Asda turnaround king Allan Leighton hopes for summer boost August 27, 2026 Allan Leighton, the turnaround expert charged with leading Asda’s resurgence, has been known for his showmanship. During his first stint at Asda in the 90s, he kicked off an annual managers’ conference by revving into the auditorium on a Harley-Davidson motorbike. It was this reputation for bold, eye-catching leadership which prompted struggling discount retailer Asda [...]
Mortgage rate hikes cost London homebuyers £35,000 August 27, 2026 The surging mortgage rates caused by the Iran war have forced the average London homebuyer to fork out an extra £35,500 for their deposit. The rising cost of borrowing caused by the Middle East conflict has meant that the average deposit in the UK is £18,400 higher than in January – though costs have risen [...]
Housebuilder shares soar on Burnham council housing plans August 25, 2026 Shares in the UK’s biggest housebuilders rose sharply on Tuesday morning after Andy Burnham revealed plans to spend an initial £10bn on affordable housing. In an announcement on Monday evening, the Prime Minister said the initial funding package would be used to build “thousands more quality council, social and affordable homes”. The funding would be [...]
Burnham shelves Thames Water administration plans over costs August 25, 2026 Andy Burnham has paused plans to take public control of Thames Water over fears that it could saddle the taxpayer with a bill running into the billions of pounds. The Prime Minister had been considering putting the struggling utility into a special administration regime (SAR), which would allow the government to take partial control of [...]
Maserati GranTurismo Trofeo Review: 550hp, 199mph and Nearly £200k – Is It Worth It? August 24, 2026 The Maserati GranTurismo Trofeo has the looks, soundtrack and blistering performance to turn heads across London, but does its £191,820 price tag justify a cabin that doesn’t quite match the glamour? There’s always something rather alluring about the Maserati line-up, but I can’t quite put my finger on it. Maybe it’s that effortless Italian chic [...]
In defence of The Hundred, by co-chair of Welsh Fire August 20, 2026 Welsh Fire co-chair Mark Rhydderch-Roberts dissects The Hundred season, and urges doubters to give it a go. After a frenetic 27 days and a gripping and sold out Finals Day last Sunday at Lord’s, the 2026 Hundred tournament has concluded. Despite the best efforts of some to focus on a marginal decline in total attendances, [...]
Kore.ai Named a Leader by Gartner, Forrester, and Everest Group Across Five Major Enterprise AI Evaluations August 19, 2026 Recognition Spans Agentic AI Products, Conversational AI Platforms for Customer Service and Employee Services, and Enterprise Search Kore.ai Has Been Named a Leader in Every Edition of the Gartner Magic Quadrant Covering Conversational AI Platforms Since the Report Launched in 2022
City institution Simpson’s Tavern reborn as British restaurant August 19, 2026 Simpson’s Tavern, the City’s oldest chophouse which closed in 2022, is to reopen later this year as a modern British restaurant. Cloth Cornhill will open on 1 October on the site of the former pub, which first opened in 1757 and was a favourite drinking haunt of Charles Dickens and William Thackeray. A new era [...]
Audi’s brought back the A2, and it’s gone electric August 19, 2026 More than 20 years after the original disappeared from showrooms, Audi is bringing back the A2 as a compact electric hatchback. The new A2 e-tron is expected to offer more than 400 miles of range and cost less than £35,000. Audi is bringing back the A2, more than two decades after its famously clever little [...]
From China with Love: Xpeng’s Luxury Ambition August 17, 2026 China is changing the car industry at extraordinary speed. For affluent professionals used to proven premium brands, the next chapter of that transformation is becoming ever more challenging to turn a blind eye to, writes our motoring journalist Tim Barnes-Clay. I had seen more Chinese cars than you can shake a stick at before, but [...]