Hitachi billion-pound deal to buy UK signalling could hurt TfL: regulator June 8, 2023 The UK’s competition watchdog has provisionally ruled that Hitachi’s 1.7 billion euro (£1.36 billion) proposed purchase of Thales’s rail infrastructure could drive up prices and reduce service quality for passengers. The findings could lead to the merger being blocked. The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) said the deal involves two of the leading suppliers of [...]
Sustainable partnerships June 1, 2023 With increasing focus being placed on CSR and ESG policies, the push for firms to take action to help tackle the UK’s climate challenge has never been stronger. This moment of increased engagement presents businesses across the UK with a unique opportunity to form partnerships and collaborations to enhance processes, products, and services, all in [...]
ULEZ: Khan expands vehicle scrappage grants to help London businesses cope June 1, 2023 Sadiq Khan will extend grants to small businesses so they can replace vehicles which don’t meet emissions standards, ahead of August’s expansion of the controversial ULEZ scheme. The London mayor intends to expand the £110m ‘scrappage scheme’ from the end of July, with “tens of thousands more Londoners” to benefit as the Ultra Low Emissions [...]
The Elizabeth Line anniversary is a reminder of what London and other cities can achieve with the right kind of investment May 24, 2023 The Elizabeth Line, a clamorous success, was enabled by investment from the national government, but mainly from London's government and businesses. It's a model we should replicate, writes John Dickie
Hybrid working: Khan must do more to get workers back to the city centre, says new report May 24, 2023 London’s mayor Sadiq Khan must do more to encourage workers back into the office in order to avoid a productivity slump and “unintended economic impact,” says a new report today. The report – authored by the Centre for Cities think tank – urged the government and mayor of London to reduce cost-barriers for commuters using [...]
Elizabeth Line: London can enjoy strike free half term as industrial action on route binned May 23, 2023 Elizabeth Line strikes will no longer take place on 27 May, marking the end of planned half-term industrial action for London’s busiest route as it marks its first anniversary. Eighty percent of TSSA members voted to accept the latest pay offer, which the union says addressed their main concerns. As a result, the planned ‘Action [...]
Passengers ‘flung around’ as Croydon tram hit curve at triple the speed limit, court hears May 17, 2023 Passengers in the Croydon tram disaster were “flung around” as if in a washing machine after their driver attempted a curve at more than three times the speed limit, a court has heard. Alfred Dorris, 49, is on trial at the Old Bailey over the derailment at Sandilands in south London on November 9 2016 [...]
M&G calls bosses back into the office – and they can’t be TWaTs about it May 14, 2023 Investment firm M&G has called on its managers to get back in the office for three days a week in a bid to boost the morale and development of its junior staff - but they won't be allowed to simply swan in on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays.
Olympia London owners to inject £5.4m into Shepherds Bush Market May 11, 2023 The private real estate firm behind Olympia London has submitted plans to inject £5.4m into Shepherds Bush Market and the Old Laundry Yard as it looks to create a life science incubator as well as affordable homes within the region. Yoo Capital, which has invested £2.5bn into central London over the past decade, said a [...]
Transport upgrades are vital to keep London at the top of the financial table May 11, 2023 Ask most of those who are yet to come back to work three or four or five days a week what the biggest barrier is and the answer is usually either the commute being a pain in the neck or being too expensive. So it won’t necessarily shock you to learn that in the aftermath [...]