021 Apple is being sued for £1.5bn in a landmark UK class action lawsuit that accuses the tech giant of charging “excessive and unlawful” fees on its App Store. The claim, which has been filed in the Competition Appeal Tribunal in London, alleges that Apple deliberately shuts out competition by forcing consumers to use its own [...]
Showboat: Amazon boss Jeff Bezos revealed as owner of $500m superyacht May 10, 2021 As the richest person on the planet, it’s fair to say money is no object to Amazon founder Jeff Bezos. But even by the standards of the super-rich, his latest purchase is likely to make waves. The billionaire businessman has been revealed as the owner of a mammoth superyacht worth a reported $500m (£354m) that [...]
Record label Believe follows Universal with €2bn listing plan May 10, 2021 French record label Believe is gearing up for a €2bn (£1.7bn) stock market float as the music industry looks to cash in on a streaming-induced boom. The startup, which offers distribution services to help artists get discovered on platforms such as Spotifty and Apple Music, is hoping to raise €500m through a listing on the [...]
Town & Country UK magazine to close as publisher Hearst slashes jobs May 10, 2021 Town & Country UK magazine is set to fold as part of cost-cutting operation at publisher Hearst that will see up to a fifth of UK staff made redundant. The luxury title, the British version of which was first published in 2014, is set to be scrapped as the company adapts to a decline in [...]
Pandemic drives 15-fold rise in online scams, say UK cyber spooks May 10, 2021 UK spooks took down more online scams last year than in the previous three years combined as the Covid-19 pandemic fuelled an increase in cyber crime. Experts oversaw a huge 15-fold increase in the number of scams removed from the internet, the National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) said today. It comes as unscrupulous hackers tried [...]
Malaysia’s 1MDB launches legal bid to recover $23bn in assets after fraud scandal May 10, 2021 Malaysian state fund 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB) has launched a legal bid to recover $23bn (£16.3bn) in assets following a fraud scandal that rocked the southeast Asian country. Malaysia and US state investigators estimate at least $4.5bn was stolen from 1MDB between 2009 and 2014 in a corruption scandal that has implicated former prime minister [...]
Former Serco boss calls for abolition of Serious Fraud Office May 10, 2021 A former Serco executive who was cleared of defrauding taxpayers by hiding millions of pounds in profits has called for the abolition of the white collar crime agency that pursued him. Simon Marshall, who was acquitted last month, said the Serious Fraud Office (SFO) did not have “anything to do with justice” and should be [...]