Corona Impact Series: A vegan stop off Oxford Street October 29, 2020 In this series, City A.M. looks at the financial and economic impact of the ongoing pandemic on a range of small and medium-sized businesses across London. Today: how evaporated demand and high rent obligations ultimately proved fatal for Ethos. Meat-free and plant-based Ethos opened six years ago, catering for vegans by offering ‘deliciously different’ meat-free and [...]
UK regulator to ban telecom providers from selling ‘locked’ smartphones October 27, 2020 Mobile phone operators across Britain will be banned from selling ‘locked’ handsets, UK telecoms regulator Ofcom announced this morning. Most of Britain’s largest providers, including BT/EE, Tesco Mobile and Vodafone, sell mobile devices that cannot be used on other networks unless they are unlocked, a potentially complicated process which often costs around £10. Ofcom has now [...]
Astrazeneca shares up on Covid-19 vaccine hospital rollout reports October 26, 2020 Astrazeneca [LON:AZN] shares rose nearly 2.5 per cent today after it was reported that UK hospitals were preparing for the rollout of the first doses of its coronavirus vaccine. Staff at a major London hospital trust have been told to be ready to receive the first batches of the vaccine, which is being developed in [...]
Former Baidu president joins WPP board October 26, 2020 The former boss of Chinese search engine Baidu has joined the board of London-based advertising giant WPP, the company confirmed this morning. Ya-Qin Zhang, who was president of Baidu for five years starting in 2014, will formally take up the role as a non-executive director on WPP’s board early next year. Roberto Quarta, chairman of [...]
Bank of England considering to permit banks to restart dividend payments next year October 26, 2020 The Bank of England and UK banks are reportedly “bartering” a deal that would allow banks to restart paying dividends from next year in order to boost lending and drive the economy. According to a report in The Times, the Bank of England has agreed to the change in policy as long as banks’ loss-absorbing [...]
LSE expects Refinitiv deal to close early 2021 October 23, 2020 The London Stock Exchange expects to complete its $27bn acquisition of data analystics firm Refinitiv in the first quarter of next year, LSE said this morning. Earlier this month LSE agreed the sale of Borsa Italiana as part of remedies to appease the European competition watchdog. LSE also said it is well positioned for Brexit [...]
London hospitality industry marches on parliament – live updates October 19, 2020 Members of the London and UK hospitality industry are staging a protest on Parliament Square, urging the government to revise its policies relating to hospitality venues. Reporter Poppy Wood is down in Westminster: follow live updates and responses here. Update 11:50 Chef and restaurateur Jason Atherton tells City A.M. that “what Boris Johnson has done [...]
LSE accepts €4.3bn offer to sell Borsa Italiana to Euronext October 9, 2020 The London Stock Exchange has confirmed it has accepted a €4.3bn offer from Euronext for Borsa Italian, Milan’s stock exchange. LSE and Euronext entered into exclusive talks in September after Deutsche Boerse and Switzerland’s SIX bowed out of the race for the Milan bourse. Refinitiv The deal follows after the European Commission formally stated it [...]
Liverpool mayor rejects plans to shut pubs and restaurants across north of England October 8, 2020 The mayor of Liverpool has come out against potential plans for any further restrictions across the north of England, such as pub and restaurant closures. Steve Rotheram called it “deeply disappointing” that new Covid-19 restrictions could be in place from Monday. “At the moment we have a patchwork of local measures across the country and [...]
Exclusive: New £90m fund chases proptech startups across UK and Europe October 6, 2020 A new investment vehicle that will invest in real estate-technology companies in Britain and across Europe has been launched. BNP Paribas Real Estate, the property arm of BNP Paribas, has joined venture capital firm Fifth Wall, which launched the European Proptech Fund. The vehicle aims to invest in fast-growing European property technology-focused startups, or proptech. [...]