Coronavirus: London suffers ‘heaviest job losses in UK’ during pandemic February 16, 2021 London suffered the largest number of job losses of any UK region during the pandemic last year, as the capital continues to feel the weight of a “geographically unequal crisis”, according to the Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS). The number of London employees on payrolls dropped 5.5 per cent between February and December last year, [...]
City of London Corporation approves new ‘green’ tower at 70 Gracechurch Street February 16, 2021 The City of London Corporation today (16 February 2021) approved another tall building development, showing a significant vote of confidence in the future of the Square Mile and a strong start to 2021. Developers Tenacity, who last month received planning permission for a 30-storey development at 55 Gracechurch Street, have now also been awarded permission for [...]
Most UK pubs to stay closed under April beer garden plans, trade body warns February 16, 2021 Most UK pubs will be unable to open under proposals to allow outdoor trading to resume in April, the industry’s trade association has warned. The British Beer & Pub Association today said 29,000 UK pubs will still remain closed if outdoor service resumes in April as they do not have big enough beer gardens to [...]
Booze subscription service Virgin Wines to list on AIM in £100m move February 16, 2021 Booze subscription service Virgin Wines to list on AIM in £100m move
Valentine’s Day is sinfully wasteful – next time, buy bread February 16, 2021 As we survey the aftermath of Valentine’s Day – the already-wilting flowers, the extravagantly-boxed chocolates, the pithy cards bought from some trendy online retailer – it’s not difficult to spot the wastefulness associated with the most romantic day of the year. London’s first zero-waste floral bakery is doing its bit to reduce this mountain of [...]
Wetherspoons boss calls for pubs to open alongside non-essential shops February 15, 2021 Wetherspoons chairman Tim Martin has urged the government to reopen pubs at the same time as non-essential shops, as the Prime Minister prepares to lay out his “roadmap” for exiting lockdown. Martin called for a clear timeline for pubs across the UK to resume selling pints, warning the industry is “on its knees” from months [...]
Neil Woodford’s shock comeback raises eyebrows in the City February 15, 2021 News that the disgraced fund manager Neil Woodford is looking to make a comeback in investment management has taken many in the Square Mile by surprise. The former star manager gave an emotional interview to the Sunday Telegraph yesterday in which he apologised for the collapse of his investment company and said he is working [...]
Russian budget retailer Fix Price targets London listing February 15, 2021 Russian budget retailer Fix Price this morning announced plans to launch a London listing. The company, which is the largest value retailer in Russia, said the potential initial public offering on the London Stock Exchange would allow it to pursue growth and international expansion. Fix Price, which launched in 2007, has more than 4,200 stores [...]
The Week Ahead: Barclays, Natwest, retail sales, public borrowing February 15, 2021 City A.M. takes a look at some of this week’s market-shaping events. Barclays – Full year results (Thursday) The past 12 months have been difficult ones for banks in general, but UK banks have underperformed relative to their peers, Hewson said, with the unknowns of what a final Brexit deal might look like also weighing [...]
High street redundancies: Which retailers have cut jobs in the pandemic so far? February 13, 2021 Thousands of high street jobs have evaporated during the coronavirus pandemic, as retail chains have fallen under the pressure of lockdown restrictions on trading. The UK high street, which was already struggling before the pandemic, is set to look very different when shoppers return after lockdown following high profile collapses that have cost many retail [...]