Bleak ‘hospitality zones’ will make London nightlife even worse July 31, 2025 Proposed ‘hospitality zones’ for alfresco dining are little more than top-down attempts at vibrancy which will move nightlife away from where it’s already thriving into sterile Boxpark clones, says Tom Jones It is a Saturday night. Your exhaustion from a week of open-plan purgatory – the train delays, the Slack pings, the passive-aggressive tone of [...]
Industry chief warns fresh tax grab will push ‘loved’ retailers to the wall July 31, 2025 More of Britain’s “well-loved” retailers will go to the wall if the government unleashes another round of tax hikes on businesses in the Autumn, the boss of the British Retail Consortium (BRC) has warned, as fresh data from the body found that nearly nine in 10 high street bosses are struggling with the tax burden. [...]
Woad to success: How amateur Lottie took golf by storm July 30, 2025 “No, I’m not tempted to turn pro yet,” insisted England’s Lottie Woad after winning the Women’s Irish Open, her first Ladies European Tour title, as an amateur earlier this month. Just three weeks later, she is not only a fully-fledged pro but the bookmakers’ favourite to win the Women’s Open, which starts on Thursday. It [...]
ECB hails ‘exciting new phase’ after six Hundred deals completed July 30, 2025 England and Wales Cricket Board chair Richard Thompson has welcomed “an exciting new phase” for cricket after confirming completion of the sale of six stakes in The Hundred franchises. The six deals formally finalised ahead of next week’s fifth season include London Spirit, Birmingham Phoenix, Manchester Originals, Northern Superchargers, Southern Brave and Welsh Fire. Despite [...]
NBA to return to London for first time in seven years July 30, 2025 The NBA is to stage a regular-season game in London 2026, ending its seven-year absence from the capital. The Memphis Grizzlies and the Orlando Magic will play a regular-season game at the O2 Arena on 18 January 2026. This is the first time an NBA game will be held in the capital since 2019, while [...]
Klarna’s AI push takes centre stage ahead of IPO July 30, 2025 Klarna seems to be making all the right steps about its AI ambitions, but is the Swedish fintech giant genuinely building an AI-first model for its users or simply crafting a compelling narrative for its much-anticipated IPO? “I’m not sure it gets a choice in the matter” Chris Jones, managing director at PSE told City [...]
Rachel Reeves’ Autumn Budget still causing negativity – CBI July 30, 2025 A streak of negative business sentiment has now lasted 10 months, a leading industry body has suggested, in further evidence that employers have struggled to turn a page on Chancellor Rachel Reeves’ £40bn tax raid at last year’s Autumn Budget. Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer has repeatedly told MPs that business confidence was edging higher, [...]
Bank of England officials set to clash on interest rates July 30, 2025 Bank of England policymakers are set to spar on whether to hold or cut interest rates as City analysts are expecting a three-way split in the final vote. The Bank saw a 6-3 vote in favour of holding interest rates at 4.25 per cent in June while the meeting before in May saw four dissenting [...]
Will Lionesses increase interest in women’s football? I asked fans at parade July 30, 2025 I joined more than 65,000 people lining The Mall yesterday as the Lionesses celebrated their Women’s Euro 2025 triumph with an open-top bus parade. The excitement was palpable from exiting St James’s Park tube station, with fans walking steadfastly towards the Queen Victoria Memorial, where the procession culminated in a ceremony in front of Buckingham [...]
Revolut enters F1 with title sponsorship of new Audi team July 30, 2025 Revolut has announced its entry into Formula 1 as title partner of the new Audi F1 team, which will compete from next year. The partnership has been described as long-term and will see the fintech giant – currently the subject of a clash between Chancellor Rachel Reeves and Bank of England boss Andrew Bailey – [...]