Royal Mail hikes profit forecasts as it delivers letter boost March 10, 2021 Royal Mail today lifted its profit forecasts after it delivered better-than-expected letter volumes and revenue since the start of the year. The postal company delivered a record number of parcels in the run-up to Christmas as the pandemic fuelled an online shopping boom, though letter volumes fell. But in a trading update this morning the [...]
Why civil servants shouldn’t fear a move to Darlington March 10, 2021 Guy Opperman, the MP for Hexham in Northumberland and the Minister for Pensions, on falling for the charms of the North East and why Treasury civil servants shouldn’t shed any tears when they move from London to Darlington. The Chancellor Rishi Sunak’s Budget was truly transformative. The North East will be home to the flagship [...]
First Deliveroo backers now have stake worth 431 times original investment March 10, 2021 The investors who piled into Deliveroo at its earliest stages will be rubbing their hands as the takeaway giant prepares for its bumper London listing. The investors who bought into the takeaway back in 2013 will now have a stake worth £646, around 431 times their original investment according to data from MarktoMarket. In September [...]
City Moves: Who is switching jobs in the Square Mile this week? March 10, 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. New strategy director joins Wates Construction Wates Construction Group has appointed a new strategy and integration director for its recently formed group of businesses Wates Integrated Construction Services (WICS). Joining the London office, [...]
Next snaps up stake in womenswear brand Reiss for £33m March 10, 2021 High street giant Next has acquired a stake in womenswear retailer Reiss for £33m. The fashion firms this morning announced that Next will purchase a 25 per cent equity stake in Reiss. Warburg Pincus, Reiss’s private equity owner, said the deal values the company at around £200m. As part of the strategic partnership, Reiss will [...]
Aboriginal group plans to score mining companies after Rio Tinto disaster March 10, 2021 An Aboriginal group today announced plans to publish a scorecard to rate mining companies in Western Australia on how well they comply with environmental, social and governance (ESG) standards. Following the recent controversy concerning the destruction of ancient Aboriginal caves by Rio Tinto, the Wintawari Guruma Aboriginal Corp (WGAC), said it hoped the scorecard system [...]
EU nations agree to launch legal action against UK in Northern Ireland Brexit row March 10, 2021 EU countries have backed a proposal to launch legal action against the UK for unilaterally deciding to delay introducing post-Brexit customs checks in Northern Ireland in what will be an escalation of an ongoing row. European Commission vice president, and the EU’s Brexit chief, Maros Sefcovic presented the plans to the 27 EU ambassadors in [...]
Crispin Odey’s hedge fund quietly rebrands funds amid ongoing sexual assault trail March 10, 2021 Odey Asset Management has quietly rebranded seven of its funds ahead of tomorrow’s court date, which will see founder Crispin Odey take to the stand over sexual assault allegations. Seven of the hedge fund’s 19 funds have changed their name from ‘Odey’ to ‘Brook’, referring to the new subsidiary business Brook Asset Management, industry magazine [...]
Bitcoin breaks $55k again as JP Morgan changes tune March 10, 2021 Bitcoin saw its fourth straight daily gain yesterday, as the largest cryptocurrency climbed briefly past $55,000 late in the day.
Virgin Media down: Thousands of broadband customers hit by UK outage March 10, 2021 Thousands of Brits were left without internet access this morning after Virgin Media suffered broadband outages across the country. Users in London, Birmingham, Manchester, Cardiff and Glasgow reported issues with their internet connection. The issues began at around 7am and peaked two hours later with more than 2,500 reports of problems, according to website Down [...]