Some 1,200 HSBC staff to permanently work from home April 7, 2021 HSBC is moving more than 1,200 staff in the UK to permanent working from home contracts, marking yet another company making major changes to its working patterns post-pandemic. Around 70 per cent of the bank’s 1,800 call centre staff based across England, Wales and Scotland have volunteered to never return to the office, employment union [...]
Silicon Roundabout: What will London’s tech hub look like after lockdown? April 1, 2021 The cluster of tech companies in East London, also known as Silicon Roundabout, was largely born out of the last financial crisis after soaring rents pushed companies out. This time round the fate of East London may look a little different as tech companies make remote working the norm. Remote working is here to stay [...]
Deliveroo IPO: Is the gig economy empire crumbling? March 31, 2021 This morning, a courier came to drop off a package. He was almost back inside his van before I could open the door. Last week, another showed me a 10 second timer on his performance device – the time he said he was allocated to ‘drop off’. Neither of these were probably classified as ‘workers’, [...]
China tightens grip on Hong Kong as it limits parliament to ‘patriots’ March 30, 2021 China has passed new laws slashing the number of directly-elected politicians to Hong Kong’s parliament, further tightening Beijing’s control over the financial hub. The changes will almost halve the number of representatives who are directly elected and increase the number of Beijing-approved officials. The overhaul is intended to ensure that only “patriots” can rule the [...]
Deliveroo stumbles to London float with pricing at bottom end March 30, 2021 Deliveroo will price its initial public offering at 390p per share, the bottom end of previously touted valuations for the food delivery firm. The price would indicate a lower-than-expected valuation of £7.6bn, after a string of UK fund managers said they would not take part in the deal. The fund managers cited concerns about Deliveroo’s [...]
Top City investor James Anderson gives Deliveroo the cold shoulder March 29, 2021 Deliveroo’s flotation has been snubbed again, this time by a leading tech investor who remains unconvinced by the platform’s model outside of London. The tech platform is targeting a market cap of almost £9bn in its upcoming London listing as demand soared during lockdown. The City has largely welcomed the blockbuster float as it tries [...]
Screenshot: Will workers’ rights put a puncture in Deliveroo’s IPO? March 26, 2021 This week **Media Moment of the Week: Farewell to the real McCoy **Will workers’ rights put a puncture in Deliveroo’s IPO? **A watchdog bares its teeth Media Moment of the Week: Farewell to the real McCoy In a shock bit of transfer news this week, BBC presenter Simon McCoy announced he was leaving the Beeb [...]
Aviva to sell Polish arm to Allianz for €2.5bn March 26, 2021 Aviva has agreed to sell its Polish arm to Allianz for a cash consideration of €2.5bn, which it said valued the acquired business at €2.7bn. The pension provider and insurer said it will now focus on its business in the UK, Ireland and Canada. This is Aviva’s eighth transaction in as many months. The giant [...]
Deliveroo float under fire as major investors balk at workers’ rights row March 25, 2021 Deliveroo’s blockbuster stock market float is under pressure after a string of high-profile investors said they will steer clear of the IPO due to the way the company treats its workers. Legal & General Investment Management and M&G today became the latest institutional investors to announce they will not take part in the delivery giant’s [...]
Green investment surges as UK bosses sound alarm on climate change March 25, 2021 The majority of UK bosses intend to increase their long-term investments in sustainability initiatives as they grow concerned about the impact of climate change. A PwC survey of UK chief executives reveals 70 per cent are concerned about the impact of climate change, with almost a third “extremely concerned” about the issue. But climate change [...]