London leads Europe in follow-on fundraising with busiest period in a decade July 13, 2020 While London markets may have faced a lull in new placings, they had their busiest half for follow-on fundraising in a decade. Data from accountancy firm EY shows more than £21bn of funds were raised in the first and second quarters in London. In the six months to June, existing issuers dominated the market raising [...]
Brexit: A quarter of British businesses ready for end of transition period July 13, 2020 Less than a quarter of British business leaders are ready for the end of the Brexit transition period on 31 December, according to a new survey. A new survey from the Institute of Directors out today showed just 24 per cent of company directors thought their businesses were “fully prepared” and 19 per cent are [...]
Decline in London’s business activity eases as economy reopens July 13, 2020 There was a marked easing in the downturn in business activity across the capital last month, as the economy picked up and lockdown restrictions loosened. Natwest’s London Business Activity Index – which monitors the combined output of London’s manufacturing and service sectors – rose from 30.3 in May to 46.2 in June. Anything below 50 [...]
‘Limited time’ left for details of post-Brexit regional funding schemes, says IFS July 13, 2020 The European regional development funding schemes will soon wind down but the government is yet to confirm details of its proposed replacement. With less than six months until the UK leaves the EU, the Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) has called on the government to reveal its intentions for the Shared Prosperity Fund. A new [...]
An open letter to the PM: Britain must build Sizewell C — nuclear sits at the heart of a green recovery July 12, 2020 An open letter to Prime Minister Boris Johnson, business secretary Alok Sharma, and chancellor of the Exchequer Rishi Sunak We are writing as engineers, nuclear experts, scientists and concerned citizens to applaud your commitment to fighting climate change through energy policy, in particular the commitment to proceed with new nuclear construction at the same time [...]
Rishi Sunak eyes post-Brexit tax cuts for UK ‘freeports’ July 12, 2020 Chancellor Rishi Sunak will reportedly look to slash taxes and red tape to a cluster of cities and towns next year to provide a post-Brexit economic boom for Britain. The Sunday Telegraph reports that Sunak is drawing up plans to create 10 “freeports” in towns and cities across the UK where they will see sweeping [...]
Michael Gove annonuces £700m Brexit border force July 12, 2020 The government will spend £700m preparing the UK’s borders for Brexit as it begins a widespread information campaign to prepare businesses for next year. The funding is being spent on 500 new border guards, IT systems and essential infrastructure at Dover and other ports of entry as the UK prepares for the end of the [...]
Private equity firms eye listed companies as economy starts to reopen July 11, 2020 The coronavirus pandemic has left a number of UK-listed companies scrambling for cash, with private equity firms tempted to swoop as the crisis develops. PE firms are eyeing opportunities as they move to deploy more of their dry powder into public entities as the economy starts to reopen in the wake of the coronavirus crisis. [...]
‘I was mistaken for a cleaner’, says Gina Miller July 10, 2020 Investment manager and Brexit campaigner Gina Miller has revealed she was mistaken for a cleaner at a City of London event because of the colour of her skin. Miller, who grew up in Guyana and was named the UK’s most influential black person in 2017, said it is “extraordinary how those biases are still there”. [...]
Nicola Sturgeon talks a good game, but Scottish independence would be a catastrophe July 10, 2020 For everything Boris Johnson does, you can be certain Nicola Sturgeon will announce something different. While Boris blusters, Nicola states clearly and simply why and how her policies to protect Scotland are going to happen. Where Boris is distracted, she is focused. She’s a highly effective politician, who misses no opportunity to distance Scotland from [...]