City Moves for 25 February – Who’s switching jobs at WorldRemit, Workspace and Hines? February 25, 2020 Today’s City Moves includes WorldRemit, Workspace and Hines WorldRemit Mobile payments company WorldRemit has appointed Ian Cafferky as chief marketing officer. Ian joins from O2 where he was responsible for brand and marketing communications, leading the O2 brand to Marketing Society UK Brand of the Year in 2015. He began his career as a strategy [...]
Ted Baker set to sell London HQ amid accounting crisis February 24, 2020 Beleaguered clothes retailer Ted Baker is close to selling its “Ugly Brown Building” headquarters in London in a move that could bolster its balance sheet amid an accounting crisis. Ted Baker is in talks with the British Airways’ pension scheme, which owns a nearby building, to sell a big stake in the office in north [...]
Outsourcing giants to discuss contracts reform with Whitehall officials February 24, 2020 The country’s biggest outsourcers will hold Whitehall talks with top civil servants to discuss changes to the public sector’s procurement process. Twenty chief executives – from companies such as BT Group, Capita and G4S – will meet with civil service chief executive John Manzoni tomorrow. City sources told Sky News the meeting will address “new [...]
Minister James Brokenshire says he would eat chlorinated chicken in UK February 24, 2020 A Home Office minister has refused to rule out eating chlorinated chicken if it were sold in the UK after Brexit’s transition period ends. Security minister James Brokenshire did not reject the idea that he would eat chlorine-washed chicken, if authorities in the UK gave it the green light, telling LBC he was “not a [...]
Disney Plus UK: Everything you need to know (and why The Simpsons is missing) February 24, 2020 Eager film and TV fans can today get their hands on a discounted Disney Plus subscription ahead of the streaming service’s UK launch next month, while the media giant has given subscribers a taste of its content slate. How much does it cost? Disney Plus today announced that customers can sign up for an introductory [...]
Priti Patel ‘deeply concerned’ by ‘false allegations’ MI5 don’t trust her February 24, 2020 The government has dismissed reports that home secretary Priti Patel is not trusted by intelligence officials and that she bullied her staff as “false”. Officials have denied that MI5 held back information from Patel after claims emerged that intelligence chiefs do not trust her. Patel has also been accused of trying to force out Sir [...]
Countrywide and LSL confirm ‘ongoing’ merger talks February 24, 2020 Estate agent Countrywide has confirmed discussions over a reported £500m merger with rival LSL are “ongoing” after news of the possible tie-up leaked over the weekend. If Countrywide and LSL do tie the knot, they could create the UK’s biggest estate agent company with numerous brands under one umbrella. Countrywide made a brief announcement today [...]
UK digital banks near 20m customers – but growth slows February 24, 2020 Digital banks operating in the UK edged towards 20 million customers in 2019, but slowing customer and deposit growth mean the lenders could face challenges on long term profitability, new figures show. Digital lenders including Monzo, Revolut and Starling gained over six million new customers in the second half of last year to reach a [...]
Estate agents Countrywide and LSL ‘plot £500m merger’ February 23, 2020 Countrywide and LSL Property Services are said to be in talks over a £500m merger that would create the largest estate agency group in the UK. The companies, which are two of Britain’s largest listed estate agents, are in discussions over a potential all-share deal, Sky News reported. The negotiations are said to be “serious”, [...]
JPMorgan Chase set to launch UK digital consumer bank this year February 22, 2020 JPMorgan Chase is close to launching a range of personal banking products in the UK. The world’s biggest lender by market capitalisation is set to introduce savings and loans products using the Chase brand in the next few months, according to Sky News. The New York-listed bank is due to hold an investor day next [...]