Corona Impact Series: How the chronicle of a storyteller from Dalston turned into a virtual tale April 30, 2021 In this series, City A.M. looks at the financial and economic impact of the ongoing pandemic on a range of small and medium-sized businesses across London. This week: How a creative provider of experience in East London was pushed to go entirely digital overnight, without losing its authenticity and immersiveness. “As Covid hit and the bottom fell out [...]
Firms helping vulnerable during pandemic recognised in Dragon Awards April 30, 2021 An app which mobilised volunteers to shop for vulnerable people during the pandemic is among the winners in London’s top responsible business gongs. Described as an ‘Uber for volunteers’, onHand, which matches volunteers with projects in need of help, won the Lord Mayor’s Award for Innovation During COVID-19 in the Lord Mayor’s Dragon Awards. The [...]
How strong might the UK’s post-Covid economic recovery be? April 30, 2021 It has been a tough start to the year for the UK. As lockdown restrictions continue to slowly ease, we examine the progress made in tackling the Covid-19 pandemic, and whether hopes for a strong economic recovery are well founded. Vaccines offered hope, speedy inoculation will solidify the recovery A year on from the start [...]
We shouldn’t be scared of the plague of activist investors April 30, 2021 Activist investors are the scourge of the corporate boardroom. Surreptitiously building sizeable stakes in public companies, they appear, uninvited and unannounced, bearing frightening demands. Often seeking the chief executive’s head on a platter, they are feared because they sometimes get it. In 2020, however, the activists went quiet. As businesses struggled to respond to the [...]
Former No 10 spin doctor Robbie Gibb joins BBC board April 29, 2021 Sir Robbie Gibb, a former Downing Street head of communications, has been appointed to the board of the BBC. Gibb will take up a three-year term as nations director for England on the board, which is responsible for ensuring the BBC fulfils its mission and public purposes. The spin doctor, who served under Theresa May [...]
Secretive billionaire Kenneth Dart builds £5bn stakes in Big Tobacco April 29, 2021 A reclusive billionaire known for so-called vulture fund investments has built stakes worth nearly £5bn in two of the world’s largest tobacco companies. Cayman Islands-based Kenneth Dart, who is heir to a US foam cups empire, has built a seven per cent stake in British American Tobacco and snapped up three per cent of rival [...]
The Evening Read: City veteran Gavin Rochussen on closing deals remotely April 29, 2021 In an exclusive interview, City A.M. sits down with Gavin Rochussen, the CEO of St. James’s-based Polar Capital, to talk all things asset management, how the pandemic has changed working practices, navigating acquisitions in lockdown and how culture is so important to success. You told me that Polar Capital is a boutique asset manager, but [...]
Linklaters promotes Alex Beidas to global head of employment & incentives April 29, 2021 Magic Circle firm Linklaters has made Alex Beidas global head of employment & incentives, taking over from Nicola Rabson, whose tenure in the role ends on 30 April. Beidas will stay in the new role for four years, where she will be in charge of supporting clients. Rabson will return to her role as partner, [...]
City Pub Group expands portfolio in vote of confidence in London’s hospitality sector April 29, 2021 The City Pub Group has increased its stake in two hospitality chains in a vote of confidence in London’s pub sector. It has bought a 49 per cent stake in Barts Pub, the owner of Ladbroke Grove’s Kensington Park Hotel, for £750,000, and will operate the pub under a management contract. The City Pub Group [...]
Brand London: How will the capital change after Covid and Brexit? April 29, 2021 As the UK gradually emerges from lockdown, the deserted streets of London are beginning to show hints of their former vibrancy. But a return to normality will be far from straightforward. Not only has London been left reeling from the Covid-19 pandemic, it is still working through the fallout from Brexit, which has sparked a [...]