NatWest to launch first eco-friendly loans as part of new £100bn green funding pot October 13, 2021 NatWest said this morning it plans to bring £100bn to green funding to the market by the end of 2025 and the City bank will also roll out its first eco-friendly business loans. The bank stressed its strategy is to help small firms capitalise on the drive to tackle climate change. The pledge sees the [...]
GSK waves goodbye to West London as breakup begins with new £120m HQ October 11, 2021 GlaxoSmithKline will move its global headquarters to a new £120m site, as the pharmaceutical giant prepares to split up its empire into two separate businesses. The company today announced plans for a shiny new £120m headquarters in Weybridge for its new independent consumer healthcare company. Remaining pharmaceuticals and vaccine staff will also relocate from the [...]
Aye, aye Captain! The new defence chief of staff needs to tackle the China question October 11, 2021 The appointment of a new chief of the defence staff—the professional head of the British armed forces— easily slips into the important but not newsworthy category. Last week’s announcement that Admiral Sir Tony Radakin, currently first sea lord, will take up the post in November should, however, give even passing observers pause for thought. For [...]
High street bosses plead Chancellor to slash business rates October 10, 2021 Around 20 retail leaders have called for a cut to business rates to ensure the high street’s pandemic recovery. Some 21 bosses – including leaders of Iceland and MossBros – have written to Chancellor Rishi Sunak and said urgent intervention is needed to protect businesses. “There are many views on precisely how the business rates [...]
Royal Mail enters North America delivery market via £210m takeover in Canada October 8, 2021 Canadian logistics business Rosenau Transport has been bought by Royal Mail for £210.5m, as its international subsidiary General Logistics Systems (GLS) plans to become a major force in the north American delivery sector. The deal will see GLS expand its presence across the country, particularly in the west of Canada, and allow the company to [...]
What the data tells us about the next phase of the Covid-19 pandemic October 4, 2021 What has been happening since the beginning of September in the US and UK? The Delta variant of Covid-19 is key to understanding the current trends around the reopening of the global economy. Countries that were aiming for so-called “Zero Covid” have found that this strategy doesn’t work so well against a virus that spreads [...]
Property: London house prices climb by £36 every single day September 28, 2021 House prices rose by £44 per day on average in the six months leading up to August, according to new figures published this morning. In London, that figure stood at £36 per 24 hours. This was up from £30 per day typically over the previous six months (July 2020 to January 2021), Zoopla said. Across [...]
D-Day in Germany: End of the Merkel era as Germans go to the polls in three-way battle September 26, 2021 As polls have opened in Germany and election day has begun for just over 60m eligible voters, Europe’s largest economy is seeing its first three-way contest for the chancellery as the environmentalist Greens join the country’s two traditional big parties in fielding a candidate for the top job. The Social Democrats’ candidate, Olaf Scholz, is [...]
Exeter’s chief problem: Why did they start Premiership Rugby season without a main sponsor? September 25, 2021 Last weekend, Exeter Chiefs’ Premiership campaign began with a 34-19 loss at Leicester Tigers. Remove the result, the return of the roaring terraces and professional rugby’s big kick-off, and you may have noticed a commercial anomaly in the away side’s kit: Exeter’s shirt was missing a main sponsor. Little more than a year ago, Chiefs [...]
West Midlands’ transport system will follow London’s lead September 22, 2021 While Westminster was abuzz with all the reshuffle gossip last week, my eyes were immediately drawn to the renewed focus on the levelling up agenda. With a new high-profile cabinet minister in place and a re-named department, it is clear the Prime Minister is intent on delivering the vision he laid out in his speech [...]