Barclays, Lloyds, Halifax and Bank of Scotland to shut 63 more branches – including in London June 2, 2023 Two of the country’s biggest banking giants have announced they are slashing another 63 branches, taking away services from local communities around the UK. Barclays and Lloyds Banking Group between them announced a series of closures which are due to take place later this year or early next year. Barclays said on Friday it was [...]
Just Stop Oil BLOCK England cricket team from reaching Lord’s and say: “oil and gas have had a good innings” June 1, 2023 Protestor group Just Stop Oil have this morning blocked a road which has disrupted the England cricket team’s journey to Lord’s. Ben Stokes and his men are set to face Ireland this morning on the first day of their pre-Ashes Test. But batter Jonny Bairstow – who is back in the side having sustained a [...]
Are you asking the right questions about your building’s energy usage? May 31, 2023 Businesses are finally asking the question – ‘how much energy are we using, and how can it be reduced?’. It seems the energy crisis, however you view it, did have one upside. I say ‘finally’ because I’ve been waiting a long time for this. Having spent 30 years in building services, selling energy saving control [...]
Government sends Fever-Tree mixers and a cricket shirt down under to celebrate post-Brexit trade deal May 31, 2023 The UK’s trade deals with Australia and New Zealand came into force at midnight, with special shipments of British goods such as signed Beano comics among the first to be sent under the new arrangements. The agreements are the first trade deals negotiated post-Brexit to enter into force and come after the UK, Australia and [...]
London businesses most confident in the UK amid economic slowdown May 31, 2023 London businesses are poised to lead the UK economy out of its slowdown, although they remain acutely concerned about the impact of higher interest rates and scorching inflation, a new survey out today shows. Confidence among the capital’s firms slimmed four points to 43 per cent, although that was the highest reading of any area [...]
There’s an app about to do to workplaces what social media did to British politics May 30, 2023 If you haven’t heard of Fishbowl, chances are your colleagues are already using the app - a bizarre combination of LinkedIn and Reddit - to air their workplace grievances, writes Eliza Filby
Can Dr Martens get off on the right foot with investors this week? May 29, 2023 All eyes remain on Dr Martens ahead of its full year results on Thursday as investors hope the boot maker can offer signs of a turnaround following disruptions in its US warehouse and its struggling share price. The London-based bootmaker has downgraded its profit forecast twice in three months, telling the markets in April that [...]
A tribute to Martin Amis: ‘He wanted time itself to flow backwards’ May 28, 2023 Last weekend Martin Amis died in Fort Worth, Florida at the age of 73 – the same age as his father Sir Kingsley Amis – of a disease I hadn’t known he had, in a house I wasn’t aware he had owned. Why should the death of our heroes be so shocking, being as it [...]
Net migration to UK hits record high of 606,000 as Brexit scales EU movement back May 25, 2023 Net migration to the UK has hit a record high of 606,000, new figures released this morning reveal. The significant surge in legal migration for 2022 has hit the highest level on record, according to Office for National Statistics (ONS) data. It follows weeks of speculation over the numbers with prime minister Rishi Sunak seeking [...]
Flexi office firm Workspace slips to loss despite hybrid working boom May 25, 2023 London-focused office-space provider Workspace Group posted an annual loss on Thursday, hurt by a more than 3 per cent drop in the valuation of its properties, and warned high inflation levels would impact service charge and administrative costs. Office space providers across the globe have been battling with valuation and rental declines amid an increased shift [...]