Making a splash: Orlebar Brown founder talks bagginess, Stateside growth and being laughed at August 9, 2015 Spending two years building a business on your tod can’t be easy. But for Adam Brown, founder of swimwear and fashion brand Orlebar Brown, it turned out pretty well. Back in 2007, Brown decided to set up the company. The story of how, while at a friend’s birthday pool party in Rajasthan, which was [...]
Hackney party mob of 400 in face masks attack police late on Saturday evening near Stamford Hill August 9, 2015 A masked mob of more than 400 partygoers attacked police in Hackney late on Saturday night, pelting officers with bottles, bricks and other items after officers were called to reports of a large party. The Met's territorial support group, dog units and police helicopter all attended the incident just before midnight at Sandford Court and [...]
Traditional banking needs to act fast to survive Google’s predictive power August 6, 2015 The options we have for our everyday bank accounts are increasing. Virgin Money, Tesco Bank and the Post Office have recently entered the personal current account market, and prospective entrants include Atom, Starling, Civilised Bank and OakNorth. But could the biggest competition to our traditional banks be hiding in plain sight? There are various factors [...]
August 2015 TfL Tube strike: Union RMT calls for Night Tube to be suspended, blasting it as “vanity project” and “fundamentally flawed” August 5, 2015 RMT has called for Boris Johnson and Transport for London to suspend the Night Tube “vanity project” ahead of this week's strike action. The transport union claimed the Night Tube – which is at the centre of the ongoing dispute – was “fundamentally flawed from top to bottom”, saying it could cause “breakdowns and [...]
Bank of England mortgage lending figures show a rush to remortgage as interest rate hike comes closer July 30, 2015 The mortgage market is hotting up, according to new figures, as rock bottom rates and the prospect of an interest rate rise fuel extra home buying and remortgaging. Net lending secured on dwellings jumped to £2.6bn in June, from £2.4bn in May, the highest figure since July 2008, the Bank of England said today. The [...]
Scramble to remortgage as interest rates look set to rise from record lows July 29, 2015 The mortgage market is heating up, according to new figures, as rock-bottom rates and the prospect of an interest rate rise fuel extra home buying and remortgaging. Net lending secured on dwellings jumped to £2.6bn in June from £2.4bn in May, the highest figure since July 2008, the Bank of England said yesterday. The number of [...]
Immigration debate: More than 1,300 skilled visa applications were rejected by the Home Office in June July 27, 2015 A cap introduced on Tier 2 visas by the Home Office was reached for the first time in June, resulting in 1,329 visa applications being rejected. A freedom of information request by technology publication Techworld showed that after the cap of 1,650 was hit, the UK authorities rejected applications for the first time since it [...]
Don’t stitch up the primary: Londoners deserve a real choice for their next mayor July 23, 2015 This weekend, the Conservatives will be holding interviews with the candidates who want to be included in the party’s open primary for next year’s London mayoral election. The word on the street is that the list of candidates will be culled to only two or three and that Ivan Massow, despite being the second ranking [...]
TalkTalk share price dips as broadband battle heats up: Price wars looming in UK telecoms market July 22, 2015 Telecom firm TalkTalk became the first victim of an increasingly competitive battle to win broadband customers yesterday, after £330m was wiped off the group due to concerns over the UK’s market. The firm, led by chief executive Dido Harding, saw shares close down nearly nine per cent after results showed revenue growth of 3.5 [...]
Danske ups its full-year forecast but prepares Belfast bank for sale July 22, 2015 Danske Bank said yesterday that it had raised its full-year forecast after high customer activity and improving macroeconomic conditions helped to drive an increase in first-half profits. Denmark’s largest lender reported in its half-yearly statement that net profit had jumped to 9.4bn Danish crowns (£879m), up 36 per cent from the same period in 2014. [...]