Compulsory jabs? Consultation on vaccinations for health staff begins September 9, 2021 The government has launched a consultation today to make a decision on whether there should be compulsory jabs for frontline workers in health and care settings. The six-week long consultation could result in staff receiving mandatory Covid-19 and flu vaccines to protect their patients and people receiving their care, unless they are medically exempt. The [...]
Spire Healthcare returns to operating profit amid climbing Covid costs September 9, 2021 Independent hospital group Spire Healthcare has returned to an operating profit in the past six months, after being hit by climbing Covid-19 costs. The group swung from a £189.8m operating loss last year, managing to secure £46.2m in the six months to 30 June, according to its interim results this morning. Revenue also jumped 38.9 [...]
Record price spikes: Tough winter looms over households and energy firms September 8, 2021 The UK’s recent period of low wind output and global gas supply shortages have energy suppliers gritting their teeth for the winter to come, and maybe even the next. The country was forced to light up a coal plant at the turn of the week amid a spike in energy prices, pushing up costs to [...]
Doubts raised over famed alpaca Geronimo’s Bovine TB diagnosis September 8, 2021 Doubts have been raised regarding whether or not alpaca Geronimo had Bovine TB in initial post-mortem findings, for which he was controversially killed. The animal’s owner, Helen Macdonald, had the preliminary results reviewed by veterinary surgeons, who failed to find visible evidence of Bovine TB. However, the chief veterinary officer said that ‘a number of [...]
City Moves: Who’s switching jobs in the Square Mile this week? September 8, 2021 City A.M.’s Millie Turner provides a roundup of the most important hires and job moves across the City, every Wednesday afternoon. Email citymoves@cityam.com to be featured. Exclusive: Kin Fund Services poaches secretarial lead from Flutter Alternative investment fund manager and fund administrator Kin Fund Services, part of Kin Group, has poached Deirdre Quinn from FTSE 100’s Flutter Entertainment, City A.M. can reveal. [...]
Auto Moves: Ford poaches Apple car project lead Doug Field September 8, 2021 The leading vice president behind Apple’s car project, Doug Field, has reportedly been poached by rival car manufacturer Ford. Field, a veteran in the automotive industry, most recently served as vice president of special projects at Apple and was formerly senior vice president of engineering at Tesla. Set to lead Ford’s software and connectivity strategy, [...]
Federer-backed shoemaker aims for $6bn valuation from New York float September 8, 2021 A shoemaking company backed by Swiss tennis star Roger Federer is aiming for a valuation of more than $6bn in its upcoming US float. The company, known as On, filed for an initial public offering (IPO) in the States in late August, after its net sales jumped by 85 per cent in the first half [...]
Intel to inject up to €80bn into its chip making capabilities amid drought September 8, 2021 Technology heavyweight Intel is looking to invest as much as €80bn into shifting its focus onto bolstering its chip making capacity, amid a global shortage. Semi-conductor chip supplies, which are used in a wide variety of electrical products, have dwindled during the pandemic. But Intel’s boss, Pat Gelsinger, said the company is due to announce [...]
Morrisons goes to auction: Fortress and CD&R escalate bidding battle September 8, 2021 The bidding battle over supermarket giant Morrisons has escalated, and appears to be heading for a conclusion after the supermarket confirmed it was headed for auction. Private equity bidders Fortress and Clayton, Dubilier & Rice have spent the past two months outbidding each other in an attempt to acquire what many analysts believe is an [...]
Revenue lifts at fresh food provider Bakkavor, but labour shortages bite September 8, 2021 Fresh food provider Bakkavor’s revenue has lifted above pre-pandemic levels, despite “unprecedented challenges in labour availability” which risk its operations running stale. Like-for-like revenue swelled by 6.4 per cent to £924.9m in the six months to 26 June, and 1.2 per cent ahead of the same period in 2019. The Fitzroy headquartered-based company, which [...]