Amazon UK boss tipped as candidate for BBC director general role May 21, 2020 Amazon’s UK chief is said to be one of the frontrunners to take over as director general of the BBC amid concerns the job hunt could be pushed back due to Covid-19. Douglas Gurr, who has led the tech giant’s operations in the UK and Ireland since 2016, is one of four candidates on the [...]
Working families need a clearer roadmap out of lockdown May 21, 2020 It is nearly nine weeks since I picked up my primary age children from after school club and told them all schools were closing. Despite the fresh air, pleasant surroundings and the late afternoon sunshine, the news was sitting uncomfortably in my stomach. That week in March was already proving grim, with increasingly frantic news [...]
BBC Three could return as on-air channel after Normal People and Fleabag success May 20, 2020 BBC Three could be brought back on air as the broadcaster looks to capitalise on a string of recent hits that have resonated with its vital youth audience. The channel was taken off linear TV and became online-only four years ago to save £30m, with the BBC arguing that young people were increasingly watching shows [...]
Marston’s secures £70m liquidity as brewer prepares for sustained pub closures May 14, 2020 British brewer Marston’s today said it has secured an extra £70m of liquidity, which will enable it to survive until the end of the financial year even if its pubs remain closed until then. The pub chain said it could survive a sustained closure of its pubs due to a £70m increase to its financing [...]
BBC Four faces closure as TV bosses battle £125m Covid-19 shortfall May 14, 2020 BBC Four is set to be axed as the corporation’s bosses look to cut costs and divert dwindling funds to attract younger audiences. Executives are preparing to shutter the channel and divert some of its budget to BBC Three, its key focus for winning over 16 to 34-year-olds, the Telegraph reported. The highbrow channel, which [...]
Young’s pub chain to secure extra £100m financing to survive coronavirus crisis May 13, 2020 Pub chain Young’s said it is in the process of securing an additional £100m of financial headroom to help sustain the business throughout the coronavirus crisis. The company said it has issued paper with a value of £30m and a maturity date of 13 May 2021 under the government’s Covid Corporate Financing Facility. It is [...]
Numeracy skills remain the key to a better life May 13, 2020 As a parent under lockdown, I count myself among the many thousands of people who have added ‘home schooling’ to their list of responsibilities at home, at least temporarily. I take my hat off to teachers who do this normally. Reflecting on the way we educate children and engage them in a subject like numeracy, [...]
The skills gap will only be solved if attitudes change, too May 12, 2020 Millions of words have been written about the skills gap holding back companies’ digital efforts. Businesses trying to launch digital services or to transform their operating model often complain that they can’t find enough people to make this happen. They often blame it on the ‘digital skills gap’, the idea that workers are not trained [...]
Small businesses call for furloughed workers to return to work May 11, 2020 Staff should be allowed to return to work while furloughed to help improve the chances of their employer’s business of surviving the Covid-19 crisis, small businesses have said. In an open letter to chancellor Rishi Sunak, business owners said that while the job retention scheme had helped businesses avoid layoffs, the current plan meant employers [...]
Could group action claims explode in post-coronavirus crisis litigation boom? May 7, 2020 Lawyers and litigation funders are increasingly looking at group action lawsuits in England and Wales as a way of holding major companies to account. After the last financial crisis litigation spiked as contractual counterparties fell out and consumers and shareholders pursued banks for wrongdoing. The litigation landscape in the English legal system has changed over [...]