The Tories have given in to the landlord lobby over no-fault eviction
Ending no-fault eviction by getting rid of Section 21 would be a small step towards making young people’s lives better, but the Tories can’t even do that. No wonder they’re heading for electoral annihilation, says Morgan Jones
No-fault eviction is a blight on people’s lives, a cause of intense financial and emotional stress, and of personal and professional upheaval. It’s horrible and it’s expensive and it’s happened to me and a great many people I know. In fact it’s a fairly common experience these days having risen 39 per cent between 2022 and 2023 alone.
Abolishing Section 21, the legal mechanism that allows landlords to kick their tenants out without giving a reason has been Conservative policy since the days of Theresa May and was a manifesto pledge in 2019. Yet the Renters (Reform) Bill, which passed its third and final reading in the House of Commons week, utterly fails to fulfil that pledge, instead suspending the decision on Section 21 indefinitely.
Ending Section 21 would be a positive step: a fairly small one in the scheme of the housing crisis as a whole, but a positive one. The Tories, obviously, can’t even do that.
That Section 21 lives on is bad news for renters in the short term. But there is a general election coming, and I would argue the debacle over the Bill – which saw the government let a longstanding commitment get dragged into the long grass by the landlord lobby and its own backbenchers – is a fairly good window into why the Tories are polling so badly.
British politics today is defined by the cost of living crisis and the condition of public services. It’s all the ways in which people’s lives have gotten more difficult under a Conservative government: the housing crisis; not being able to find anywhere to live; the cost of rent and mortgages; the cost of food and energy; getting a GP appointment; being able to rely on public transport to get you to work or on an ambulance to come when you need it.
Stronger protections from spurious evictions would go some small way to improving the day-to-day living conditions of people in the UK – but that’s clearly not what Rishi Sunak’s government is interested in. They’d rather foot the bills for their MPs’ twitter spats and 3am escapades, pay hundreds of millions to make the UK an international human rights pariah, and keep the ossified, parasitic landlord lobby happy at the expense of tenants. As a result, the Renters (Reform) Bill is regarded by every tenant’s group, including Shelter, Generation Rent, Acorn and Crisis as a failure.
The benefits of better renters’ rights would be felt most intensely by younger people, who are half as likely to own a home as they were 30 years ago. We want to be able to rent at affordable rates and not be evicted on a whim. That the Tories cannot deliver on even these moderate demands suggests they are uninterested in the votes of the young. It’s a two-way street: all signs show that young people are not interested in voting for them either. Just seven per cent of under 35s are planning to vote Tory according to one poll from last month.
That shouldn’t come as a surprise. If you run a country like you don’t care about the people who live there, they probably won’t vote for you. But the danger for the Conservatives in pandering to vested interests is that, to put it bluntly, their voters are dying off. The New Statesman estimates that one in 10 2019 Tory voters have passed away since that election. The working-age Conservative is fast moving from endangered species to “rounding error” status.
If, as the polls predict, that causes Tory annihilation at the ballot box, it will be a defeat built on hundreds of decisions like the one we witnessed this week on Section 21.
Morgan Jones is a freelance journalist and former Labour aide. She is a contributing editor of Renewal
The Debate: Have flexible working laws gone too far?
In April the UK’s new Flexible Working Bill came into force, stating that all employees will have the legal right to “request” flexible working, including requesting changes to the number of hours they work, start and finish times, the days they work, and where they work.
But have flexible working laws gone too far?
Yes: They’re creating a divided workforce
The UK’s Flexible Working Bill aims to modernise the country’s working landscape and boost productivity – but it could further entrench an emerging two-tier workforce.
While flexibility has benefits, too much can lead to fragmentation and a lack of cohesion within organisations, which is playing out in “hybrid working” models worldwide – no company has nailed this.
Further, the definition of “flexible working” is ambiguous – is it time or location flexibility, or both? Regardless, the aforementioned bill widens the divide between those who can work flexibly and those in frontline roles who cannot due to the nature of their jobs.
