Exclusive: London businesses call on Williamson to tackle capital’s skills crisis July 26, 2021 A group of London businesses have called on Gavin Williamson to tackle London’s growing skills shortage, warning that the capital’s recovery from the pandemic was on the line. In a letter to the education secretary, coordinated by London First and seen by City A.M., the businesses call for a swathe of new policies to be [...]
Bridgepoint mulls selling Burger King UK for a beefy £500m July 26, 2021 The owner of Burger King has plotted early stage talks to sell the fast food retailer for some £500m just days after it listed on London’s top market, according to reports. Bridgepoint, the private equity owner behind Burger King, floated on the London Stock Exchange last week in a rare listing that raked in £300m [...]
AIM-listed K3 Business Technology sees pandemic increase losses July 26, 2021 Software company K3 Business Technology saw a year-on-year loss of £4.3m before taxes due to the impacts of the pandemic. The Salford-based company said performance was in line with their expectations, after announcing a ‘steady’ revenue at £23.2m in the first six months ending May 31, 2021. Gross margins fell to 56.2per cent from 60.4per [...]
Visitors migrate back to London’s West End as venues throw open their doors July 26, 2021 Visitors are beginning to migrate back to London’s tourism spots like the West End, as last week’s ‘Freedom Day’ meant theatres and clubs could throw open their doors for the first time in over a year. Last week’s heatwave meant locals and visitors alike could make the most out of London’s reopening – before the [...]
Spider-Man loses it: Five people arrested after violent incident at Asda in Clapham July 24, 2021 Five people have been arrested after a violent incident in a London supermarket. Police were called to Asda on Lavender Hill near Clapham Junction at 10.40pm on Thursday evening to reports of a group of people involved in a disturbance. Video footage posted on social media shows a woman staff member being kicked in the [...]
Tech stocks lead gains on Wall Street July 23, 2021 US stocks opened up on Friday morning driven by a rally among megacap technology shares. The blue-chip S&P 500 rose 0.54 per cent during the opening session. The Dow Jones increased 0.41 per cent, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq was up 0.4 per cent. Investors piled into tech stocks after a string of strong earnings were [...]
Draper Esprit floats to become largest tech VC on London’s main market July 23, 2021 UK venture capital firm Draper Esprit today announced it has made the jump from the AIM to London’s main market, with a market value of £1.4bn – the largest tech-only focused VC on the London Stock Exchange (LSE). The move comes exactly a month after the firm announced its intention to make the leap and [...]
Hotel Chocolat raises £40m in bid to become ‘digital-led’ chocolatier July 23, 2021 Hotel Chocolat has raised £40m in its latest share placement, in what its boss said will help it become a ‘digital-led chocolate brand’. The British chocolatier’s placing, which was led by Peel Hunt and Liberum Capital, was oversubscribed. “The £40m growth capital raised today will be invested in our fast-growing business, furthering our aim of [...]
London dominates hiring hotspots in the UK July 23, 2021 Six of the UK’s top ten hiring hotspots are in London showing that the capital’s jobs market is roaring back to life, according to new research published today. Figures from the Recruitment and Employment Confederation shows Brent has the fastest rate of job posting growth in the UK, rising 3.7 per cent to 4,616 over [...]
COVID-19 and the economic impact on UK businesses July 23, 2021 The COVID-19 pandemic has left a lot of business struggling, but how bad is the overall outlook for them? We’ve spoken to Michelle Elliot CA, partner at FRP based in Glasgow, about whether we can expect a tsunami of insolvencies or if UK businesses are coping better than expected. Michelle is a Chartered Accountant and [...]