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 [...]
UK inflation jumps to 2.1 per cent in May as clothing and fuel prices rise June 16, 2021 UK inflation jumped in May due to rising clothing and fuel prices, pushing it ahead of the Bank of England’s target, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) said this morning. The Consumer Prices Index (CPI) rose to 2.1 per cent in May, up from 1.5 per cent in April, beating economists’ forecast of a rise [...]
Pandemic pressures leave would-be first-time buyers further from homeownership June 16, 2021 The impact of the pandemic, both on the property market and on personal finances, has left a gulf between struggling would-be first-time buyers and those already on the ladder. More than four-in-10 first-time buyers delayed plans to buy a home in 2020, with the majority saying raising a deposit is the biggest barrier to homeownership, [...]
Prime minister calls harassment of BBC journalist Nick Watt ‘disgraceful’ June 15, 2021 Footage posted on social media showed anti-lockdown protesters verbally abusing and chasing Nick Watt, the political editor of BBC Newsnight, near Downing Street on Monday. On Twitter, the prime minister said: “Disgraceful to see the hounding of Nick Watt doing his job.” “The media must be able to report the facts without fear or favour – [...]
Worth the commute: 9 out of 10 want hybrid working paired with an improved office June 14, 2021 Nine out of ten UK workers want the option to work remotely once offices reopen, while the same proportion desire a better office set-up when they do go in, new research today suggests. Data from OpenSensors, a workplace technology company, shows that a similar proportion of workers (90.5 per cent) are being offered the option [...]