Back to business: Top Cuvée’s Brodie Meah on how corona has made people value local restaurants August 29, 2020 We talk to London’s top chefs about how they are dealing with the strange ‘new normal’. This week Top Cuvée’s Brodie Meah talks about missing the buzz of service and taking solace in a spot of wine-tasting. Who are you and what do you do? I’m Brodie Meah and, along with Max Venning, I operate Stoke [...]
Could AI help Rishi Sunak revive the UK economy? August 29, 2020 This was once meant to be the year the government balanced the books, a literal pay off for years of tight purse strings under George Osborne’s austerity programme. Instead, 2020 has seen government debt balloon to over £2 trillion. The coronavirus pandemic has meant UK spending has rocketed far beyond any previous peacetime records, leaving [...]
FTSE 100 falls but US stocks rise as markets weigh up Fed changes August 28, 2020 The FTSE 100 dropped in afternoon trading but US stocks rose as investors digested the US Federal Reserve’s decision to take a more relaxed approach to inflation, a step that supported Wall Street stocks last night. London’s main stock index fell 0.4 per cent to 5,977 points. The FTSE 250 of mid-sized firms climbed 0.1 [...]
Exclusive: Sky to open first retail stores as it takes on high street rivals August 28, 2020 Sky is set to open its first ever brick-and-mortar retail stores in the UK as the broadcaster and telecoms giant defies faltering footfall to turn up the heat on its rivals. The media group is poised to open its first outlets in the coming months, providing a physical point of sale for its mobile, TV [...]
Business groups cautiously welcome government’s back to work campaign August 28, 2020 UK business groups have welcomed the government’s back to work campaign with some caution, calling for more guidance and government incentives. The government will launch a major media campaign next week to promote the advantages of returning to work and reassure employees about safety measures. It comes after a swathe of major City firms announced [...]
London business confidence improves for second consecutive month August 28, 2020 Business confidence in London continued for the second consecutive month as the Eat Out to Help Out scheme provided a boost to the capital’s hospitality industry. The Lloyds Business Barometer, which measures monthly economic trends, found confidence in the capital rose eight points but remains in negative territory, at minus 13 per cent, slightly higher [...]
Bumper summer for IPOs with fastest start to second half since 2007 August 27, 2020 Companies are pressing on with plans to go public even amid second wave fears, with the fastest start to the second half of the year since 2007. A global total of 241 initial public offerings (IPOs) have been recorded during the second half of the year so far, according to data from Refinitiv. Listings inevitably [...]
British Gas pays out £1.7m after prepayment supplier error August 27, 2020 British Gas will pay out £1.7m after the energy supplier failed to inform hundreds of thousands of customers that it had changed prepayment supplier. On 1 January, the Centrica-owned firm changed top-up provider from Paypoint to Payzone, but failed to notify 270,000 customers. Ofgem, the energy regulator, said some British Gas customers had suffered as [...]
The Hut Group plots mega £4.5bn London initial public offering August 27, 2020 The Hut Group today unveiled plans for a £4.5bn float on the London Stock Exchange in a move that is set to land its co-founder a bumper payday. The consumer brands retailer, which is based at Manchester Airport, said in a filing that it intends to carry out a free float of at least 20 [...]
Service sector employment fell sharply in last quarter as UK entered recession August 27, 2020 Employment fell sharply across the UK services sector in the three months up to August as the coronavirus pandemic sent the country into the deepest recession on record. The service sector dominates the business landscape in this country, making up nearly 80 per cent of the economy. According to a survey conducted by the CBI, [...]