City Moves: Who is switching jobs in the Square Mile this week? March 31, 2021 Snakes and Ladders provides a roundup of the most important hires and job moves across the City, every Wednesday afternoon. Email citymoves@cityam.com to be featured. Covatic appoints ex-BBC strategy head London-based start-up tech company Covatic has hired an ex-BBC veteran as its chief product officer. Daniel Pike joins the company, which aims to improve in-app consumer engagement, at [...]
Ex-Greene King boss buys 42 pubs including London venues from Stonegate March 30, 2021 Redcat Pub Company, the firm led by former Greene King boss Rooney Anand, has bought 42 venues from Stonegate. The company announced today that 50 per cent of the managed pubs are in prime London areas, in a vote of confidence in the capital’s recovery from the coronavirus pandemic. It said the estate consists of [...]
The Indian wine market is hotting up: Meet the makers March 30, 2021 At last count, there were 17,000 Indian restaurants in the UK, but only a fraction of a fraction with anything approaching an Indian wine list. Now, the UK has its first Indian wine specialist offering a range of premium bottles curated by India’s first and so far only official Master of Wines. Wines in India, [...]
Post-Brexit: City investors look beyond Europe as bounce back optimism grows March 30, 2021 Investors searching for stronger returns post-Brexit are increasingly zooming in on the Far East, with Japan and China currently being the most attractive markets for UK investors. According to new data that City-based bank and brokerage firm Charles Schwab shared with City A.M. this morning, around 68 per cent of investors in a recent survey [...]
Central London pubs and restaurants prepare to welcome back punters with new al fresco options March 29, 2021 Pubs and restaurants are gearing up to welcome workers and visitors back to Central London next month, with preparations underway to create more outdoor seating areas. The City of London’s Leadenhall Market today revealed plans for some of its tenants to reopen from 12 April, with others following in May. Meanwhile, in the West End, [...]
Corona Impact Series: A Chelsea jeweller conveys her message of bling via Zoom and Bing March 29, 2021 In this series, City A.M. looks at the financial and economic impact of the ongoing pandemic on a range of small and medium-sized businesses across London. This week: How three lockdowns forced an upmarket jewellery chain to convey a personal message of bling via Zoom and Bing. The accelerated shift to digital has been the theme of the [...]
Bond investors and sustainability: is it all greenwash? March 29, 2021 With issuance of green, social and sustainability bonds expected to hit a record $650 billion this year, Schroders’ Head of Sustainable Credit Saida Eggerstedt tackles the topic of greenwashing. “We are in a boom era for borrowing linked to sustainability criteria,” according to Saida Eggerstedt, Schroders’ Head of Sustainable Credit. In 2020, the global issuance [...]
City may never be the same as five-day-a-week commute ends, says former Bank of England deputy March 29, 2021 Home working is here to stay and the end of the five-day-a-week office commute will change the shape of London dramatically, according to former Bank of England deputy governor Sir Charlie Bean. The switch will impact the economy “in ways we don’t fully foresee”, the former deputy governor for monetary policy at the Bank said [...]
More than 41,000 UK hospitality venues have outdoor space for 12 April reopening March 29, 2021 More than 41,000 pubs, bars and restaurants have some kind of outdoor space which could allow them to reopen on 12 April, according to new figures published this morning. The latest monthly Market Recovery Monitor by CGA and AlixPartners has revealed that just over 38 per cent of licensed premises in the UK say they [...]
Cazoo confirms it will go public in merger with US SPAC March 29, 2021 Cazoo has agreed to a deal with a New York-listed SPAC in a deal which values the online used car platform at $7bn. The company, which was founded by serial entrepreneur Alex Chesterman in 2018, will merge with Ajax I, a blank-cheque vehicle led by billionaire investor Dan Och. The deal, which will see Cazoo [...]