Retail, hospitality and transport sectors fear staff abuse when mandatory face masks end July 13, 2021 Business leaders in industries that operate in public indoor settings fear staff could come under attack from customers after the government lifts the legal requirement to wear face masks on 19 July. As of next week, businesses can enforce their own policy on masks as they see fit to protect their staff and customers. But [...]
Revolution Beauty to make stock market debut July 13, 2021 Revolution Beauty are plotting a float on London’s alternative markets valuing the company at nearly half a billion pounds. The float has received strong support from shareholders and was significantly oversubscribed, the UK-based firm said this morning. Read more: Asos enters deal with Nordstrom to bolster Topshop’s US presence Adam Minto, the beauty firm’s boss [...]
Forward Partners confirms £36.5m AIM listing July 13, 2021 Tech-focused venture capital firm Forward Partners will list on London’s AIM market later this month with a market capitalisation of £134.6m. The firm said that its listing was oversubscribed, and would raise proceeds of £36.5m, which it will use to fund future investments. Blackrock and Draper Espirit are both backing the listing, having committed to [...]
US stocks scale to new record highs July 12, 2021 US stocks reached another record high on Monday as investors eagerly await the start of earnings season. The tech-heavy Nasdaq and blue-chip S&P 500 both scaled to new heights today, but inched back shortly afterwards. The S&P 500 rose 0.19 per cent during morning trading, while the Nasdaq added 0.06 per cent. Read more: FTSE [...]
Klarna snaps up London ecommerce tech startup Hero July 11, 2021 Klarna has acquired London-based ecommerce tech startup Hero in a deal worth a reported $160m (£115m). Hero, which was founded in 2015, offers virtual shopping services to retailers and counts Harvey Nichols, Levi, Nike and JD Sports among its clients. Klarna said it will introduce Hero to its 250,000 retail partners, allowing them to access [...]
Exclusive: London faces ‘furlough cliff edge’ with Newham, Haringey and Brent to suffer most July 10, 2021 London workers are amongst the hardest hit by the pandemic onslaught, with four London boroughs featuring in the top five areas in the UK that are most reliant on furlough. The London borough of Newham has 18 per cent of its working population on furlough and is second out of 369 ranked county or district [...]
Collective: Feeling the benefit of the gig economy growing up July 10, 2021 Back in the halcyon days of the mid-2010s – a world before Brexit buses and a global pandemic – it was easy to find cheerleaders for the gig-ification of the capital’s employment scene. Uber and others were redefining work. Londoners were whizzing around in cheap cabs. Politicians were falling over themselves to champion the free-market [...]
US stocks open higher to reverse yesterday’s losses July 9, 2021 US stocks opened up on Friday, helping to pare back sharp losses on Thursday. The blue-chip S&P 500 added 0.84 per cent in morning trading to reach 4,357. The tech-heavy Nasdaq gained 0.67 per cent, while the Dow Jones was up sharply by 1.11 per cent during the open. American benchmarks’ rebound was driven by [...]
Euro 2020: What an England win could mean for the UK economy July 9, 2021 “England don’t do that – they don’t win those types of games” so said a friend after the three lions beat Denmark 2-1 after extra time in their Euro 2020 semi-final on Wednesday. They do – just once every 55 years. Scenes of jubilation across London after Gareth Southgate’s men reached their first final since [...]
Buy now pay later schemes need light-touch regulation to protect consumers and nurture economic growth July 9, 2021 The rise of buy now, pay later schemes has been remarkable in the UK. New financing products have flooded the market and revolutionised the online retail and consumer credit market. The use of delayed payments has nearly quadrupled in 2020, with 5 million people using them since the start of the pandemic. Klarna, now the [...]