Back to work Monday? Perhaps a four day week is good for all of us January 16, 2021 The idea of moving to a four-day working week has grown in popularity and momentum since Covid, and we’re beginning to see signs that British businesses are warming towards the prospect. Awin, a leading online marketing firm, is currently undertaking one of the biggest trials yet, with their 1,000 strong workforce – including 300 based [...]
Major UK business body calls for furlough scheme extension to July January 15, 2021 One of the UK’s largest business lobbies is calling for the government to extend the furlough scheme to July and to give out a fresh round of business grants worth £25,000 each. The British Chambers of Commerce (BCC) also called for temporary VAT cuts and business rates relief to be extended, with the group saying [...]
London needs offices to thrive to secure its global future January 15, 2021 Are cities dead? There are plenty who think so – but Britain should hope they’re wrong. “The history book has not yet been written for cities” is the rallying cry emanating from Government. Those were Rishi Sunak’s words, echoing the Prime Minister’s faith when he spoke with FTSE 250 leaders last week that, post-pandemic, we [...]
An introvert’s confession: I really need the office January 15, 2021 I’m an introvert. When people first get to know me they find it ridiculous I tell them this. I apparently do a very convincing impression of someone who isn’t panicking, but the truth is socialising is a very difficult thing for me. When faced with social situations, my flight or fight reflex kicks in, and [...]
New BBC chair Richard Sharp hints at licence fee reform January 14, 2021 The incoming chair of the BBC has hinted at a possible overhaul of the licence fee funding model as he vowed to shake up the culture of the public service broadcaster. Appearing in front of MPs today, Richard Sharp said he believed the licence fee was the “least worst” option and insisted it was fit [...]
Britishvolt: The batterymaker leading the charge towards the 2030 diesel car ban January 14, 2021 2020 was a dire year for the UK car industry, but buried amid the reports of tumbling vehicle sales was one piece of promising news. For the first time ever, sales of electric vehicles comprised 10 per cent of all new car sales, figures from auto body the Society for Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) [...]
Us versus them will do nobody any good on the High Street January 14, 2021 While a new year symbolises a fresh start for many, you could be forgiven for thinking you had been planted in the film Groundhog Day but instead the calendar was stuck in 2020. Perhaps nowhere is this more the case than in the retail and hospitality industry, with Lord Sugar’s legal challenge to the planned [...]
London Tories: Council tax hike is a result of Mayor’s mistakes January 14, 2021 Londoners are struggling. Businesses are closed. Our city’s streets are empty. And yet, it’s during the worst recession for 300 years, that Sadiq Khan has chosen to ask Londoners to pay for his mistakes. Khan’s whopping council tax rise couldn’t have come at a worse time. The Mayor wants to paint himself as the saviour [...]
Culture secretary: EU ‘let down music’ over post-Brexit touring visa January 13, 2021 The EU is to blame for “letting down music on both sides of the Channel” over a failure to grant visas to touring artists, the culture secretary has said. Oliver Dowden today insisted that the government “fought to get a good deal for British music” but the EU had turned it down “repeatedly”. “It did [...]
Exclusive: City fund managers on the impact of the third lockdown January 13, 2021 In this 2-part series, City A.M. asked UK-focused fund managers what they make of post-Brexit trade arrangements, the impact of three lockdowns and the long-term outlook for the UK’s investment community. Yesterday, in part 1, the investment managers focused on the UK-EU deal and which sectors and companies may become the winners and losers from [...]