Why I’m calling for a £15bn National Renewal Fund to support growing businesses October 27, 2020 Some 90 years ago, a government committee set up to examine the health of the British economy identified a persistent shortfall in funding for small and medium-sized businesses. This shortfall was termed the Macmillan Gap — named not after the politician but after the Scottish lawyer, Hugh Macmillan, who chaired the committee. As the saying [...]
Open finance: exploring open banking’s natural evolution October 23, 2020 Laziness. Lack of time. The all-too-frequent challenge of speaking to a helpful person by phone. There are many reasons why consumers and businesses don’t shop around and switch products and suppliers. Failing to keep abreast of the best mortgage rates? Rolling onto the same insurance every year without looking for better deals? If so, open finance – a development coming [...]
Investment managers urged to join government’s Kickstart scheme October 15, 2020 Investment managers are being urged to support young people with work placements amid the pandemic. Investment 20/20, part of the Investment Association, is calling on the industry to provide placements for 16-24 year olds on university credit, as it announces a new initiative in support of the government’s Kickstart scheme. Last month the government urged [...]
Peacocks and Jaeger owner files for administration, putting 24,000 jobs at risk October 9, 2020 Around 24,000 jobs are on the line as Edinburgh Woollen Mill (EMW) group, the owner of retailers Peacocks and Jaeger, has filed a notice to appoint administrators. Bosses wrote to employees this morning warning them that lockdowns across the country had battered sales, forcing the company to review the future of its business. Steve Simpson, [...]
Samaritans and the City: A message for World Mental Health Day October 9, 2020 Tomorrow marks World Mental Health Day, and this year, I can’t help but think how many lives have been profoundly altered by the shock events of 2020. I am reflecting more on what we have all learnt, about ourselves and our world. What change do we want? How can we directly contribute to making our [...]
Why the government must give more support to London’s hospitality sector October 1, 2020 Hospitality and tourism have felt the force of Covid-19 like no other sector. Green shoots started to emerge during the summer months, as Eat Out to Help Out, a staycation boom and the warm weather put much-needed cash in the registers of hotels and restaurants across the UK. While London remained quiet, there was some [...]
Covid-19 has exposed the faults within the broken NHS system October 1, 2020 The NHS Confederation this week raised concerns about the health service’s ability to cope with a second wave and a vast backlog of treatments over the course of the winter, strengthening an already-watertight case for system-level reform of the UK’s healthcare system. Over the course of this crisis, the NHS’s status has reached a new [...]
Collaboration and compromise, not catastrophe: the key to defusing landlord-occupier tension September 30, 2020 Tensions between commercial landlords and their financially stressed tenants continue to grow, and how landlords respond will be critical to the recovery not only of the real estate sector, but of the wider economy. The government announced a further extension to the commercial rent moratorium, preventing landlords from taking recovery action through until the end [...]
Crypto AM shines its Spotlight on AuBit — network-enhanced finance for everyone September 29, 2020 AuBit is in the final days of a $2.75m private token pre-sale which is expected to close out oversubscribed. Alongside the private token sale, AuBit has also raised more than $1m in private funding of AuBit One digital equity. Today’s spotlight takes a look at what AuBit is, who’s behind it, and how it plans [...]
Counting down to the US election September 24, 2020 US elections are always significant and a point of interest around the world, but many are seeing this November’s as particularly so. Here are the big questions on the minds of investors. Can we trust the polls? Polls, as we all know, are not always correct. This time around they are of particular interest because [...]