For instance, teachers, medical staff and train drivers – all critical to society’s smooth running – cannot perform their duties from home. This may lead to a talent drain from these sectors, with severe long-term implications for already strained public services.
Flexible arrangements can also inadvertently exacerbate inequalities. If certain groups, such as working mothers, disproportionately take advantage of remote work, they may miss out on opportunities for advancement and relationship-building that come from face-to-face interactions in the office. Notably, Stanford University professor Nicholas Bloom’s global data from March to June 2023 revealed that 59 per cent of workers were entirely on-site, mostly frontline employees with no college degrees and lower earnings than those in hybrid or remote work.
We must strive for a considered approach that champions flexibility while recognising the vital contributions of frontline workers. Otherwise, we risk creating a divided workforce where the gap between the haves and have-nots grows wider, and, ultimately, society breaks irreparably.
No: Mandatory working hours are unjust
Mandatory working hours are inherently sexist, placing restrictions on working mothers, as well as on men who stay home. Research found that 41 per cent of UK working mothers have turned down a promotion or career development due to concerns with juggling childcare. By placing restrictions on female talent, businesses are at risk of limiting diverse perspectives from having a presence in boardrooms. The more diverse thinking you have on a board, the better it is for companies, leading to increased innovation and profitability.
The new UK flexible working legislation marks a positive step towards recognising equity over equality when it comes to employee needs. Enforcing universal, inflexible working standards does not guarantee equity, whereas a flexible working model accommodates various circumstances – whether you’re a working parent, someone with a disability, or a person who finds working in an office to be overstimulating.
Flexibility and autonomy ultimately enables freedom, which equals happiness. Giving people the opportunity to work in a place that best suits them – therefore providing them with a better work-life balance to spend more time with their families – will boost employee satisfaction.
And it’s not just individuals who benefit from this approach. Happy employees work harder, with a proven 37 per cent increase in sales and 31 per cent in productivity. There are plenty of ways to monitor and encourage employee productivity without needing them to physically be in the office from 9-5.
Society is already equipped to securely work from anywhere. We proved that during the years of successful remote work throughout the pandemic. If a business mandates you to come in now, it’s a choice. The tools are already there, and have been for a long time.
The Verdict: Freedom for who, and at what psychological cost?
Both sides claim flexible working laws breed inequality. but who is right?
Flexi working sounds great if you want to do your washing at home and feed a small child at 5pm sharp . Apparently flexibility breeds “freedom” and freedom, says Brown, leads to happiness. A lovely libertarian logic.
But consider this; can freedom not be overwhelming? The existentialists knew that humanity’s inescapable freedom breeds anguish – for Sartre freedom “places the entire responsibility for [man’s] existence squarely upon his own shoulders”. Heavy is that head, for sure.
Now why would anyone want to add to that? Work in Pret, at the office, in the breakout area, on a train? Work 10-7? 9-5? 12-8? Phone or zoom, leave bed or don’t leave bed, etc etc.
Anyway – freedom for who? Not everyone, that’s for sure. Pickup makes this point: zero-hours Deliveroo drivers or warehouse staff won’t be given the right to work remotely, because it’s not possible.
Ultimately, the flexible working laws only allow workers to “request” working from home anyway. And that’s freedom – freedom from indecision paralysis. It’s also some form of equality. Though perhaps this farcical law is obscuring the absence of solution to the real debate which should be had around zero hours contracts.
Our verdict on the Mayoral election: Not the contest London deserved
London is the best city in the world – and it has been failed by this electoral contest. When you come to cast your ballot on Thursday, you are forgiven for feeling uninspired.
That comes down, at heart, to the Conservatives’ choice of candidate. Sadiq Khan is beatable. His record is patchy. But rather than allowing someone who speaks to the hope and optimism that is the bedrock of the city’s success to take him on, they chose Susan Hall, a candidate whose only path to victory in this campaign is negativity and divisiveness.
No matter what you think of Khan’s handling of the Met Police, of Transport for London’s finances, of his penchant for publicity, the decision by the Tories to put forward a person who appears out of touch with vast swathes of modern London as the only realistic alternative should be seen as exactly what it is: a sign of how much this government really cares about the capital.
