‘Bond market tantrum risks’: Gilt traders brace for Labour leftward pivot as Starmer future uncertain
Draper Esprit floats to become largest tech VC on London’s main market July 23, 2021 UK venture capital firm Draper Esprit today announced it has made the jump from the AIM to London’s main market, with a market value of £1.4bn – the largest tech-only focused VC on the London Stock Exchange (LSE). The move comes exactly a month after the firm announced its intention to make the leap and [...]
Ollie Phillips: I’m predicting a British and Irish Lions victory in the first Test – and the series – in South Africa July 23, 2021 I’m really intrigued by the upcoming British and Irish Lions Test series with South Africa, which starts this weekend. The Springboks are the world champions but have barely played together in the last 18 months because of Covid-19’s impact on sport. They are not totally wet behind the ears, of course, but any lack of [...]
The UK and France mulling Covid ‘wallet’ app for safe foreign travel July 23, 2021 The UK and France are in talks to roll out a digital “wallet” with all necessary Covid-19 documentation needed for safe foreign travel. The travel app seeks to end paper-based bureaucracy which adds another tally to the list of things to forget at home as a holiday-goer. Transport secretary Grant Shapps met with his French [...]
Hotel Chocolat raises £40m in bid to become ‘digital-led’ chocolatier July 23, 2021 Hotel Chocolat has raised £40m in its latest share placement, in what its boss said will help it become a ‘digital-led chocolate brand’. The British chocolatier’s placing, which was led by Peel Hunt and Liberum Capital, was oversubscribed. “The £40m growth capital raised today will be invested in our fast-growing business, furthering our aim of [...]
Pingdemic: Food workers added to self-isolation exemption list July 23, 2021 Key workers in the food industry have been added to the government’s self-isolation exemption list. Staff at supermarket depos and food manufacturers will be able to take daily tests and not need to self-isolate after being pinged by the NHS Covid-19 app if they test negative for Covid. The move comes as major British supermarkets [...]
Status quo anxiety: from Covid to foreign aid, we’re trapped by our desire to keep things the same July 23, 2021 Covid restrictions were relaxed this week, but it was far from universally supported. A group of academics wrote to the Lancet to condemn the move as a “dangerous and unethical experiment”. Some scientists warned that letting the virus run amok would create a fertile breeding ground for new variants and urged the government to once [...]
COVID-19 and the economic impact on UK businesses July 23, 2021 The COVID-19 pandemic has left a lot of business struggling, but how bad is the overall outlook for them? We’ve spoken to Michelle Elliot CA, partner at FRP based in Glasgow, about whether we can expect a tsunami of insolvencies or if UK businesses are coping better than expected. Michelle is a Chartered Accountant and [...]
UK consumer confidence jumps on stronger than expected economic rebound July 23, 2021 UK consumer confidence rose for the sixth month in a row in July driven by the economy recovering much faster than initially expected. GfK’s latest consumer confidence index edged up two points to minus seven this month, marking the strong improvement in households’ outlook since the initial Covid unlocking in April of this year. The [...]
London dominates hiring hotspots in the UK July 23, 2021 Six of the UK’s top ten hiring hotspots are in London showing that the capital’s jobs market is roaring back to life, according to new research published today. Figures from the Recruitment and Employment Confederation shows Brent has the fastest rate of job posting growth in the UK, rising 3.7 per cent to 4,616 over [...]
Lorry drivers and factory workers get exemption from Test and Trace app to halt shortages July 22, 2021 Lorry drivers and factor workers in the food and drinks sectors will be exempt from the Test and Trace app and will instead be tested every day for Covid-19 as the government tries to ease shortages caused by the so-called “pingdemic”. The government announced tonight that “daily contact testing will be rolled out to critical [...]
