Georgia on my mind: The business of rugby November 22, 2021 Fans back packing stands, pints flowing, and roofs being raised. International rugby’s back and, as the inaugural Autumn Nations Series draws to a close, the on-pitch balance of power between the hemispheres seems delicately poised. Away from the pitch though, tensions exist as to the direction the sport should take post-pandemic. A tough 2020 for [...]
Supping with the devil: Germany must wake up about Nord Stream 2 November 19, 2021 As far back as the 14th century, Geoffrey Chaucer put it very well in political risk terms when he said in “The Squire’s Tale” of Canterbury Tales, “He who sups with the devil should have a long spoon”. In mercantilist Germany’s case—where its foreign policy is all too often only an excuse for its export-driven [...]
Exclusive: Deloitte reveals the UK’s fastest growing tech companies November 19, 2021 London firms came out on top in Deloitte’s annual ranking of the UK’s 50 fastest growing technology companies. The country’s top 50 tech firms achieved an average growth of 3,337 per cent and saw combined revenues of £2.92bn this year, up 33 per cent compared to last year’s total of £2.2bn. The final score sheet [...]
Don’t wait till after Christmas to sell your property November 18, 2021 There was a time when the property market could quite logically be split into seasons. But, such is the disruption to all our usual timetables and routines, that is no longer the case. The seemingly never-ending chain of events that impacted the the market in recent years, from tax changes and SDLT holidays to Brexit [...]
Ed Warner: Sewing ruling bodies together is not always the answer November 18, 2021 I’m a late adopter of LinkedIn, only joining this summer as a means of promoting Sport inc. Compiling my profile, I paused for just a second before deciding not to include my inglorious 52 days as interim chair of the British Basketball Federation back in 2018. On Sunday, as the T20 World Cup neared its [...]
The German dream of levelling up is still just a shell under Boris Johnson November 18, 2021 Politicians and policy experts in this country often like to compare it to Germany, with many thinking – rightly or wrongly – that it is the model of a well-functioning state. The Prime Minister did this in a recent flagship speech on his still undefined levelling up agenda. Boris Johnson lamented how, three decades after [...]
Shoppers set to spend £33bn across major supermarkets in festive period November 16, 2021 Trips to UK supermarkets have shot up as Brits prepare to shop both online and in-store for Christmas. In-store visits to supermarkets swelled 6.5 per cent in the last four weeks ending 6 November. This represents 28m more visits compared with the same period last year, according to data from NielsenIQ. The online share of [...]
The Sphere shapes up as developers warn London slipping behind in race for venue space November 15, 2021 Talks of London’s very own Madison Square Garden (MSG) development have been in the works since early 2019. But nearly two years and one pandemic later, the Stratford-based Sphere is still awaiting planning permission. A decision by the London Legacy Development Corporation, which oversees the area around the 2012 Olympic site, could come by the [...]
Focus On: Get yourself into a Pickle in booming Bermondsey November 12, 2021 Located in the south-easterly London Borough of Southwark, Bermondsey has a fascinating past. Back in the 1800s it was known for its industrial plants for processing animal hides (hence some road names such as Tanner Street and Leathermarket), as well as slums for local workers and the notorious docks that inspired scenes in Dickensian novels [...]
London’s drinking: Capital on the way back as Young’s toasts a healthy recovery November 11, 2021 Pub chain Young’s announced it would restart its dividend this morning after a healthy set of half-year results suggested the historic operator’s recovery is well on the way. Adjusted operating profit hit a healthy £27.1m in the six months to the end of September despite ‘lockdown’ and later restrictions on numbers still being in place. [...]