Foreign secretary Jeremy Hunt backpedals on ‘Soviet prison’ comments about EU October 2, 2018 Jeremy Hunt, the foreign secretary, has backtracked on comments he made about the European Union in which he compared the group to the Soviet Union. Hunt provoked condemnation and mockery on Sunday, after he said the EU risked becoming like a Soviet “prison” because of its negotiation stance on Britain’s exit from the EU. Read [...]
Senior Barclays adviser elected as 691st Lord Mayor of the City October 1, 2018 Senior adviser to Barclays, Peter Estlin, has been elected as the 691st Lord of Mayor of the City of London. Estlin, who will take a sabbatical from his role with the bank, will succeed Charles Bowman on 9 November for a one-year term. The elected head of the City of London Corporation will act as [...]
New homes: Our pick of the new builds and conversions going on sale in London this weekend September 28, 2018 New developments on the market this week Lime Quarter, Bromley-by-Bow From £300,000 Help to Buy homes are going on sale next to Devons Road DLR. The first 10 homes launched last night with one and two bedroom apartments available to purchase through the government’s equity loan scheme. Overall, there will be 130 homes, including three [...]
Editor’s Notes: The Tories face a huge challenge, but they must take the fight to Corbyn September 28, 2018 Having observed the Labour party conference from a safe distance I’ll be travelling to Birmingham on Sunday to soak up the atmosphere at the annual Tory gathering. My first port of call will be speaking at a dinner hosted by City comms firm Cicero, where I shall sing for my supper and offer a [...]
War of the words: Facebook elite hit back at Whatsapp co-founder September 27, 2018 Whatsapp co-founder Brian Acton has found himself at the centre of a public dispute with former and current Facebook executives, after his criticisms against Facebook chief Mark Zuckerberg’s leadership style caused discomfort among the social app’s top brass. Facebook deputy David Marcus labelled Acton’s comments, in which the Whatsapp founder claimed Facebook and Zuckerberg pushed [...]
Darktrace lands $50m in series E funding, boosting its valuation to $1.65bn September 27, 2018 Homegrown cyber security success story Darktrace will today announce the close of its series E funding round to the tune of $50m (£38m), raising its valuation to $1.65bn. The round was led by Vitruvian Partners, with participation from existing investors KKR and 1011 Ventures. The funding will be used to fuel international expansion and [...]
Brokerage giant TP ICAP unveils new City headquarters in Broadgate September 26, 2018 The world’s largest interdealer broker has revealed plans this morning to move into a major new City headquarters in Broadgate, in an effort to house all of its brokers under one roof following the firm’s merger in 2016. TP ICAP will take up four floors of 135 Bishopsgate in a leasing that will see [...]
Crispgate: Royal Mail asks people to stop posting empty crisp packets September 26, 2018 Royal Mail is urging people to stop putting crisp packets in postboxes without envelopes amid fears that it might cause a delay to operations. The postal service has been caught in the firing line of a brewing row between environmental campaigners and crisp maker Walkers over non-recyclable packets currently being sold in the UK. [...]
They’re already a way of life for tens of thousands of people, but are water cities the answer to climate change, rising sea levels and the housing crisis? September 25, 2018 How do you solve a problem like the Houses of Parliament? The neo-Gothic palace, parts of which are nearly a thousand years old, is crumbling and MPs voted recently to decant to another building for around six years – most likely to nearby Whitehall – while refurbishment works are carried out. So far, so [...]
UK private equity deals slump as Europe hits post-crisis high September 25, 2018 UK private equity deals slumped over the last three months while European buyouts hit a post-crisis high, according to new statistics. There were 46 buyouts of UK companies in the third quarter of this year, down on the previous three months, which was the most successful period for volume and value since 2007. Just €19bn (£17.01bn) of deals have been completed [...]