Eon Productions’ James Bond pay day revealed October 23, 2025 Eon Productions received $20m (£15m) from the sale of the James Bond franchise earlier this year, it has been revealed for the first time. In February, James Bond producers Barbara Broccoli and Michael G. Wilson agreed to sell creative control to Amazon MGM Studios for a reported $1bn. Exact financial terms of the deal, which [...]
Mark Kleinman: Ovo’s quest for cash needs fresh spark October 23, 2025 Ovo’s quest for cash needs fresh spark Talk about losing its spark. For Stephen Fitzpatrick, the 2020 acquisition of SSE’s retail energy supply arm was a defining moment – a daring swoop by Ovo, the upstart utility he had founded, for a principal member of the sector oligopoly. It’s been far from plain sailing since: [...]
Third runway shortlist revealed as ministers push for fast take-off October 22, 2025 The transport secretary has shortlisted two potential operators to oversee the development of Heathrow’s third runway as part of an overhaul of the planning process that she hopes will speed up the megaproject’s delivery. Heidi Alexander told MPs on Wednesday that bids from incumbent operator Heathrow Airport Limited (HAL) and the ‘Heathrow West’ proposal from [...]
Toast the City Awards: Who has the best roof terrace in the City? October 22, 2025 The Toast the City Awards are here to celebrate the very best in hospitality of placemaking in the Square Mile. On the eve of the big night, we are highlighting each of the 138 finalists who have beaten off competition from more than 2,000 entrants. As the most vertical place in London, there are no [...]
Toast the City finalists: Who will win the Best Family category? October 22, 2025 The Toast the City Awards are here to celebrate the very best in hospitality of placemaking in the Square Mile. On the eve of the big night, we are highlighting each of the 138 finalists who have beaten off competition from more than 2,000 entrants. Next up is the Best Family category. To find out [...]
Lloyds boss: Motor finance redress wipes 20-year profit off industry October 21, 2025 The boss of Lloyds Banking Group has warned the financial watchdog’s motor finance redress scheme could knock two decades of profitability off the car finance industry. Charlie Nunn, the bank’s chief, has doubled down on the lender’s previous warning shots, adding he didn’t think the scheme was “proportionate”. The FTSE 100 titan has pulled no [...]
Calls for Reeves to scrap customs ‘loophole’ used by Shein in budget October 21, 2025 Retailers would benefit if the UK scrapped or reduced import relief for low-value goods in the upcoming budget, according to experts. There has been much speculation that the Chancellor will scrap the low-value import VAT relief that lets goods under £135 enter the UK duty-free (parcels above that value can incur customs duties of up [...]
On this day: Nelson’s victory at Trafalgar October 21, 2025 On This Day, 21 October 1805, Britain’s greatest ever naval hero proved conclusively that Britannia rules the waves… and died in the process, writes Eliot Wilson Today, 21 October, in 1805. It is a Monday, shortly after 5.30am, 25 miles off the coast of southern Spain. As dawn breaks, the skies are mostly clear, the [...]
Exploring the cannabis farms of wild, untamed Canada October 20, 2025 In Boundary Country in British Columbia, Canada, mountain ranges give way to impossibly wide valleys. Inhabitants range from descendants of Doukhobor settlers, a radical and pacifist Russian sect, to those from the varying First Nations groups. Fortunes were made down forgotten mines that never managed to truly alter the feeling of this wilderness. Many of [...]
Kingsley Ibeh: Let me fight Anthony Joshua in Nigeria October 20, 2025 The man who could next face Anthony Joshua in the ring has called for the bout to take place in Nigeria. Kingsley Ibeh is one of the fighters who could take on Joshua – a man he has described as his idol – next year, with Ghana and Nigeria seen as potential locations to host [...]