Kwasi Kwarteng shouldn’t be ashamed of his free market principles January 22, 2021 New business secretary Kwasi Kwarteng MP is on paper one of the most pro-free enterprise ministers to run the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) in years. He takes over the role at a time when businesses, of all shapes and sizes, are struggling. Many risk closure and collapse. So, he must use [...]
Brand Britain is stronger than you think – so let’s give it some welly on the global stage January 22, 2021 Let’s start with a couple of caveats. Firstly, I’m a resolute optimist – something I share in common with many adfolk. Advertising is not a great career choice for pessimists. Hope is more of a till ringer than gloom. Secondly, I’m proud to be British. Not in the jingoistic sense of the word, but in [...]
More than 150 London pubs, bars and restaurants closed permanently last year January 22, 2021 More than 150 London pubs, bars and restaurants closed permanently last year, the latest figures showed as the coronavirus pandemic continued to wreak havoc on the sector. The number of licensed premises in the capital in December shrunk 4.5 per cent compared to the previous year. That represented a drop from 3,460 venues to 3,303 [...]
Exclusive: ‘Banks should deliver the same experience as Amazon and Netflix’, says Ezbob CEO January 21, 2021 After a year that was hugely disrupted by Covid-19 and the entire economy and its workforce moved online, City A.M. sat down with Tomer Guriel, CEO of Mayfair-based Ezbob, which provides digital lending software to some of the biggest banks and financial institutions in the City. A vaccine is being rolled out, so the City [...]
Before the Bell: Honeymoon in Washington January 21, 2021 Joe Biden was sworn in as the new US President overnight with financial markets granting him a DC honeymoon on his first day as the buy everything trade returned with a vengeance. Jeffrey Halley, senior market analyst atOANDA, said this morning that equity markets soared, as did precious metals, and currency markets saw commodity link currencies outperform [...]
One restaurateur’s plea: How am I doing? How the f*** do you think I’m doing? January 20, 2021 How am I doing? How the f*** do you think I’m doing? At every turn I politely say “struggling on” or another platitude: “smiling on the outside, crying on the inside.” But let’s put this into perspective. Pied à Terre has been on Charlotte Street for almost 30 years, 28 of those with a Michelin star. Other [...]
The best of travel: Anguilla is the epitome of tropical fun times January 19, 2021 To tide us over until we’re able to travel again, we’re republishing classic travel stories from our archives. This week we revisit Steve Hogarty’s trip to an island paradise in Anguilla. ••• Far out in the well charted waters of the east Caribbean lies the Leeward Island chain, and at its northern tip is an [...]
Market confidence is only artificially low, says IW Capital CEO January 19, 2021 The impact of Covid has been continually unpredictable since the first ripples in January of last year to the third lockdown of this year. Despite this, there is plenty of reason to feel optimistic about 2021. Both historical evidence and current sentiment point to a period of boom after months of gloom, according to Luke [...]
Deliveroo appoints Next boss Simon Wolfson to board January 19, 2021 Deliveroo has appointed Next chief executive Lord Simon Wolfson to its board as a non-executive director. Wolfson, who has led the high street fashion chain since 2001, took up the role this week. It comes as the food delivery platform gears up for what could be the largest initial public offering of the year. Deliveroo [...]
British Land appoints new chief financial officer from Tesco January 19, 2021 London-based retail landlord British Land has made Bhavesh Mistry its new chief financial officer. Mistry is expected to join British Land no later than 1 August 2021. Until he joins David Walker will continue in his role as interim CFO. The incoming CFO is currently deputy chief financial officer at Tesco, a position has had [...]