Top executives back sport clubs and tech as attractive investments January 28, 2025 Over two thirds of business executives see clubs and franchises as the most attractive investment opportunity over the next half-decade, new research has revealed. Over a quarter of executives asked instead said leagues and federations were preferred while nearly one fifth favoured participation events, according to Altman Solon’s Global Sports Survey. It is a tonic [...]
Can rugby union and the Six Nations survive behind TNT paywall? January 28, 2025 For the next two months, up and down the country, you’ll walk into the pub when the Premier League is supposed to be on and instead see Six Nations rugby. It is testament to the reach of a tournament that, despite football being the national sport, kicks off its rivals for the bumper Saturday and [...]
Zuckerberg’s transition from geek to jock heralds the dawn of the alpha age January 28, 2025 Zuckerberg’s masculine makeover is emblematic of how Silicon Valley – previously the bastion of Californian idealism – has fully pivoted towards the Trump era, says Eliza Filby Back in early 2019, before the world had any inkling of what lay ahead, I attended a conference called: Disruption. It took place in a futuristic, windowless dome, [...]
Barclays becomes main sponsor of Lord’s and MCC January 27, 2025 Barclays has expanded its sports sponsorship portfolio by becoming principal partner of Lord’s Cricket Ground and its owner, Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC). The multi-year partnership, effective immediately, sees the Home of Cricket’s iconic Media Centre renamed the Barclays Media Centre. It will also mean the bank making “one of the largest ever donations” to the [...]
Dispatch from Davos 2025: Did Reeves impress? January 24, 2025 Rachel Reeves promised to "sell Britain" at Davos 2025, but did she succeed? Comms afficionado Zaki Cooper reports from the Swiss Alps.
Former London night czar Amy Lamé founds consultancy 24hr Cities January 24, 2025 The former London night czar Amy Lamé has founded a new global consultancy called 24hr Cities. Lamé, who served as Mayor Sadiq Khan’s expert on the capital’s nightlife, received a £132,846 salary by the end of her tenure at City Hall and stepped down in October 2024. But her time in office saw London’s nightlife [...]
Andy Burnham wants Manchester to add an extra £13bn a year to the UK economy – this is how January 24, 2025 A decade-long plan to increase Greater Manchester’s contribution to the UK economy by £13bn a year has been unveiled by the region’s mayor, Andy Burnham. The proposal, which has been made public today, would see the “whole Greater Manchester system mobilised” to deliver £1bn of investment every year between now and 2035. Burnham has also [...]
Brexit has left the UK aviation sector up in the air January 24, 2025 Since Brexit, UK pilot’s qualifications are no longer recognised in the EU and planes have to fly to America or Brazil for maintenance. If the government is serious about resetting Britain’s relationship with Europe then aviation would be a good place to start, says Chris Hope In 1945, William T Piper, the founder of the [...]
Football Governance Bill ‘weird’ and regulator could be ‘terrible’, says Brady January 23, 2025 West Ham United vice-chair Karren Brady has laid out her case for opposing the introduction of the football regulator, arguing that it “could have a really detrimental effect” on the game. Baroness Brady has been one of the most vocal peers in questioning the plans for a watchdog, the key plank of the Football Governance [...]
Ambani family on course for £100m London Spirit in Hundred auction January 22, 2025 The likely destinations of English cricket’s crown jewels in the Hundred auction are taking shape, with the Ambani family’s determination to buy 49 per cent of the London Spirit in a deal expected to exceed £100m forcing other bidders to look elsewhere. A consortium of Californian investors led by Nikesh Arora, chief executive of Palo [...]