Private equity interest: Why is Morrisons such an attractive takeover target? June 21, 2021 Morrisons has rejected a £5.5bn takeover approach from a US private equity firm amid speculation that more UK supermarkets could be snapped up. Shares in Morrisons jumped earlier this morning following confirmation of the rejection at the weekend, as the chain said potential bidder Clayton, Dubilier & Rice “significantly undervalued” the grocer with its 230p-per-share [...]
Blair think-tank: Work from home revolution could see millions of white collar jobs outsourced June 21, 2021 The relative success of pandemic-era working from home could result in as many as 6m white-collar jobs being moved overseas, Tony Blair’s think-tank has warned this morning. The last year has loosened the geographical ties of work, argues a new report from the think-tank, that makes it possible “anywhere jobs” could be done overseas. Read [...]
Deloitte tells staff they can work from home forever June 20, 2021 Staff working at Deloitte will be able to work wherever they want when Covid restrictions are eased and work from home guidance is scrapped. Staff at the Big Four firm will not be obligated to work from the office for a minimum number of days per week, as has been a typical response of Deloitte’s [...]
ICO chief warns of the data protection dangers in live facial recognition tech June 18, 2021 The UK’s data protection watchdog has warned of the risks in the use of live facial recognition in public places today, because of its “supercharged CCTV” capabilities. The Information Commissioner’s Office information commissioner Elizabeth Denham explained in a blog post published today of her worries over the increasingly common technology. “I am deeply concerned about [...]
UK retail sales fall in May as Brits swapped supermarkets for restaurants June 18, 2021 UK retail sales fell by 1.4 per cent in May following a sharp increase in April when lockdown restrictions were eased, according to new Office for National Statistics (ONS) data. The monthly drop was unexpected, with economists predicting a 1.6 per cent increase. The largest contribution to the decline came from food stores, where sales [...]
Boris Johnson stands at the crossroads of another Huawei saga if Amazon Web Services crushes UK cloud products June 18, 2021 Cloud computing in the UK is at a crossroads: on one path is a vibrant domestic growth sector able to compete on the international stage, down the other is an industry dominated by a few Big Tech giants and stymied by policy inaction. In recent years, British tech companies are being overlooked time and time [...]
ITV outlines Love Island duty of care measures amid safety fears June 17, 2021 ITV has outlined stringent duty of care protocols for the upcoming series of Love Island after media watchdog Ofcom tightened safety rules for reality TV. The hit dating show, which was cancelled last year due to the pandemic, will return to screens later this month for its seventh series. But producers have now introduced a [...]
‘Not up to government’: Return to office under threat as ministers mull legal right to work from home June 17, 2021 Brits could be granted the right to work from home forever under shock post-pandemic plans being considered by the government. Ministers have proposed legal changes that would prevent employers from forcing staff to come into the office unless they can prove it is essential. The government will consult on the plan over the summer ahead [...]
Storage firm Safestore posts jump in profit, driven by UK June 17, 2021 Safestore, the self-storage firm, this morning reported strong growth in profit for the first half of the year, and forecasts full-year earnings at the top end of the guidance range. Group revenue was up 11.1 per cent and like-for-like sales were up 8.3 per cent, with a 13.9 per cent surge in UK sales. [...]
City Moves: Who’s switching jobs in the Square Mile this week? June 16, 2021 City A.M.‘s Millie Turner provides a roundup of the most important hires and job moves across the City, every Wednesday afternoon. Email citymoves@cityam.com to be featured. CBRE board bags ex-BlackRock real estate lead A former head of global real estate at investment heavyweight BlackRock is set to join real estate services firm CBRE in June. Marcus Sperber [...]