Insurance chiefs back new Solvency II investment forum to help deliver £100bn in investment July 19, 2023 The heads of the UK’s major insurance firms have written in support of a new Investment Delivery Forum to help drive investment following the reforms to Solvency II. Established by the Association of British Insurers (ABI) earlier in July, the forum is designed to tackle the investment gap preventing investment from the insurance and long-term [...]
Illegal London candy stores turned into rent free shops in Oxford Street clean-up July 19, 2023 Oxford Street is set for a major revamp as Westminster City Council launches a new £10m scheme to transform London’s iconic high street. The council will make shops vacated by illicit candy stores, which have blighted the leading retail destination, available to small business owners rent free and lower their business rates by 70 per [...]
UK profit warnings hit highest yearly level since 2008, outside of pandemic July 19, 2023 The proportion of UK-listed companies that issued profit warnings in the past year was higher than any year since 2008, outside of the pandemic, according to new analysis. It comes as higher borrowing costs and a tougher sales environment have weighed heavily on businesses. Companies listed on the London Stock Exchange issued 66 profit warnings [...]
The Notebook: Ed Perry and Rosie Brown on hiring prison leavers, shopping local and saving our soil July 18, 2023 Ed Perry and Rosie Brown are the sibling owners of COOK, the ‘force for good’ frozen food innovator Closer link between prisons and firms can work for all The government’s call last week for businesses to hire more prison leavers is to be applauded. At a time when the public sector is short of good [...]
UK inflation to fall to lowest level since March 2022 but Bank of England still tipped to hike interest rates July 17, 2023 UK inflation is on course to drop to its lowest level in over a year, but lingering underlying price pressures will heap expectation on the Bank of England to keep on hiking interest rates, new figures out this week are tipped to show. The rate of price growth in Britain is expected to have dropped [...]
Rail strikes: Lynch says government hasn’t spoken to RMT since January July 16, 2023 Rail strike misery looks set to continue for commuters after Mick Lynch, the RMT’s general secretary, said the government had not spoken to him about finding a resolution since the start of the year. Speaking on Sky News’ Sophy Ridge on Sunday Programme, Lynch said that there has been “no contact. They seem to pick [...]
The Square Mile and Me: Paragon Bank CEO Nigel Terrington talks paper rounds, The Lamb and office faux pas July 13, 2023 We dig into the memory bank of the City’s great and good: this week, Nigel Terrington, chief executive of Paragon Bank, takes a stroll down memory lane. What was your first job? I was a paper boy, aged around 14, in Surrey. I had to get up ridiculously early and the biggest challenge was to [...]
Mark Kleinman: What’s next for BT and the City’s ugliest row of 2023 July 13, 2023 Mark Kleinman, City editor of Sky News, writes fortnightly for City A.M. Germans could be on the line at Jansen-less BT Hanging-up time is fast-approaching for Philip Jansen, whose plan to step down as CEO of BT Group next year – revealed by me last weekend – was confirmed on Monday. Sources have told me [...]
Elon Musk poised to disrupt UK energy market with new Tesla supplier July 12, 2023 The energy market could be shaken up by a bold new challenger, with Elon Musk's Tesla unveiling plans to launch a new supplier in the UK.
British Land overcomes uncertain landscape with leasing spree across London July 11, 2023 British Land provided investors with a cheery update on the outlook for the commercial property sector, as the firm was boosted by leasing activity across London and strength of retail parks. In an update ahead of its AGM later today, the property developer secured 552,000 sq ft of leasing across its portfolio in the first [...]