Call centre operators merge in £300m deal July 26, 2021 Call centre operators CallCare and alldayPA are merging in a £300 million deal, The Sunday Times has reported. They are two of the UK’s biggest call centres and employ approximately 2,500 people in their 24-hour call centres. Call centres have reported that their on-demand services have gained popularity during the pandemic. Their activity has been [...]
Two London hospitals announce major incident after severe flooding in the capital and south east July 26, 2021 The Environment Agency has six flood warnings in place across the country’s south east as the major incidents continue to affect two of the capital’s hospitals. Whipps Cross Hospital has announced it has been forced to evacuate around 100 inpatients owing to flooding. An entire block is currently without power with no timeline as yet [...]
Visitors migrate back to London’s West End as venues throw open their doors July 26, 2021 Visitors are beginning to migrate back to London’s tourism spots like the West End, as last week’s ‘Freedom Day’ meant theatres and clubs could throw open their doors for the first time in over a year. Last week’s heatwave meant locals and visitors alike could make the most out of London’s reopening – before the [...]
FRC chair says slow board appointments pose “grave risk” to the watchdog reform July 26, 2021 The interim head of the Financial Reporting Council has said there is a “grave risk” that the slow pace of appointing board members could result in delays to the watchdog’s reformation plans. The Financial Reporting Council (FRC), which oversees the governance of the UK’s biggest listed companies, has been without a permanent chair since May [...]
Lloyd’s insurance appoints Lord Sedwill to council as deputy chair July 26, 2021 Lloyd’s has today announced that Mark Sedwill will join Lloyd’s council and succeed as the new senior independent director and deputy chair of the insurance marketplace. Bruce Carnegie-Brown, chairman of Lloyd’s, said of the appointment: “As one of the most respected figures in modern British diplomacy, and a former head of the UK civil service, [...]
Coast Capital launches bid to oust First Group boss July 26, 2021 Coast Capital has this morning reignited its ongoing battle with First Group by calling for the resignation of the FTSE 250 firm’s chief executive Matthew Gregory, along with two other board members. The New York-based firm, which owns about 14 per cent of First Group, has been locked in a series of skirmishes with the [...]
FTSE 100 in the red ahead of key week of corporate results July 26, 2021 The FTSE 100 started the week in the red this morning as energy and banking stocks dragged down the index. London’s premier market was down 0.4 per cent after two hours of trading, with the FTSE 250 faring little better at 0.2 per cent down. The slide comes ahead of a week stuffed with corporate [...]
Prince Harry’s start-up BetterUp heads for London and Munich July 26, 2021 BetterUp, a virtual coaching platform that promises to democratise professional coaching across an entire business enterprise, is heading for Europe as it announced an expansion into London and Munich. The firm, which was co-founded by Alexi Robichaux in 2013 and where Prince Harry is the Chief Impact Officer, has gone from strength-to-strength this year. The [...]
Philips exceeds forecast earnings as pandemic increases demand July 26, 2021 Health tech firm Philips beat expectations in the second quarter after a pandemic-fuelled demand spike saw profits hit £455m, the firm confirmed to markets this morning. Analysts had expected profit to come in around £10m shy of that figure. The third wave of the pandemic across much of western Europe resulted in personal protection and [...]
Bezos-backed plant food firm NotCo secures unicorn status July 26, 2021 A plant-based food firm backed by Jeff Bezos has nabbed unicorn status after raising $235m (£170m) in a star-studded funding round. NotCo, which makes plant-based milk, burger patties, meat and ice cream, was valued at $1.5bn following the round, which was led by Tiger Global. Venture capital firm DFJ Growth Fund also took part in [...]
