M Restaurant’s Martin Williams on Wagyu, division bells and building a brand January 25, 2016 There is something of the Midas touch about Martin Williams. Forty minutes into an interview about his restaurants, M Threadneedle Street and M Victoria Street – currently two of the capital’s trendiest hangouts – he mentions his previous life as an actor. Despite being successful on stage and TV in his early twenties, the on-off [...]
Amazon to create thousands more jobs in Europe and UK in fulfillment, R&D and software development January 22, 2016 Amazon is going on a major hiring spree as the etailer ramps up its operation across Europe and the UK. The retailer said many of the new jobs – of which 2,500 will be in the UK – will help expand its European fulfilment network, as well as focusing on EU-based research and development. The new roles [...]
City Moves for 22 January 2016 | Who’s switching jobs January 22, 2016 RateSetter Marketplace lender RateSetter has appointed Paul Marston as head of SME lending and Angela Yotov as head of legal. Paul joins from Secure Trust Bank, a challenger bank, where he was managing director of the business and commercial division which provides funding for SMEs and property development loans. Prior to that he was a [...]
Blockchain payment revolution: How to ensure confidence in twenty-first century transactions January 22, 2016 We are on the threshold of a revolution in financial services which promises extraordinary leaps in efficiency for all kinds of transactions. And arguably the biggest obstacle to our society reaping the full benefit of this findustrial revolution is the issue of trust in transactions. When stock exchanges developed centuries ago, a handshake between (predominantly) [...]
O2 arena plans for a new designer outlet win £185m backing from Lloyds Banking Group January 21, 2016 Lloyds Banking Group is backing the owners of the O2 arena in Greenwich with a £185m loan to finance the building of a new designer shopping outlet to rival Bicester Village and Wembley. The loan by Lloyds’ commercial banking arm will allow the O2’s owners AEG and Crosstree Real Estate, to push ahead with the [...]
The Uniwheel is the British-made alternative to last year’s cheap, exploding hoverboard toys January 21, 2016 The last time I attempted to ride a hoverboard, the device turned on me. The supposedly self-balancing bastard hurled my innocent body to the ground and shattered my left elbow before zooming off, filling the air with triumphant bleeps and bloops as it made good its escape. If this was the first punch thrown in [...]
British Land posts upbeat third quarter as London mayor Boris Johnson approves Norton Folgate plans January 19, 2016 Customers flocking to British Land’s shopping centres and ongoing demand for its offices helped the landlord deliver a strong performance in the third quarter, as the group also revealed that plans for a controversial Shoreditch scheme had been approved. The FTSE 100 property giant said retail footfall rose by two per cent over the Christmas quarter, with Meadowhall [...]
HSBC expansion curtailed by China slowdown January 18, 2016 London based HSBC has had its expansion plans throughout Asia dashed by slowing economic growth in China and increased market volatility throughout the region, according to Moody's Investors Service. The bank, which is still considering whether to move its headquarters to Hong Kong or possibly the US, pulled in around 60 per cent of pre-tax [...]
From retail mania and the Tube strike to oil prices and the Chinese economy: Here’s what got us talking this week January 15, 2016 We all got invited to a very special birthday party, while someone else got an early birthday present. Meanwhile, the details of Boris Johnson's Iraq antics were leaked. Oh no, BoJo. Here's what got us talking this week 1) Ground control to major Tim The world mourned as we digested the news that David Bowie had died [...]
City Moves for 15 January 2016 | Who’s switching jobs January 15, 2016 LendInvest Online lender for short-term property finance LendInvest has appointed Ruth Pearson as its first in-house legal counsel. Ruth joins LendInvest from Simmons & Simmons where she was a managing associate in the banking team. She joined Simmons & Simmons as a trainee in 2007 and qualified in 2009. During her eight years in private [...]