London tourism sector calls for urgent financial support to avert crisis July 13, 2020 London’s tourism sector has urged the government to provide it with a specific package of support, warning the coronavirus pandemic could create an economic crisis for the industry. In total 10,776 London attractions, restaurants, hotels, industry bodies and event organisers have written to the Prime Minister to call for investment and a plan for tourists [...]
Brexit: UK completes assessments for City of London to retain EU access July 13, 2020 The UK has now submitted all paperwork necessary for the City of London to potentially retain access to the EU, after missing the original deadline two weeks ago. The 28 assessments were due on 1 July, however Downing Street previously blamed the EU for missing the deadline as they received much of the paperwork, which [...]
UK unveils new three-stage post-Brexit border plan July 13, 2020 The UK’s post-Brexit border regime will come into place over three stages next year, with most businesses able to delay filling out any customs declaration forms until July. The border regime will be fully operation in July, with no customs checks at the border until this point, as the government plans to build 10 to [...]
Wetherspoon slashes prices after hospitality VAT cut July 13, 2020 Pub chain JD Wetherspoon will slash the price of a range of meals and drinks following the government’s decision to cut VAT for the hospitality industry. Chancellor Rishi Sunak announced last week that VAT will be reduced from 20 per cent to five per cent until next year. Wetherspoon said today that it will “fully [...]
Construction work begins on €2bn Viking Link subsea power cable July 13, 2020 Construction work on the world’s longest subsea power cable, the Viking Link, has today begun, the National Grid has announced. Running between Bicker Fen in Lincolnshire and South Jutland in Denmark, the 764km power line will be able to provide renewable power to 1.4m households upon completion in 2023. Today, Siemens Energy, which will build [...]
Barclays gave Roger Jenkins £50m payoff after Qatar deal July 13, 2020 Barclays paid its Middle East head Roger Jenkins £50m when he left in 2009, a court has heard. Jenkins, who is on his third day of questioning at a civil trial in London, was discussing his compensation after he helped to secure a lifeline investment from Qatari investors. The bumper payoff was in addition to [...]
Tesla shares surge again on hopes of S&P 500 listing July 13, 2020 Shares in electric vehicle firm Tesla continued their meteoric rise today, jumping another 14.6 per cent to hit $1,770.33 this afternoon. The new increase means that the firm’s shares have increased over 650 per cent in the last 12 months, when they were trading at $233. Since beating expectations for vehicle delivery numbers at the [...]
Brexit: Social care workers not included in new healthcare visa July 13, 2020 The vast majority of social care workers will not be able to get priority access to the UK as a part of a post-Brexit fast track visa for the healthcare sector, the government has confirmed. The UK’s post-Brexit plans were set out in detail today, confirming that there will be no special exceptions for most [...]
Retail footfall growth doubles as consumers return to high streets July 13, 2020 Retail footfall growth more than doubled last week as consumers visited high street cafes, pubs and restaurants after lockdown restrictions were eased. Footfall across all UK retail destinations rose by 10.6 per cent last week compared to the week before. During the previous week footfall grew just 4.1 per cent, according to the latest research [...]
Bank of England’s Andrew Bailey says he’s ‘very worried about jobs’ July 13, 2020 Bank of England governor Andrew Bailey has said the UK economy is showing signs of recovery from the coronavirus crash but he remains worried about unemployment. “We are seeing the economy come back now somewhat, because obviously the restrictions are beginning to be lifted,” he told schoolchildren today at an event organised by Speakers for [...]