London council energy firm nets millions in grants but supplies just 476 homes October 24, 2021 A LONDON council has raised eyebrows after taxpayers have handed over nearly £40m to its subsidiary energy company in the past five years, yet the provider still only serves 477 customers – and all but one are residential dwellings. B&D Energy is wholly owned by Barking and Dagenham Council. Since it was founded in 2016, [...]
Rogue landlords: Calls mount for national registration scheme October 24, 2021 The government is facing calls for a national registration scheme to aid councils in tackling rogue landlords in England. A white paper is expected to be published in the coming months that will look at the idea, according to the Guardian. Councils that require rental homes to be registered under local licensing schemes are more [...]
Lending platform calls on Treasury to privatise land registry October 24, 2021 Lending platform Brydg has urged the Chancellor to consider the privatisation of the HM Land Registry. The registry’s digitisation plans are “lagging”, according to the firm, which wrote to Rishi Sunak ahead of the Budget on October 27. Brydg called for a funding boost for the service as well as for ministers to consider privatising [...]
Pizza Express and IHG back calls for VAT freeze October 24, 2021 More than 200 hospitality bosses have called on the Chancellor to freeze VAT for the sector at 12.5 per cent. CEOs of big names including Stonegate, Pizza Express and IHG Hotels, have urged Rishi Sunak to announce a permanent reduced rate on the Budget on October 27. They said businesses need more support to fully [...]
Tesco website and app hit by hackers October 24, 2021 Tesco’s website and app are down for a second day after being hit by hackers. Thousands of shoppers have been unable to book deliveries or amend existing orders due to the outage. The grocer said it did not believe customer data would be impacted and work was being taken to ensure private information was protected. [...]
No public support for France’s short-haul ban says Ryanair’s boss October 24, 2021 Ryanair’s boss Michael O’Leary said French President Emmanuel Macron is lying when he says there is public support for the French Government’s ban on short-haul flights, the Telegraph reported. “Be very careful with the French,” the paper reported him saying. “You can always tell when the French are lying because their lips are moving.” O’Leary [...]
HS2 trains on Yorkshire leg will run on existing track as part of government scaling back October 24, 2021 As part of the UK Government’s scaling back on the HS2 project, high-speed trains will run on existing tracks between Yorkshire and the Midlands, the Independent reported exclusively. In addition to a station in Leeds, the government is said to build only a new line to connect the city to South Yorkshire, leaving high-speed trains [...]
Bankers on track for record bonuses this Christmas October 24, 2021 City bankers could take home a bumper payout in time for Christmas following a year of record dealmaking and capital raising activity. With many city banks gearing up for bonus discussions in the coming weeks industry experts have predicted that bonuses could reach their highest level in over a decade, the Telegraph first reported. It [...]
Budget: Chancellor admits transport investments will get £1.5bn of new money October 24, 2021 Chancellor Rishi Sunak has admitted that out of the £7bn pledged for transport investments, only £1.5bn has not yet been allocated, the Independent reported. Speaking this morning on Trevor Phillips on Sunday, Sunak said the government “topped that up by £1.5bn” when asked about the actual amount of funding that will come from new money. [...]
Nigeria launches eNaira amid worldwide interest in digital currency October 24, 2021 Nigeria has become the latest country to launch a digital currency backed by its central bank with the aim of improving its payments system. From tomorrow residents of Africa’s largest country by population will be able to make payments using the eNaira, a digital compliment to the country’s physical currency. The e-money will be backed [...]
