Coronavirus: There are opportunities for wily – and brave – investors May 4, 2020 Britain’s investors could be forgiven for feeling desperate in the current crisis. They have faced a triple whammy from world markets, governments and companies. Not only have they seen the value of their portfolios fall by up to 20%, but with company after company cancelling dividends, their income has fallen by half. Heavyweights such as [...]
Robot waiters, half the tables, and crossed fingers: How restaurants will reopen after UK lockdown ends May 2, 2020 Robot waiters, staff in masks and two metres between each table. This is what dining out could look like when the UK coronavirus lockdown is eased. At least, for the restaurants that manage to survive. Official government guidance on reopening has been limited so far. However, that could change soon as the Prime Minister said [...]
Octopus becomes ‘unicorn’ after £300m deal with Australian firm Origin May 1, 2020 Challenger energy firm Octopus has today achieved unicorn status – a valuation of over £1bn – after agreeing a new partnership with Australian energy firm Origin. The agreement will see Origin put £300m into Octopus in return for 20 per cent of the company and license the UK firm’s Kraken technology platform to transform its [...]
Coronavirus: London’s dynamic economy will return May 1, 2020 The Covid-19 pandemic has changed virtually every aspect of the way we live and its awful legacy will be felt for a long time. Above all, the loss of life is clearly the most terrible and important impact – and the reason we must do whatever it takes to reduce and ultimately to prevent transmission. [...]
London retail rents to drop as occupier demand falls April 30, 2020 London retail rents are expected to dive this year as occupier demand has plummeted due to the coronavirus crisis, according to the latest research. In the first quarter of the year, occupier demand for retail fell to a net balance of minus 75 per cent, while office space demand declined to minus 18 per cent. [...]
Tory MP calls on government to extend job retention scheme April 29, 2020 A Conservative London MP has called on the government to extend the job retention scheme that pays “furloughed” workers’ wages to help businesses hit by a plunge in international visitors. Nickie Aiken, MP for Cities of London and Westminster, and the Association of International Retail have written to chancellor Rishi Sunak to say that businesses [...]
Westminster approves £150m Cavendish Square health hub underneath Oxford Street April 29, 2020 Developers have today been given the green light for a £150m plan to transform Cavendish Square into a subterranean health and wellness hub. Property firm Reef Group has outlined proposals to turn a 1960s car park below the Georgian square in the West End into specialist facilities for the healthcare sector, as well as premium [...]
Renewed calls for change to UK’s post-Brexit immigration system April 28, 2020 There have been fresh calls for the government to amend its post-Brexit immigration proposals in the aftermath of the coronavirus crisis. Home secretary Priti Patel laid out the government’s proposal for a post-Brexit EU immigration system in February, which included a requirement for applicants to have a job offer with a wage of £25,560 or [...]
Councils criticised for slow rollout of coronavirus business grants package April 28, 2020 Business groups have criticised councils for the slow rollout of the government’s coronavirus grant scheme as new figures reveal that almost 40 per cent of all eligible businesses are still waiting for the emergency funding. Councils across the country were given £12.33bn by the government four weeks ago on 1 April to distribute to businesses [...]
Economies in free fall as hopes fade for a V-shaped recovery April 28, 2020 Amongst the arguments about a lack of protective clothing for health workers and whether governments were too slow to react to the spread of Covid-19, the latest figures show that the pandemic is gradually coming under control. The rate of growth in new infections and fatalities around the world is slowing and the curves are [...]