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 [...]
The Square Mile and Me with HowdenCAP’s Mary O’Connor May 25, 2023 Each week we ask the Square Mile’s great and good to take a trip down memory lane. This week, it’s HowdenCAP’s Mary O’Connor on her time as a regulator, the insurance industry, and a well-hidden bar What was your first job? Filling jam doughnuts at the local bakery. I started at 5am! What was your [...]
City Pages: The five new books on our radar this month May 25, 2023 From hacking bears to scandal in Westminster, here's what we've been reading at City A.M. this month.
London ‘busier and busier’ as return to office gathers pace – but demand for flexible working remains May 24, 2023 Great Portland Estates, a leading landlord in office space said London has got “busier and busier,” but noted that it does not expect the the recovery of offices in the capital to be “uniform” as a demand for flexible working and best space remains. Throughout the year, the property firm recorded £55.5m of leasing, as [...]
Rain, rain, go away: B&Q sales hit by UK’s miserable spring weather May 24, 2023 B&Q owner Kingfisher saw its sales dip in the first quarter to £3.3bn, down 3.3 per cent on a like-for-like basis, as the home improvement company saw performance dampened by grim April weather in the UK and France, and ongoing inflation. Despite this, the retail giant said the results showed “resilience” to the economic climate, [...]
Angry motorists clash with Just Stop Oil on Blackfriars, Tower and London Bridges May 23, 2023 Climate change protesters have again clashed with drivers as they staged marches on three bridges in central London. Forty-five Just Stop Oil (JSO) activists blocked the roads on Blackfriars, London and Tower bridges on Tuesday morning by walking slowly in the road. One man was handcuffed by police after he appeared to push two JSO [...]
Britain still on track to dodge a recession this year but inflation returns May 23, 2023 Britain is still on track to avoid a recession in 2023 driven by consumer spending holding up amid a tough cost of living crisis, a closely watched survey out today shows. S&P Global and the Chartered Institute of Procurement and Supply’s composite purchasing managers’ index (PMI) for May hit 53.9 points. While the number was [...]
Sadiq Khan hosts crunch business talks with City figures May 23, 2023 Sadiq Khan has warned London’s businesses are facing “the most difficult period in living memory” as a result of Brexit, the Covid-19 pandemic and the inflation crisis. The Mayor of London has called for the government to devolve some immigration powers to City Hall as a means of tackling regional labour shortages sparked by the [...]
Ryanair posts record £1.26bn profits – but warns of turbulence with strikes and high fuel prices May 22, 2023 Ryanair posted record profits of $1.57bn (£1.26bn) in its full year results, as it cashed in on rising fares and strong traffic recovery – but warned it may experience turbulence in the near future. The low cost carrier flew a record 168.6m passengers, up 74 per cent, in the year ending March and said that [...]
Burberry boosted by China re-opening as share price darling reports solid growth May 18, 2023 Burberry boss Jonathan Akeroyd said this morning he was “very pleased” with a set of full-year results that saw reported profit up more than 20 per cent year on year. Revenues topped the £3bn mark in the twelve months to the start of April this year, with the fourth quarter given a significant boost by [...]