I recreated all my favourite TV tropes, from crawling through pipes to being two kids in a trenchcoat
Hotel tycoon Arora launches revamped Heathrow runway proposal May 18, 2026 The hotel tycoon behind a rival bid to build Heathrow’s third runway has tabled a fresh proposal backed by British Airways and Virgin Atlantic that would build the mega-project in two distinct stages in an effort to keep a lid on costs. Surinder Arora, the billionaire hospitality magnate behind a campaign to reshape Heathrow’s regulatory [...]
London Sports Festival Serves Up Pickleball in New Street Square May 18, 2026 Central London Alliance’s London Sports Festival, in partnership with Landsec and supported by Fleet Street Quarter, is set to bring one of the world’s fastest-growing sports to the heart of the capital with the launch of a new pickleball activation at New Street Square. Pickleball is the fast-paced, social sport that has taken the world [...]
Emergency lifeline for collapsed banks doubled to £3bn May 18, 2026 The emergency credit fund that serves as a lifeline for collapsed lenders has been doubled as a result of “recent regulatory and operational developments”. The Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS) – working in tandem with the Treasury and Bank of England – has hiked its revolving credit facility capacity to £3bn from £1.45bn previously. The [...]
Whitbread: Activist investor pushes for sale of FTSE 100 Premier Inn owner May 18, 2026 An activist investor with a major stake in Premier Inn’s owner Whitbread has called for the FTSE 100 firm to put itself up for sale, attacking its “chronic misallocation of capital”. Corvex Management, which owns 11.8m shares – around seven per cent – in Whitbread, has issued a scathing rejection of the firm’s latest cost-saving [...]
Cubitts plots expansion to Ireland despite swinging to £1m loss May 18, 2026 Cubitts swung to a near-£1m loss in 2025 as the spectacle maker counted the cost of its US expansion plans. The London-based business opened its “first stores outside the warm but grey womb of the UK,” with two sites in New York City. Costs of setting up across the pond pushed the eyewear designer to [...]
The City is paying the price for Britain’s energy failure May 18, 2026 High, unstable energy costs don’t stay in the energy sector. They get absorbed into operating margins, debt-service forecasts, insurance assumptions, infrastructure returns, and the discount rate applied to British assets, says Alan Chang The City does not need another price shock to understand Britain’s energy problem. Markets are already pricing the risk. Renewed tensions with [...]
Good policing is the unsung pillar of growth May 18, 2026 Market confidence in the City is inseparable from its security, and the police are a core enabler of that security, writes Chris Hayward.
Barclays names Fractile and Isomorphic Labs among UK’s top AI startups May 18, 2026 Barclays has named AI chip startup Fractile and Google DeepMind spinout Isomorphic Labs among Britain’s top AI companies as investors race to back the next generation of UK tech champions. The banking giant’s Eagle Labs division unveiled its new AI 100 ranking this week, spotlighting the country’s fastest-growing AI businesses amid a record year for [...]
UK AI investment hits record £8.3bn as London tightens grip on tech boom May 18, 2026 Britain’s AI sector pulled in a record £8.3bn of investment last year, as global investors raced to back the country’s next generation of AI firms, with London tightening its grip as Europe’s leading tech hub. New research from Barclays Eagle Labs found funding into UK AI companies surged in 2025 after a sluggish period for [...]
Can an e-bike subscription win over London commuters from Lime and Forest? May 17, 2026 London’s dockless bike market has become increasingly competitive, but for regular riders the main difference between operators is often cost, rather than convenience. Lime and Forest dominate much of the capital’s dockless cycling network and both have become embedded in the daily commute, particularly across central London where short journeys are often quicker by bike [...]