London councils expect inflation to burn £400m hole in finances amid cost of living crisis June 20, 2022 London boroughs are expecting inflation to burn a £400m hole in their finances, according to a local government association. London Councils, the cross-party organisation which covers all 32 London borough councils and the City of London, said today that rising inflation has cut £100m from the financial uplift boroughs received for 2022-23. Inflation levels, currently at a [...]
Pfizer injects £77m into Valneva, days after French firm settles dispute with UK government June 20, 2022 Pfizer will inject $95m (£77.6m) into French pharmaceutical firm Valneva for an eight per cent stake, just days after the French pharmaceutical firm settled a Covid-19 dispute with the UK government. Pfizer, a Big Pharma firm behind one of the world’s Covid-19 vaccines, has entered an equity subscription agreement with Valneva, as it plans to [...]
Rail unions plot six months of strikes ahead of transport chaos this week June 20, 2022 Rail strikes could continue for the next six months if a pay row fails to be resolved, which may strikes all the way up until Christmas if the pay row isn’t resolved. It comes amid the largest bout of industrial action in nearly 30 years, as members of the Rail, Maritime and Transport (RMT) union rail [...]
Etsy accused of not paying enough UK tax, forking out £128,000 after pocketing £160m in sales June 20, 2022 Online marketplace Etsy has become the latest US retailer to be accused of not paying enough tax in the UK, having forked out just £128,000 as it pocketed £160m in sales. Etsy would have been liable to pay some £7m in corporation tax, had it booked all sales made in the UK at its [...]
The power of summer: Primark sales inch above pre-pandemic levels June 20, 2022 The owner of Primark has put recovering sales down to the power of summer, tourism and the march back to the office. Associate British Foods (ABF), which owns sugar ad agriculture businesses alongside the budget retailer, said sales over the past six months were four per cent higher than pre-pandemic levels, though they remain around [...]
UK space industry to benefit ‘very positively’ from Russian sanctions June 17, 2022 The UK’s space industry stands to benefit “very positively” from sanctions against Russia, which have pushed its rocket launching capabilities off the global stage, one space chief has told City A.M. Russia’s launches once rivalled SpaceX in both frequency and success. But a mixture of bans and boycotts after its invasion of Ukraine has seen a [...]
Government to publish renters reform bill to tackle ‘no-fault’ evictions and rent hikes June 16, 2022 The government is readying to publish its Renters Reform Bill white paper today, in a bid to tackle ‘no-fault’ evictions, rent hikes and make it easier for tenants to keep pets. The Department for Levelling Up Housing and Communities has described the Bill as “the biggest shake-up of the private rented sector in 30 years.” [...]
West End landlords Shaftesbury and Capco push ahead with £3.5bn merger June 16, 2022 West End landlords Shaftesbury and Capital & Counties Properties (Capco) have agreed to push ahead with a £3.5bn merger, which will see much of London’s beloved theatre district fall under one wing. The merger, which had raised the eyebrows of one investor, will see shareholders receive 3.35 new Capco shares for each Shaftesbury share. Combining [...]
London-listed medicinal cannabis company looks to treat brain tumours with CBD June 16, 2022 Medicinal cannabis company MGC Pharmaceuticals has successfully completed a pre-clinical trial in using cannabinoids to treat a type of brain tumour. The London-listed firm said the three-year in-vitro trial into the treatment of Glioblastoma, a fast-growing and aggressive form of brain tumour, delivered “outstanding results”. The study, which used 30 biopsy samples from 18 patients, [...]
City Moves: Who’s switching jobs in the Square Mile? June 16, 2022 City A.M.’s Millie Turner provides a roundup of the most important hires and job moves across the City, every morning. Email citymoves@cityam.com to be featured. Cromwell Real estate investor and fund manager Cromwell Property Group has hired an abrdn veteran as its new head of investment management for Europe. Having spent a decade at abrdn, Andrew Creighton is set to oversee all [...]