City Moves for 20 January: Who is switching jobs in the Square Mile this week? January 20, 2021 Snakes and Ladders provides a roundup of the most important hires and job moves across the City, every Wednesday afternoon. Email citymoves@cityam.com to be featured. Real estate and construction companies appear to be bustling in the capital with new projects and appointments across the UK. This week, Cromwell, Redrow and Savills boosted their firms with new appointments and [...]
London house prices hit record highs due to impact of stamp duty holiday January 20, 2021 London house prices jumped at the end of last year, with average values breaking the £500,000 threshold for the first time. Average house prices in London rose four per cent between October and November last year, according to the latest official data. The annual price rise of 9.7 per cent took the average property value [...]
British musicians ‘shamelessly failed’ over post-Brexit touring January 20, 2021 Musicians have been “shamelessly failed” by the government over the failure to secure visa-free touring after Brexit, some of the UK’s biggest music stars have said. Sir Elton John, Ed Sheeran and Liam Gallagher are among more than 100 signatories on a damning open letter that warns many performers could be “tipped over the edge” [...]
New chief exec for Vauxhall as UK investment decision looms January 20, 2021 Car giant Stellantis has appointed former Nissan executive Paul Wilcox as the new chief executive of British brand Vauxhall. The appointment comes as the group warned that a decision about future investment into Vauxhall’s UK operations could come “within weeks”. Speaking at an event to mark the merger of Peugeot owner PSA and Italian-American giant [...]
City analysts discuss what a Biden administration may hold for financial markets January 20, 2021 In the final hours of Donald Trump’s presidency, investors are turning the spotlight on Joe Biden. As Biden is about to enter the White House, several City-based analysts discuss what the new administration may have in store for different markets and parts of the economy. US Dollar US Treasury Secretary nominee Janet Yellen reaffirmed her [...]
Joe Biden to enact series of executive orders today to undo Trump legacy January 20, 2021 Joe Biden will today action a series of executive orders that will undo some of Donald Trump’s most controversial policies on immigration, climate change and Covid. Biden’s team laid out a list of day-one executive orders for the President-elect, including re-joining the Paris climate agreement, re-connecting with the World Health Organisation and immediately ceasing construction [...]
Shakespeare: JD Sports’ athleisure focus leaves them sitting pretty January 20, 2021 JD Sports and Sports Direct are known rivals and their parent companies own most of Britain’s high streets. While both sell many of the same brands, there are marked differences in the companies’ focuses, with JD Sports selling sports-fashion and Sports Direct selling sports equipment and clothing. Earlier in January, JD Sports predicted its annual [...]
High Court rules TfL’s ‘Streetspace’ plan unlawful January 20, 2021 The High Court has today ruled that Transport for London’s “Streetspace” plan treated London’s taxi drivers unlawfully. In her judgement, Justice Lang said that TfL “took advantage of the pandemic” to push through “radical changes” to London’s streets. The “ill-considered” response to the pandemic saw taxis banned from using bus lanes in order to ply [...]
British Gas engineers extend strike over company’s fire-and-rehire policy January 20, 2021 British Gas engineers extended their second five-day strike to seven this morning amid the company strategy to fire and rehire workers on poorer conditions, union GMB said. GMB National Secretary Justin Bowden said: “British Gas engineers are being fired and rehired and have been left with no choice but to take action again.” However, according to British Gas parent company Centrica, it has [...]
DIY firm Grafton reinstates dividend with £30m shareholder payout January 20, 2021 Grafton Group, the owner of Leyland DIY stores, announced this morning that it will reinstate its dividend after the £30m shareholder payout was previously halted to preserve cash during the pandemic. The FTSE 250 builders merchant firm said the previously suspended second interim dividend for 2019 will now be paid on 19 February. The dividend [...]