That decision has robbed Londoners of a proper contest about the future of the capital, has replaced a genuine battle over London’s place in the world with a referendum on a £12.50 road charge. Combined with what has felt a time to be a complacent campaign by the incumbent, this Mayoral election has created that most miserable of political moods: apathy.
It shouldn’t be like this.
The Mayoralty still matters. Not only is there great cohering power in the role, there are jobs to be done: the Metropolitan Police has lost the faith of Londoners, and desperately needs reform. Transport for London’s finances are shaky, and not all of that is the fault of events beyond the current Mayor’s control.
Yet though Londoners care about these things, this campaign has felt remote to those concerns. The abiding lesson of this campaign is that it is time to give the Mayoralty more power – or ask what purpose it serves.
In other global cities, Mayoral elections are the only show in town, in some cases more relevant to the lives of folk living in them than broader, national elections. The powers afforded to our mayor are more limited than local leaders in New York and Tokyo and Paris, and that must change.
Revenue-raising and spending power. More decision-making power on planning and infrastructure, putting more power in City Hall and less of it in the Town Halls of our 32 boroughs. If this low-voltage, uninspiring campaign produces momentum for that, then it won’t all have been in vain.
Card Factory: Shares rocket as investors cheer ‘solid’ performance
Shares in personalised gift and party supply business Card Factory grew eight per cent in early trade, as the firm resumed its dividend payout and reported a rise in revenue.
For the year ended January the publicly listed company said profit before tax was up 25 per cent to £65m.
The Wakefield-based business was also bolstered by the opening of 26 new stores, taking its total to over 1000 stores across the UK and Ireland.
Card Factory is targeting a similar number of openings this year.
It also rollout a new click and collect feature, with “7.8 per cent of all online orders to be collected in store as it builds its omnichannel proposition”.
Darcy Willson-Rymer, chief executive officer, at Card Factory, said:”I am delighted with the progress we have made through the year which would not have been achieved without the commitment and efforts of our colleagues.
“Now, three years into our ‘Opening our New Future Strategy’, Card Factory is financially and operationally a much stronger business.”
He added: “This means that we are able to both reinstate the dividend and invest in the future, while effectively navigating the ongoing economic environment.
“We have confidence in our strong value and quality customer proposition, and remain on track for both this financial year and for achieving our FY27 targets outlined at our Capital Markets Day in May last year.”
Analysts at Peel Hunt rated the company a ‘Hold’, following what it described a “solid” year of finances.
“The shares reflect the tough situation that CARD is in: it is doing well with the cards it has been dealt, but the ‘back-end weighted’ nature of the profit growth this year probably means the shares will remain range bound. Hold.”
London to be boosted by £1bn mixed use property development in Blackfriars
A property developer has been given the green light for a £1bn mixed-use office and residential redevelopment at 18 Blackfriars in London, the site of the former Sainsbury’s headquarters.
Much of the area has been empty for over 20 years but there are now plans in place to create three buildings, two delivering over 400 new homes, with 40 per cent being affordable. The third will create 800,000 sq ft of office space.
Developers will also construct 20,000 sq ft of new affordable workspace, assembly rooms for use by the local community, educational space, children’s play areas and a new, central public space with retail and food outlets.
Ross Blair, senior managing director and country head of Hines UK, said: “ Businesses of all sizes and from all sectors are demanding more from their offices because their employees are demanding more from them. 18 Blackfriars is all about rising to that challenge and delivering the office of the future.
“We believe our plans for 18 Blackfriars will set a new standard in premium quality workspace in London, both fully integrated into its hyper-local community and seated right at the heart of our capital city. Bringing this scheme to life underlines our long-term conviction in London as a thriving, global centre for culture, education and business.”
It comes amid a period of transformation for the UK office market
Commercial property values have also been bruised by rising interest rates and fears about the health of the office market as hybrid working trends linger post-pandemic.
