Quaglino’s: Golden-age glam the perfect antidote to lockdown June 1, 2021 It is fair to say that good old fashioned glamour has not been in vogue during months of endless lockdowns. Cocktail dresses abandoned for athleisure. Black tie (which you can read all about in this excellent piece by our resident sartorial expert) for three days without a shower. But London is back, and open-ish, and [...]
MPs urge government to donate half of incoming vaccines to Covax scheme June 1, 2021 MPs and peers have urged the UK to adopt a Covid-19 “vaccine matching” scheme in a letter today, which would see half of the doses the arrive in the UK be donated to the Covax scheme. The letter, coordinated by the All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG), said that prime minister Boris Johnson has a “moral duty” [...]
The damning case against China over Covid-19 deserves proper attention June 1, 2021 As John Stuart Mill so eloquently wrote: “the only thing necessary for evil to triumph in the world is for enough good men to do nothing.” Fortified by this moral admonition, I went on to write an April 2020 piece in CapX, charging the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) with direct culpability in the spread of [...]
Former Huawei executive in court over China spying accusations June 1, 2021 A former Huawei executive and an ex-Polish secret services agent have appeared in court over allegations they carried out state-sponsored spying for China. Weijing Wang and Piotr Durbajlo, who were arrested in 2019 and have both pleaded not guilty, were in court for the start of the trial in Warsaw this morning. Polish prosecutors allege [...]
Office politics: Hybrid working will make WFH look like a walk in the park June 1, 2021 The pandemic has disrupted society on every level. For the world of business, the first national lockdown brought about seismic changes, as entire offices were sent home and IT systems were overhauled within the space of a week or two. But incredibly, this rapid shift to home working was the easy part of the journey [...]
Channel 4 privatisation plans heat up amid media deal frenzy June 1, 2021 Ministers have taken another step forward in plans to explore a potential sale of Channel 4 as the growing popularity of streaming sparks a frenzy of major media dealmaking. The state-owned broadcaster has reportedly been added to a list of assets that could be sold as the Treasury looks to shore up the country’s finances [...]
Made.com: Online retailer confirms plans to raise £100m in London IPO June 1, 2021 Made.com has confirmed plans to list in London later this month after capitalising on the shift to e-commerce during the pandemic. Last week the online furniture retailer unveiled plans for a float and today confirmed it plans to raise £100m, and the offer will include an offer of existing shares to be sold by existing [...]
Heinz sauce making a comeback to the UK with £140m investment June 1, 2021 Kraft Heinz, the food giant behind Heinz and Philadelphia, has tabled plans for a £140m investment in Wigan’s Kitt Green, Europe’s largest food manufacturing facility today. The investment would aim to bring Heinz sauce making back to the UK to bolster its European capacity. In one of the largest post-Brexit investments in the UK, it [...]
Nine Elms: Two £10m ‘sky villas’ in London’s tallest residential tower to go on sale June 1, 2021 London’s tallest residential tower will begin selling apartments this week, starting from just under £1m for a one-bedroom flat. The 53-storey skyscraper, in the £3bn One Thames City development on Nine Elms, has two 3,900 square foot “sky villas” at the top of the building – which are looking to cost around £10m each. A [...]
Transport for London secures £1.08bn emergency funding deal June 1, 2021 Transport for London has secured a £1.08bn emergency funding deal with the government to provide financial support during ongoing Covid-19 restrictions. The latest cash injection, agreed with the Department for Transport, will cover the period from 29 May until 11 December. The funding package is designed to contribute to the organisation’s revenue loss due to [...]
