London’s store closures finally return to pre-pandemic levels March 21, 2025 Retail closures in London stabilised last year after rising during the pandemic, according to a new survey. The capital lost about a store a day last year, with five stores closing and four new stores opening, according to PwC. Head of retail at PWC Jacqueline Windsor said the figures indicated “cautious optimism” for UK retail. [...]
Yours for £70k: Harry Kane’s old Bentley supercar up for sale March 21, 2025 Football fans and rare car enthusiasts have been given the chance to buy a limited edition Bentley Continental previously owned by England captain Harry Kane. A reliable, high-performance machine – albeit lacking the thrills of more exotic imports – Kane has become something of a collector during his record-breaking career on the pitch. He bought [...]
OBR growth forecast ‘will be halved’ March 21, 2025 Chancellor Rachel Reeves’ hopes for growth are set to be shattered as another forecaster looks to downgrade expectations. The Bank of England halved its growth forecasts from 1.5 per cent to 0.75 per cent in February while the OECD recently dropped predictions the UK would expand by 1.7 per cent. Now The Telegraph is reporting [...]
After IOC election, what are the top Olympic Games priorities? March 21, 2025 It is a new dawn and a new day at the International Olympic Committee, with the post-Thomas Bach era beginning after yesterday’s election. Kirsty Coventry was crowned president of the IOC, one of sport’s biggest and most influential bodies, in Greece last night. She became the 10th president and the first female in the role. [...]
Wetherspoons: Pub group hikes dividend despite cost warning March 21, 2025 Pub giant J D Wetherspoon has reported a dip in profits in its half-year results despite an uplift in sales, while chairman Tim Martin warned that rising labour costs and tax disparities are set to hit the pub industry hard. Its share price fell more than seven per cent in early trades. Like-for-like sales rose [...]
UK ambassadors to have growth ‘KPIs’, foreign secretary tells trade summit March 21, 2025 The UK’s ambassadors will have “KPIs that contribute to our economic growth” as diplomats shift to a more economic mindset, the foreign secretary has said. David Lammy told an audience of businesses that he wants the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) to become the “international delivery arm of the government’s missions, the first of [...]
Consumer confidence ticks up but ‘little evidence’ of recovery March 21, 2025 Consumer confidence rose by one point in March as Brits became more pessimistic about their own finances but more optimistic about the UK’s. The overall effect was to push confidence up to -19 in March, from -20 in February and -21 in March last year. The index remained below its long-term average. “If consumer confidence [...]
Five amazing things to do in London this weekend March 20, 2025 The weather can’t decide what to deliver us this weekend, but regardless, there’s fun to be had across the capital, whether you’re cheering on the British Olympics with a pint in hand or testing the limits of how many chicken wings you can eat a festival devoted to them.
This future of AI is examined in this exciting new movie March 20, 2025 Documentary The Thinking Game charts the rise of AI through the story of DeepMind, a leading AI lab founded by Demis Hassabis, an earnest but likeable tech genius who has devoted his life to “solving” the mystery of artificial general intelligence (AGI). Recruiting the best minds in the field, they seek to create systems that [...]
Footasylum: Profit almost triples as sales surge March 20, 2025 Profit at Footasylum surged by almost 200 per cent as its sales jumped to nearly £350m during its latest financial year, it has been confirmed. The Rochdale-headquartered retailer, which is backed by Germany-headquartered investment firm Aurelius Group, has reported a pre-tax profit of £17.2m for its year to 25 January, 2025. The figure comes after Footasylum [...]