Businesses are also keen to occupy offices which meet environmental EPC targets.
Blair told City A.M. there are currently businesses in properties which “do not meet the criteria they have set themselves either for what they stand for from an environmental perspective or the space they want to provide for the employees”.
18 Blackfriars Road is designed to be fossil fuel free, 100 per cent electric and Net Zero Carbon in operation, with 95 per cent of the site’s heat demand served by ground source heat pumps that share, store and offset energy.
The development is expected to be completed by the end of the decade.
It is one of many new developments coming to London over the next few years.
Wework founder Adam Neumann iced out of £359m bankruptcy deal
Troubled office space provider Wework has unveiled a new plan to absolve itself from bankruptcy, but it does not involve Adam Nuemann its founder who was looking to regain control of the business.
On Monday, the US-business revealed a $450m (£359m) cash injection from senior lenders, which if approved, would allow the business to exit Chapter 11 Bankruptcy by its target of 30th May.
The company also said it plans to “eliminate all of its $4bn (£3.19bn) of outstanding, prepetition debt obligations”
A vote on the plan is expected to take place at the end of next month.
David Tolley, chief executive of the business, said: “WeWork is and has always been an industry leader.
“Over the past six months, we have worked extremely hard to develop a Plan for a reorganised WeWork that is better capitalised, more operationally efficient, and positioned for continued investment in our products and services and a return to long term growth.”
Yardi Systems, which acts as a vendor and creditor to Wework has agreed to inject $337m, taking a 60 per cent stake in the business.
A separate group of hedge funds will put the remaining $113m in.
Founder Adam Neumann had plans to buy the business back and merge it with his latest property company Flow.
An attorney for Flow told the Financial Times Neumann’s bid of $650m (£519m) was still higher than the one approved by the court and said he anticipated “robust objections to confirming this plan”.
The American businessman founded Wework in 2010 and oversaw the business when it hit a peak private market valuation of $47bn (£37bn).
He stepped down as chief after a failed IPO, which crushed its value after investors raised concerns about his running of the company.
City A.M. has contaced Flow for comment.
Barclay family set to lose control of Very Group as Redbird IMI looks to kick off sale
The billionaire Barclay family is rumoured to be on the very of losing control of Very Group after their Gulf and American-based backers began to plot a sale of the business.
The Abu Dhabi investment firm behind the family is understood to be exploring a sale of Very as it looks to unwind a £1.2bn refinancing of the family’s debts, a report in The Times said.
A sale of the business would form the second stage of a plan by Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed bin Sultan al-Nahyan, vice-president of the United Arab Emirates, to recover lending secured against the family.
Sheikh Mansour teamed up with Redbird Capital – an American private equity firm – to refinance the Barcalys’ debt to Lloyds Banking Group and had hoped to convert the debt to equity to secure ownership of the Telegraph and associated media assets. The two parties funded the deal through a joint venture Redbird IMI.
A source close to the negotiations told The Times separate sales of Very and the Telegraph were planned because media operators were unlikely to express an interest in Very and “different bidders will offer best value for the individual parts”.
They said bidders “could buy the Telegraph and not the Very Group”.
Back in February, Very Group secured a £125m investment and revealed a half-year loss.
The Barclays sold the Ritz Hotel for £800m four years ago and have also lost control of other businesses that used to form part of their empire, including delivery group Yodel.
It was reported by The Times that the family is also trying to sell the Lady Beatrice, a 197ft yacht named after Beatrice Cecelia Taylor, the late mother of the Barclay twins.
City A.M. has contacted Very Group for a comment.
Frasers acquires parts of Matchesfashion out of administration – but jobs not in deal
Frasers Group has acquired parts of Matchesfashion out of administration in a deal which does not include its stock or its hundreds of employees.
Frasers – which in December bought the struggling online fashion retailer at a bargain price and went on to sell it three months later – said it would buy “certain intellectual property” assets of the business.
As part of the agreement Frasers has granted a licence to Teneo, Matches administrators, to sell the stock it owns through a period of “continued trading for the benefit of the administration”.
