Square Mile braces for Plan B as businesses say work from home guidance will ‘destroy’ trade December 8, 2021 Businesses in the City of London have said they are preparing for the worst ahead of a reported announcement on a work-from-home message. Multiple media outlets have reported that the Prime Minister is to usher in vaccine passports for large venues and instruct office employees to work from home once more. There will be a press [...]
Outlook 2022: Global economy December 7, 2021 2022 is set to be another good year for growth, albeit the recovery is likely to remain unbalanced. Anticipated withdrawal of emergency levels of support will play important role in shaping outlook. Risks include higher-than-expected inflation and weaker growth. The emergence of the Omicron Covid variant has reminded us of the uncertainties which remain around [...]
West End laments government Covid messaging as footfall falls flat December 7, 2021 The West End has bemoaned government messaging on Covid as it reported no uptick in footfall last week. New West End Company, which represents 600 brands in the area, said yesterday footfall was still down 30 per cent on pre-pandemic levels. Flat footfall was blamed on “the impact of Government messaging around Omicron,” and tube [...]
TfL: Khan hits out at Shapps for refusing to meet him as funding talks go down to wire December 6, 2021 City Hall and Whitehall have continued their row over urgent Transport for London (TfL) funding talks tonight, with each side blaming the other for slow progress. With just four days to go until TfL’s latest government bailout runs out, its fourth in the past 19 months, transport secretary Grant Shapps has still not met with [...]
West End landlord points to new signings as proof of post-lockdown recovery December 6, 2021 West End landlord Shaftesbury has signed over 60 new retail and leisure brands since October 2020, in a vote of confidence for central London’s post-lockdown recovery Bosses said this interest highlights the speed of the West End’s recovery following the lifting of pandemic restrictions. Some 33 retail brands including American Eagle and Aerie have set [...]
Daily Mail agree the largest office letting in West London in a commitment to its ‘talented people’ December 6, 2021 Daily Mail & General Trust (DMGT), the owner of the Daily Mail and Metro newspapers, has agreed a 103,000 sq ft lease to create a new HQ at Barkers Building in Kensington from 2024.
Exclusive: London MPs warn of DLR decline without new TfL funding deal December 5, 2021 The capital’s Docklands Light Railway (DLR) will be under serious threat of long-term decline without a sustainable funding deal for Transport for London (TfL), a group of London MPs have warned. The six MPs, all Labour members in East or South East London constituencies, wrote to transport secretary Grant Shapps today to say “some of [...]
London businesses and charities call on Rishi Sunak to provide long-term TfL funding December 5, 2021 More than 80 London business, universities and charities have written to Rishi Sunak to call on the chancellor to provide a long-term funding deal for Transport for London (TfL). Signatories to the letter – including the chiefs of Eurostar International, the ExCel Centre and London City Airport – called on Sunak to provide a funding [...]
Learn the right lessons from Australia’s barmy shutdown December 3, 2021 It is hard to say whether history will look warmly, or otherwise, on Australia’s response to the Covid-19 pandemic. When the virus first emerged, the country shut down – and shut down hard. It is only in recent weeks that even Aussies, of whom there are so many in London, were even able to contemplate [...]
Trafalgar Square tree can be a sign of a bright new West End future December 3, 2021 The lighting of the Christmas tree has been a cherished tradition in Trafalgar Square since 1947 – when that first Norwegian spruce was lowered into place, a token of thanks from the Norwegian people for the support Britain gave to the country after they suffered Nazi occupation during the Second World War. The lighting up [...]