Square Mile embraces hybrid working and tourism as post pandemic planning applications soar 30 per cent March 14, 2023 The Square Mile experienced a 30 per cent spike in planning applications during the pandemic, as investor confidence return to the City of London. The Museum of London, and new HQs for the City’s police and law firm Hogan Lovells were among the 56 applications submitted between 2020 and 2022, it has been revealed. The [...]
Heathrow reports busiest day since Christmas 2019 on half term getaway and lifting of Asia covid restrictions March 13, 2023 Heathrow Airport has exceeded pre-pandemic passenger levels for the first time since coronavirus, thanks to the February half-term rush and lifting of restrictions in east Asia. The good news was fuelled by a late getaway last month as millions of Brits took the chance to escape freezing Britain for some sun. Figures from the airport [...]
Uber trialing free childcare in bid to coax parents to become drivers March 13, 2023 Uber is trialling free childcare for drivers as part of efforts to encourage more parents of young children to sign up to the minicab app platform. The company announced it is offering 10 hours of free childcare for 1,000 of its UK drivers. Uber said its drivers on average earn £34 an hour in London [...]
Tube and rail strikes THIS WEEK: How will industrial action affect London commuters and hospitality? March 11, 2023 Parts of Britain’s rail network – including London’s underground system – will be closed during next week’s Budget day strikes, bringing the country to a standstill and hitting hospitality hard. Hospitality bosses have warned the impact of the strikes will hit pubs, bars and restaurants hard, with an estimated £2.5bn having already been lost in [...]
UK culture sec urges Olympic partners like Coca-Cola and Visa to back Russia athlete ban March 11, 2023 The UK’s culture secretary has written to sponsors of the Olympics including Coca-Cola and Visa urging them to back a ban on Russian and Belorussian athletes. Lucy Frazer addressed the letter to the CEOs of the International Olympic Committee’s (IOC) Worldwide Partners, which include Coca-Cola, Intel, Samsung and Visa. The letter to CEOs comes after [...]
BP boss Looney’s pay doubles to £10m – 170 times more than his average employee March 10, 2023 The boss of BP earned more than 170 times more than his average employee last year as his pay doubled to around £10 million after the company benefited from the Russian full-scale invasion of Ukraine. New figures from the oil giant showed that Bernard Looney’s total pay packet increased from around £4.5 million in 2021. [...]
Charges dropped against three former G4S executives accused of defrauding taxpayers March 10, 2023 Charges have been dropped against three former executives of G4S’s electronic tagging arm who were accused of defrauding the Ministry of Justice following a 10-year investigation. G4S Care and Justice Services had provided electronic monitoring services to the government from 2005 to 2013. The subsidiary of security giant G4S was accused of misleading the MoJ [...]
Domino’s grabs slice of the action: Digital drive and World Cup orders help pizza maker shrug off inflation and recession fears March 9, 2023 Fast-food giant Domino’s Pizza pulled through 2022 relatively unscathed with marginally lower profit, as a partnership with Just Eat and the Football World Cup boosted orders. The pizza delivery favourite reported system sales of £1.46bn in 2022, slightly down from the previous year’s £1.49bn. Its group revenue was at £600m, up on last year’s £560m, [...]
BMW invests £500m in Oxford Mini plant with car maker expected to receive £75m UK taxpayer grant March 8, 2023 Hundreds of jobs could be created from a £500m investment in Oxford by BMW, as it looks build electric models of its Mini in Britain. The German car-maker is reportedly preparing to unveil a major injection of cash – including £75m of government-approved funding – as first reported by Sky News’ Mark Kleinman. The investment [...]
Virgin accuses Heathrow of ‘abusing its power’ as British Airways weighs in on CAA decision to fix price cap March 8, 2023 A war of words has broken out between Heathrow Airport and major carriers Virgin Atlantic and British Airways, following the Civil Aviation Authority’s decision to fix the passenger price cap. The regulator confirmed the average maximum price per passenger will fall by about 20 per cent from £31.57 per passenger in 2023 to £25.43 per [...]