A statement issued on Monday evening read: “Brands and suppliers should be aware that all stock held by Matches does not form part of the transaction and the Joint Administrators continue to manage all operations of the business for the benefit of the Administration.”
The retail giant, which owns Sports Direct and Jack Wills, bought MatchesFashion in a cut price deal worth £52m towards the end of last year.
But just three months later it said it would put the firm into administration because it “consistently missed its business plan targets”.
Frasers explained that while Matches management team has tried to find a way to “stabilise the business”, it discovered “too much change would be required to restructure it, and the continued funding requirements would be far in excess of amounts that the group considers to be viable.”
The e-commerce chain which sells Ralph Lauren and Balenciaga, has been loss-making in recent years.
Adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortisation (EBITDA) for the year ended 31 January 2023 was negative to the tune of £33.5m.
At the time, Frasers’ takeover offered a lifeline for the designer online retailer, which has struggled in recent years due to the actions of former leaders.
The move comes after City A.M revealed that Matches owed more than £200m as it was put into administration by Mike Ashley’s Frasers Group.
Morrisons tackles debt pile with £2.5bn petrol forecourts sale
Morrisons has closed a £2.5bn deal to sell its 347 petrol stations to Motor Fuel Group (MFG).
Both Morrisons and MFG are owned by Clayton Dubilier & Rice (CD&R), the American private equity firm who bought the supermarket three years ago.
Morrisons said the sale would help tackle its mounting £8bn pile of debt.
As part of the transaction the firm took a minority stake of approximately 20 per cent in MFG.
The business also recently acquired McColl’s newsagents out of administration with plans to transform the stores into Morrisons Daily sites.
Morrisons is amongst the cohort of supermarkets battling it out to the cheapest amid the cost of living crisis.
The company, which has 500 sites across the UK, lost its spot as Britain’s fourth largest grocer to Aldi.
In March, Morrison’s reported its strongest like-for-like sales in over three years, helped by competitive pricing strategies.
The privately owned business said it rolled out Aldi and Lidl Price match schemes which helped drive like-for-like sales by 4.6 per cent.
Rami Baitiéh, chief executive of Morrisons said: “In January I outlined our plan to reinvigorate, refresh and strengthen Morrisons as we started our next chapter.
“Those plans are now in full swing with the whole business engaged in the three key pillars of work that will be the foundation of the future for Morrisons: commercial excellence, operations optimisation and new value creation. “
He added: “Across the business we have identified many areas where we can raise our game and make small improvements which collectively will result in a significantly enhanced shopping experience for our customers.”
Premier Inn owner Whitbread to cut 1,500 jobs amid shake-up of restaurant business
Hospitality giant Whitbread has announced 1,500 job cuts at its restaurant business as it looks to convert dining spaces into hotel rooms or offload them.
The owner of Premier Inn and Beefeater revealed the shake-up in conjunction with its financial results for the year ending February.
Whitbread said profit before tax grew to a record 36 per cent to £561m, helped largely by sales and bookings at its over 800 hotel sites across the UK>
During the year, the no-frills accommodation provider opened 2,253 UK rooms and closed 386 rooms, leading the firm to have 12 per cent of the market share in the hotel space.
However, its food and beverage arm which includes Beefeater, Bar + Block and Brewers Fare chains, sales were two per cent behind last year’s figure.
The company said it would optimise the underperforming business by converting 112 sites into hotels and selling 126.
Whitbread said the decision would help it unlock 3,500 new rooms accelerating its target of 97,000 open rooms in the UK by 2029.
Dominic Paul, Whitbread’s chief executive, said the transition will impact job roles at some of its sites
He said: “We recognise that our transition will impact some of our team members so we will be providing support throughout this process and we are committed to working hard to enable as many as possible of those affected to remain with us.”
“The short-term impact on our profit performance this year will be more than offset by an uplift from FY27 with further increases thereafter in both margins and returns as we open more of the new extensions.”
Whitbread raised its dividend by 26 per cent to increase the final dividend per share to 62.9p.