CoinGeek brings the world of crypto together in London November 6, 2018 While outsiders’ interest in cryptocurrencies is often limited to their volatile prices, industry leaders will be debating a much wider agenda, including everyday uses of crypto, at a three-day conference in London at the end of November. Tickets can be bought with discount code “cityam20” on Eventbrite The CoinGeek Week Conference will feature entrepreneurs who [...]
German budget supermarket chain Lidl boosts wages for UK employees November 6, 2018 German budget supermarket Lidl will boost wages for thousands of its workers in the UK, it said yesterday. Lidl said entry-level wages will increase from £8.75 an hour to £9 an hour outside of London and from £10.20 to £10.55 an hour within the capital. The increase will come into effect from 1 March next year, [...]
Made in Britain: The entrepreneur helping UK firms realise their exporting ambitions in Asia November 5, 2018 I am at the National Liberal Club in London. Everything about this place – from the smoking room to the 1915 portrait of Winston Churchill – screams old-world British at me. And there’s nothing coincidental about Siddharth Shankar’s choice of meeting place. Surrounded by empty chesterfield sofas, Shankar seems to be in his element – [...]
Our once-in-a-generation opportunity to ensure that the City is fit for the future November 5, 2018 Firms across the Square Mile have had to spend a disproportionate amount of time recently planning for the short term. With less than five months to go before the UK leaves the European Union, it is right that businesses urgently prepare for all possible outcomes, including a possible no-deal scenario. There are many pressing issues [...]
Sofa, so good: Ikea growth driven forward by deliveries and online November 2, 2018 Ikea grew revenues by almost six per cent in the financial year, as online sales helped expand the top line. The furniture giant grew UK revenues by 5.9 per cent to £1.97bn for the financial year ending August. It increased market share to 8.4 per cent from eight per cent last year. While nearly 60m [...]
We must turn the page on the public perceptions of finance November 1, 2018 A company needs to stand for something more than making money. Sustainability matters more than profit. The mission should be a lasting contribution to society that finds a balance between all stakeholders. Those aren’t the words of a pious left-wing hand-wringer but of John McFarlane, chairman of Barclays, in an anthology of writing published this week [...]
Will Hammond’s Autumn Budget help the government hit its target of delivering 300,000 new homes a year? October 30, 2018 Buoyed with revised forecasts from the OBR, the chancellor certainly had more wiggle room on Budget day than many expected, but there are questions over how his Despatch Box announcements will impact on the delivery of much needed new housing. An extension (albeit a temporary one) of Help to Buy and the roll-out of backdated [...]
Ocado to develop 20 new US warehouses in first three years of deal with Kroger October 30, 2018 The terms of Ocado’s landmark deal with US supermarket chain Kroger were unveiled this morning, with the British online grocer set to operate 20 warehouses across the pond in its first three years of the agreement. Ocado's shares were up more than five per cent in early morning trading. Kroger is set to order 20 warehouses, [...]
Going it alone: Tech giants to be hit by UK digital services tax October 29, 2018 Technology giants operating in the UK will be served with a narrowly-targeted digital services tax, chancellor Philip Hammond announced today. With consultations to occur before the tax goes live in April 2020, the chancellor said the move is to ensure "the UK continues to be the best place in the world to start and scale [...]
Interiors: London’s newest retail and design hub Coal Drops Yard is now open in a revamped King’s Cross October 29, 2018 Dressed in high-vis, I stood in the autumn sunshine in King’s Cross for my sneak peak of the newest district to open within its regeneration project – Coal Drops Yard, which opens today. While I waited for my tour, I was diverted by a hording plastered with covers of The Face from 1991 – magazines [...]