Editor’s Notes: The River Thames is the key to London’s past – and its future March 8, 2019 The 19th century socialist MP for Battersea, John Burns, described the Thames as “liquid history”. Today, even a short cruise from Tower Pier to Westminster offers a glimpse of the capital’s rich past – from a Saxon landing bay by Southwark Bridge to the original access point for the Old London Bridge which, by the [...]
Mike Ashley moves to oust Debenhams board and appoint himself as director March 7, 2019 Retail tycoon Mike Ashley has ramped up the pressure on embattled department store chain Debenhams this evening, after making an audacious bid to axe most of the firm’s directors and appoint himself to the board. In a surprise announcement made on the London Stock Exchange tonight, the billionaire magnate pledged to step down from his current role [...]
‘Revolution’: Energy regulator Ofgem plans to rip up its own rulebook March 6, 2019 Ofgem plans to undertake a “complete rethink” of Britain’s energy systems as the country seeks to support clean energy and “serious innovation”. The regulator’s head of consumer and markets, Mary Starks, said markets should be shaped by innovators, not regulators. Read more: SSE pays out £705,000 after misreporting renewable energy payments She said Ofgem would try [...]
Five fintech trends to watch in 2019 March 6, 2019 There’s no shortage of stories on how tech breakthroughs will transform financial services, from changing the way we interact with our personal finances to threatening entire banking institutions with disruption. It can be difficult to predict exactly what this landscape will look like in the next few years, but most seem to agree that the [...]
The high street can be saved if physical shops and online retailers collaborate and use data March 5, 2019 In January, affiliate marketing company Awin released research showing that 39 per cent of Britons wouldn’t really mind if we lost all high street stores altogether, with over a third of respondents saying that they “almost never” shopped there anyway. News stories about high street stalwarts being in the doldrums have become a recurring theme, from [...]
City Moves for 5 March 2019 – Who’s switching jobs at Co-op, Deloitte and Hunters? March 5, 2019 Today's City Moves cover the Co-op Group, Deloitte and Hunters. Take a look at these movers and shakers. Co-op Group Central England Co-op has welcomed its new chief executive Debbie Robinson on her first day with the society. Debbie was appointed in November last year and will oversee one of the largest independent retail co-operative [...]
Serious Pig founder George Rice wants to pair craft beer with better snacks in British pubs March 4, 2019 The craft beer scene is big business. Hundreds of challenger brands have emerged over the past decade or more to take a bite – well, sip – out of the market share of the mainstream breweries. Some craft beer-makers have become established names, such as controversial Scottish brand BrewDog, while others have been snapped up [...]
Mike Ashley’s Sports Direct makes offer for Findel March 4, 2019 Sports Direct tycoon Mike Ashley is looking to continue his retail spending spree after announcing a £139m offer to buy Findel this morning. Sports Direct, which is currently Findel’s largest shareholder, said in a note to the London Stock Exchange that it has offered to purchase the remaining shares in Findel that it does not already [...]
KFC taps London fintech startup Flux for paperless payments March 4, 2019 KFC has launched a partnership with London fintech startup Flux which will see the US fried chicken chain go paperless. From today, users of digital banks Monzo and Starling, as well as select Barclays customers in the near future, will be able to receive digital itemised receipts for transactions in their banking apps when they [...]
Fuller’s pubs chief executive Simon Emeny joins WH Smith board February 26, 2019 The chief executive of Fuller's pubs has joined the board of WH Smith to sit as a non-executive director, the high street retailer announced this morning. Simon Emeny, group chief executive of London brewery Fuller, Smith and Turner, will be joined by Greensill Capital chairman and former Citibank chief executive Maurice Thompson. Read more: Surge [...]