‘You can walk in the road!’: Inside Oxford Street’s first day without traffic Opinion As the first phase of the mayor's Oxford Street pedestrianisation project began, Anna Moloney rushed to Selfridges to soak up the scene.
Oxford Street pedestrianisation is a win for London Opinion The pedestrianisation of Oxford Street will create a new a public realm where it is anticipated that people will enjoy the new space, stay longer and spend more, says Andrew Busby The pedestrianisation of Oxford Street is the most radical project to hit the West End in decades. Almost a kilometre of the nation’s high [...]
Rolls-Royce, Babcock shares jump on Healey’s defence borrowing plan Markets Defence stocks were handed a boost on Monday morning following reports that Chancellor John Healey was set to borrow billions to invest in the military at the forthcoming Budget. Rolls-Royce was up nearly two per cent in early trading to 1,184.40p, while Melrose was up 1.4 per cent. Both are key players in aerospace and [...]
Oxford Street goes traffic-free as Sadiq Khan launches pedestrianisation October 26, 2026 Oxford Street has become permanently traffic-free for the first time as London mayor Sadiq Khan presses ahead with a major overhaul of the capital’s busiest shopping district ahead of Christmas. Almost a kilometre of the famous shopping street, between Orchard Street near Selfridges and Great Portland Street, has closed to vehicles from Monday, ending decades [...]
Bloomsbury ‘confident’ of Harry Potter boost despite share slide October 22, 2026 Bloomsbury is “confident” that a new Harry Potter TV show will spur the publishing house to record profit, after a slip in first-half sales spooked investors. The FTSE 250 group slipped as much as eight per cent on Thursday morning to 616p after it posted a five per cent dip in revenue to £152m and [...]
Budget 2026: Sainsbury’s boss urges Labour to tackle Neets crisis October 22, 2026 The boss of Sainsbury’s has urged the government to tackle the UK’s youth unemployment crisis, as he hit out at previous hikes to the cost of hiring workers. Simon Roberts, chief executive of the UK’s second-largest grocer, said John Healey must “focus on doing the right thing for young people” at next week’s Budget. In [...]
Can wine school teach me to talk like a sommelier? October 22, 2026 Could a day spent learning to tell your Pinots from your plonks at London’s WSET turn the average wine-lover into a bona fide wine connoisseur? Carys Sharkey finds out The UK’s wine sector is going through a period of chop and change. The UK is still the second largest importer of wine in the world, [...]
Budget 2026: Consumer confidence tumbles as Healey urged to slow ‘tsunami of costs’ October 22, 2026 John Healey has been urged to tackle the “tsunami of costs” facing firms as consumer confidence tumbled ahead of the crucial Budget next week. Brits’ confidence in the state of the economy worsened from -32 to -40 in October, according to the British Retail Consortium (BRC)’s index, marking the third consecutive month of deteriorating sentiment. [...]
TG Jones owner Modella pulls out of race to buy Poundland October 21, 2026 TG Jones owner Modella Capital has pulled out of the race to buy Poundland but will still look to pick up some of its stores if a sale process collapses, City AM can reveal. The private equity firm, which also owns Flying Tiger, had expressed an interest in bidding for the entirety of Poundland but [...]
Companies to shoulder responsibility for harassment outside the office October 21, 2026 Businesses will face harassment risks beyond their own workplaces, including at client meetings, events, and in interactions with suppliers and service providers, as new employment laws take effect at the end of this month. Currently, employers face direct liability only for harassment committed by their own staff. But on 30 October the UK government will [...]