Pubs lament ‘dreadfully disappointing December’ but toast rebounding January sales January 13, 2022 Pubs and restaurants were knocked back by low trade over the Christmas period, although rebounding sales in recent days have offered a ray of hope for the beleaguered sector. Sales in pubs, restaurants and bars were down 60 per cent on Christmas Day on pre-Covid levels, according to data from UKHospitality and CGA. Transactions were [...]
Ethical Finance, Faith and Enlightened Leadership January 13, 2022 DiverCity® Podcast · Ethical Finance, Faith and Enlightened Leadership Faith and enlightened leadership can promote ethical practices and a more inclusive culture in financial services. In a recent episode of DiverCity Podcast, we explored this area in detail with Professor Atul K. Shah and Anjli Shah. Professor Atul K. Shah is a broadcaster and lecturer [...]
City Moves: Who’s switching jobs in the Square Mile this week? January 13, 2022 City A.M.’s Millie Turner provides a roundup of the most important hires and job moves across the City, every morning. Email citymoves@cityam.com to be featured. Aon Professional services firm Aon has hired an ex-HSBC director as its new enterprise client leader for financial institutions team. Pete Rutherford, who has held positions at Abrdn, the Royal Bank of Scotland and Clydesdale Bank, brings [...]
Chief executives are distracted by the shiny lights of ESG and social media January 13, 2022 During the EU referendum campaign I encouraged my team to turn off all social media. As the Director of Communications for Vote Leave, this might seem like an odd instruction, given we were charged with understanding the mood of the British public. But the truth is it’s all too easy to get distracted by the [...]
Exclusive: Calls to boost morale and productivity via hybrid working to unlock £55bn and 51,000 jobs January 13, 2022 The £37bn that is contributed to the economy annually through flexible working could be doubled if companies roll out more hybrid working options, according to new research, shared exclusively with City A.M. this morning. In fact, refusing to accommodate flexible working requests costs businesses £2bn a year, the report found, complementing a separate report from [...]
Lord Michael Hastings on improving corporate citizenship January 13, 2022 This article first appeared in ICAS’ CA magazine. Lord Michael Hastings tells Laurence Eastham how far business has come in recognising its responsibilities to society – but why the journey has really only just begun Business has incorporated a new language. It’s one that gives values and purpose equal rank alongside revenue and profit. And it’s a shift that reflects [...]
Nightcap eyes portfolio expansion as CEO ‘proves critics wrong’ after pandemic-launch January 12, 2022 Bar operator Nightcap hit £15.5m in net sales during its first full year of trading, as it lines up 25 new site openings this year. Boss Sarah Willingham, whose group owns Tonight Josephine and the London Cocktail Club, told CityA.M. she had “never been prouder” to work in hospitality than during the pandemic. The company [...]
Millions of banking app users exposed to security flaw: HSBC, NatWest, Monzo, Santander, Starling and Virgin Money customers all affected January 12, 2022 Millions of Brits who use online banking services are exposed to some worrying fraud risks, industry experts warned today. Following an investigation by security experts 6point6, testing the online and mobile app security of 15 major current account providers on a range of criteria, including encryption and protection, login, and account management and navigation, consumer [...]
City Moves: Who’s switching jobs in the Square Mile this week? January 12, 2022 City A.M.’s Millie Turner provides a roundup of the most important hires and job moves across the City, every morning. Email citymoves@cityam.com to be featured. Acorn Capital Partners Acorn Capital Partners has hired a new partner, who joins the all-female leadership team at the private wealth specialist. Moving from her own practice, Olga Kucherenko brings some 14 years’ experience to the position. [...]
Boris Johnson’s rudderless levelling up plan must be anchored in business January 12, 2022 It was Winston Churchill who famously stunned a waiter by asking them to take back his pudding. “There’s no theme!” he bellowed. One man undoubtedly aware of this is Boris Johnson – the Prime Minister who wrote an effusive biography of Britain’s wartime leader before trying to emulate him in Downing Street. It comes to [...]