Serious Fraud Office slaps Barclays with new charge over Qatar capital raising scandal February 12, 2018 The UK’s fraud watchdog has today hefted a new charge onto Barclays Bank, in relation to an emergency fundraising it conducted in the summer of 2008. The Serious Fraud Office (SFO) today charged Barclays with giving “unlawful financial assistance”, after it raised £4.5bn in June 2008 and £7.3bn that October from investors including Qatar Holding [...]
Will the number of listed law firms double over the next 12 months? March 15, 2018 When previously unfashionable Birmingham law firm Gateley listed on London’s AIM market on 8 June 2015, hundreds of years of legal tradition were undone, as members of the public were able to buy shares in a law firm for the first time. While this was undoubtedly a seminal moment for the English legal market, Gateley’s [...]
Tech friend or foe? Sadiq on why going up against Uber isn’t bad for London’s business March 12, 2018 Sadiq Khan pledged to be the most “business-friendly” mayor to lead London when he was elected almost two years ago. But in September last year, he shocked the business community by backing Transport for London’s (TfL) decision to revoke Uber’s licence. Uber is not known for its good corporate governance, but Khan was criticised for [...]
London offices: City developments take a pause after bumper 2017 November 28, 2017 City office development fell sharply over the last six months, with the Square Mile pausing after 2017 saw the highest number of completions since the turn of the century. Development activity dropped by 11 per cent, with 7.3m square feet of office space currently under construction. Only eight new schemes, representing 804,000 square feet, started [...]
Why pockets of retailers are thriving in London July 10, 2018 The obituary of high street retail, according to the press, has been written. Physical stores are closing at a rapid rate. We don’t think this tells the whole story. The daily announcements of retailer bankruptcies points to an ever-decreasing pool of occupiers. However, we argue that the pendulum of pessimism in investment markets often swings [...]
Christian Sewing confirmed as new Deutsche Bank head to replace chief executive John Cryan | City A.M. April 8, 2018 Deutsche Bank has replaced chief executive John Cryan with one of his deputies, Christian Sewing, the German lender confirmed after a meeting of its supervisory board. The bank had said it would “take a decision” on the future of the chief executive today on a call led by the board’s chair, Paul Achleitner, who has [...]
That the Saudi Aramco IPO is in jeopardy should surprise no-one March 14, 2018 The red carpet has been rolled up to reveal a sizeable bump in the road. Just a week after the visit to Britain by Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman, we’ve learned that the proposed flotation of Saudi Aramco – the world’s biggest oil company and perhaps largest company by market value – has [...]
Chinese tourist spending soars in London’s West End as Brexit fall in sterling leaves more bang for the yuan January 31, 2017 WEST END sales to Chinese shoppers rose by a whopping 154 per cent year-on-year last week as visitors from the country took advantage of the cheap pound to celebrate the Chinese New Year in London’s key shopping district. Jace Tyrrell, chief executive of New West End Company which represents businesses around Oxford Street said: “The [...]
Never Look Away review: New film from The Lives of Others director is a bloated, pretentious mishmash June 28, 2019 Fifteen years after his masterful The Lives of Others, director Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck has returned to his native Germany with a bungled, overwrought epic set across the three defining political epochs of the 20th century. Over 188 minutes, we follow Kurt Barnert (Tom Schilling), who experiences the Third Reich as a child, communist East [...]
Wasteful thinking: We meet the man on a mission to tackle the UK’s plastic addiction April 30, 2018 That image of the dead whale calf, possibly poisoned after digesting plastic waste, is now etched in our memories forever. Aired in November, the BBC documentary Blue Planet has opened people’s minds to the consequences of consumerism – the throw-away culture which is destroying the world as we know it. “The message is a tragic [...]