Pandemic essentials: Hand gel, dumbbells and loungewear enjoy consumer boost March 15, 2021 Hand gel, dumbbells and men’s loungewear bottoms are among the latest post-pandemic additions to Britain’s official consumer price index this month, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) said today. Consumer habits have transformed throughout the pandemic, reflected in data from ONS which has, unsurprisingly, revealed a rise in casual clothing, home exercise equipment and travel-sized [...]
BoE’s Bailey apologises to investors amid criticism over LCF collapse March 15, 2021 Bank of England governor Andrew Bailey has apologised for his role in failing investors of collapsed mini-bond firm London Capital & Finance. His apology came amid rising pressure about his responsibility in a series of scandals during his role as head of the Financial Conduct Authority. On Monday morning, Bailey told BBC Radio 4 that [...]
BoE boss Bailey expects a permanent shift to ‘hybrid working’ March 15, 2021 Bank of England governor Andrew Bailey today said that he expects working from home to stay, with a ‘hybrid’ model of home and workplace set to become the norm. Bailey told BBC Radio 4 that he predicts a permanent change as habits and practices are proved to be sustainable. “I would be very surprised if [...]
The Entrepreneur’s overlooked cousin: companies must foster ‘Intrapreneurs’ for post-Covid creativity March 12, 2021 Entrepreneurs are the supposed heroes of our era. They are simultaneously titans of industry, Renaissance artists, and Hollywood Stars, building products, empires, and literal rocket ships that will be spoken about for decades to come. In the modern economy, those who create something out of nothing command ultimate respect. But the entrepreneur has a less [...]
Rolls-Royce joins with Scandi carrier Widerøe to launch all-electric plane by 2026 March 11, 2021 Rolls-Royce has today announced a new partnership with Scandinavian regional carrier Widerøe to develop an all-electric commuter aircraft ready for service by 2026. The 11-seat plane is being designed for initial use in Norway, where extremely short flights are very common due to the country’s mountainous territory. The project is part of Norway’s plan to [...]
IWG swings to £650m loss but sounds optimistic note on future of offices March 9, 2021 Office space provider IWG swung to a £650.2m loss last year due to the impact of coronavirus on working habits, it announced this morning. Revenue fell from £2.65bn to £2.48bn and the company posted a loss of more than half a billion pounds, down from profit after tax of £77.3m in 2019. It reported a [...]
BP to keep partial work-from-home policy as oil major seeks to cut office costs March 8, 2021 BP plans to extend remote working as a further cost saving measure affecting 25,000 staff
The office must now sing for its supper: making the workplace about the individual, not the collective March 8, 2021 One striking feature of the pandemic has been the volume of ink spilled debating the future of the office. The huge and rapid shift to working from home for large sectors of the economy made not only individual employees but companies as well look around themselves and say, “This seems to work: should we have [...]
WeWork: Vaccine rollout must herald a phased return to offices before June March 5, 2021 Following the news the highly effective coronavirus vaccines would begin to be rolled out in Britain, the stock market surged on a wave of optimism and the hope a return to normal, and by extension, the workplace, was within our grasp. Alongside the roadmap out of lockdown, we can now see a light at the [...]
Clean air: City Corporation to become first UK authority to run fully electric refuse truck fleet March 4, 2021 The City of London Corporation will become the first UK governing body to run a full fleet of Electric Refuse Collection Vehicles (ERCVs) following recent successful trials of the new technology. The first of the fleet of five new environmentally friendly trucks have arrived at Guildhall today [4 March] – the City Corporation’s HQ. The vehicles [...]