London Mayoral election: The leader of the capital needs the constitutional power to get the job done April 26, 2021 The Mayoral election is just over one week away. You will be easily forgiven if it’s not at the forefront of your mind – over the last year London has been hammered by the pandemic. The capital has lost more jobs than any other region, with a disproportionate effect on younger people, those in lower [...]
Bank earnings preview: What to expect in this week’s quarterly results April 26, 2021 While the banking sector has recovered somewhat in the past two months this week the issue of bad loans and customer defaults will be front of mind. The sector set aside billions in provisions for bad loans at the start of the pandemic, expecting a huge increase in defaults. However with thanks to government support [...]
New lender Blazehill Capital to target mid-sized businesses April 26, 2021 A new lender focused on providing funding for the UK’s mid-market businesses has today launched. Blazehill Capital, which offers firms secured lending ranging from £5m to £30m per transaction, is looking to build a £1bn lending book in the next five years. The lender is backed by a number of investors, including New York asset [...]
Broadband startup Cuckoo closes $6m funding round April 26, 2021 Broadband start-up Cuckoo has today closed a funding round worth of total of $6m as it continues its bid to disrupt the UK telecoms market. The round was led by RTP Global, early backers of Yandex, Delivery Hero, and Datadog. One in five of RTP’s investments are now unicorns, the firm said. Other investors include [...]
Economy shows green shoots of recovery as dividends fall at slowest rate in a year April 26, 2021 UK dividends fell at their slowest rate in the first quarter in an encouraging sign the economy is starting to recover from the worst of the pandemic. Payouts fell 26.7 per cent to £12.7bn in the first quarter year-on-year, according to Link Group’s latest Dividend Monitor. Since the nearly 50 per cent drop in payments [...]
Uefa boss: English clubs will be sanctioned for European Super League involvement April 25, 2021 Arsenal, Chelsea, Tottenham and three other English football clubs will be sanctioned for their involvement in the failed European Super League project, Uefa chief Aleksander Ceferin has confirmed. Ceferin told the Mail on Sunday that the three London clubs along with Liverpool, Manchester United and Manchester City will face consequences for joining the breakaway league [...]
Labour pushes government to face cronyism allegations in House of Commons tomorrow April 25, 2021 Labour has called for a senior minister to face questions in parliament tomorrow on the ongoing allegations of cronyism and sleaze engulfing Boris Johnson’s government. The opposition has called for the government to answer an urgent question tomorrow in the Commons, after a series of explosive claims released by Dominic Cummings on Friday. Deputy Labour [...]
UK to send vital medical equipment to India to fight Covid surge April 25, 2021 The UK will send 600 pieces of medical equipment to India to help the country fight its growing surge in Covid cases. Packages of ventilators and oxygen concentrator devices will begin to arrive in India on Tuesday. India has suffered an explosion in Covid cases in recent weeks, with daily cases hitting 350,000 today and [...]
Gupta calls for government ‘co-operation’ in fresh bailout bid April 25, 2021 Steel tycoon Sanjeev Gupta has reportedly made a fresh bid for government support for his ailing GFG Alliance, hitting out at “misinformed… public and media commentary” on the firm’s practices. The Sunday Times reported that Gupta had last week written to business secretary Kwasi Kwarteng seeking ministers “co-operation” on a deal. It comes after officials [...]
Liz Truss aims for UK to join CPTPP trading bloc in the next 12 months April 25, 2021 International trade secretary Liz Truss has said she is aiming for the UK to join a major trading bloc with countries like Mexico and Australia within the next 12 months. Truss finished up three days of face-to-face negotiations with Australian trade minister Dan Tehan in London earlier this week, with both sides saying a deal [...]
